Procrastination

Much procrastination is forgetting when the time comes

Proposed in research

A study compared 29 adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 24 controls. The ADHD group remembered and carried out fewer intentions from their everyday lives. Remembering at the right time partly explained the link between ADHD symptoms and procrastination(Altgassen et al., 2019).

Some procrastination therefore reflects forgetting at the moment of action, rather than unwillingness. This kind especially calls for reminders that appear when action is due.

Inattention has the strongest link to procrastination in ADHD

Proposed in research

Researchers expected impulsivity to explain procrastination best. But among 54 university students, only inattention was associated with the overall tendency to procrastinate after accounting for other symptoms(Niermann & Scheres, 2014).

A review of 11 studies involving 2,788 people also found that inattention had the most consistent link to procrastination among ADHD symptoms(Suriano, 2026). Procrastination thus relates more to Difficulty concentrating, rather than just poor self-control.

Delaying an unpleasant task repairs a bad mood first

Research-backed

Delaying an unpleasant task brings immediate relief, leaving the cost to one’s future self(Sirois & Pychyl, 2013). In an experiment, unnecessary procrastination disappeared once people believed nothing could improve their bad mood. With no relief to gain, they stopped delaying(Tice et al., 2001).

Pychyl therefore argues that procrastination is a problem of emotion management, rather than time management(Pychyl, 2013). In a randomized controlled trial, people who practiced tolerating and regulating negative emotions later procrastinated less(Eckert et al., 2016).

Unpleasant tasks, distant rewards, and low confidence invite delay

Research-backed

A meta-analysis of 691 correlations found that task aversion, long waits for rewards, and low confidence in doing well consistently predicted procrastination(Steel, 2007).

Procrastination can look like doing other useful work

From a book

Ramsay calls this “procrastivity”: avoiding the most important task by doing something secondary but useful, such as doing laundry instead of writing a paper(Ramsay, 2020).

He notes that these substitute tasks tend to be hands-on, start with familiar steps, show visible progress, and have a clear endpoint. This makes them more comfortable. They look like productivity but still avoid the important task(Ramsay, 2020).

Self-forgiveness after heavy procrastination reduces it next time

Proposed in research

A study followed first-year university students across two midterm exams. Those who procrastinated heavily before the first exam and forgave themselves afterward procrastinated less before the second. This difference did not appear among students who procrastinated little(Wohl et al., 2010).

Students who forgave themselves had fewer negative emotions after the exam. This statistically explained their lower procrastination afterward(Wohl et al., 2010).