Don't Delay

Understanding procrastination and how to achieve our goals

Timothy A Pychyl Ph.D.

ADHD and Procrastination

An update on the most recent research exploring the relation between ADHD and procrastination.

The Neural Signature of Procrastination

Using fMRI, researchers reveal brain differences related to action control and procrastination. Not surprisingly, it’s all about emotion.

An Essential Self-Regulation Strategy

Unable to resist cravings, we believe we’re weak-willed and that more effort is required. It's not. The key is understanding how we mis-regulate, not under-regulate, ourselves.

Too Soon? A Little More Delay Might Have Been a Good Idea

Can an author successfully write a book that is both an apology and an apologia for procrastination?

How Negative Thoughts Relate to Procrastination

Procrastination is a negative form of delay related to anxiety, depression, and psychological distress. Recent research puts special emphasis on the role of rumination.

What Best Predicts Goal Attainment?

How's that New Year's resolution diet going? Self-control letting you down? A recent study shows the experience of temptation and the resulting depletion are the real culprits.

Emotion Regulation Skills Reduce Procrastination

Procrastination is an emotion-focused coping strategy. We avoid some tasks in order to avoid the emotions they evoke. New research explains how to reduce procrastination.

Procrastination, Depression and Creativity

A brief post to highlight a recent podcast and a book that anyone troubled by procrastination will want to listen to and read, respectively.

Facebocrastination: New Research on the Perils of Facebook

A new study in the journal Computers in Human Behavior underscores the self-control challenges of social media. Learn about the effect of students' Facebook habit on well-being.

Culpably Unwarranted Delay: Is There an App for That?

Once it becomes clear that procrastination involves a mens rea (guilty mind), significant opportunities for intervention come into view.

The Poison Tendrils of Negative Emotions

A recent research summary argues that negative emotions poison every aspect of successful self-regulation. Understanding this process is key to understanding procrastination.

Procrastination 101: It's Not About Feeling Like It

I don’t feel like it. I don’t want to. I’ll feel more like it tomorrow. Have you had these thoughts? Ever heard your children say these things?

Strength Versus Structure

Strength is important. We may even say it’s essential, but it’s not sufficient. It’s structure and routine that will save us when the going gets tough.

Mindful Emotion Regulation

Mindfulness-based therapies are very popular, and all have a common goal – adaptive emotion regulation. As such, they are a key route to reducing procrastination.

I Was Just Thinking In My Head

“I was just thinking in my head.” Have you heard anyone say that? I have, quite often. Not limiting ourselves to our own heads can help reduce procrastination.

Procrastination As A Virtue For Creativity, Why It's False

A recent Op-Ed in the New York Times outlined how procrastination is a virtue for creativity. The problem is the essay wasn’t about procrastination at all.

Laziness and Procrastination

"I am so lazy." What should we think of this?

"I'll Do It Later" – Children's Academic Procrastination

Procrastination starts early in life and often centers around homework. Research highlights the role of motivation.

Academic Procrastination And Academic Achievement

We can all probably recall a time when we procrastinated but still managed to "pull it off." We may even know a high-achieving procrastinator. Memorable, but not typical.

Fear and Shame on New Year's Day

The Roman god Janus, for whom January is named, had two faces. One looked back to the past; the other looked forward. As we do this today, let's talk about how this makes us feel.

New Year's Resolutions Lack Resolve

I think there’s a certain irony with the notion of New Year’s resolutions. Typically, I hear people state vague goal intentions that lack any sort of resolve.

Self-Help Or How to Live a More Meaningful Life?

Self-help books based on scientific evidence have been shown to be very effective, but should we focus so narrowly on a single issue like procrastination?

Social Media, the Network Effect and Procrastination

There’s an army of growth hackers working in the tech industry to hook you deeply into social media. Their job is to break down your self-regulation. The result? Procrastination.

Procrastination, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease

Personality traits can confer risk. This recent study documents how procrastination is a factor for poor adjustment to and management of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

My Father's Wisdom

My father has always been a source of wisdom in my life. Most recently, he gave me some of the most important anti-procrastination advice I have ever heard.

Media Use, Escapism and Procrastination

We use media for many purposes including information, entertainment, social interaction and to escape the stresses of daily life. A recent study by a German colleague answers the question: “Is this escapism the same as procrastination?”

Why We’re Reluctant to Get Specific

Do you ever put off doing the thing that would decrease your procrastination? An aversion to planning or adequately specifying what you need to do may be the problem.

Where Did The Summer Go?

While all procrastination is delay, not all delay is procrastination. New research has defined six types of delay. What kind of delay do you experience most?

Pre-crastination: What Is It, You Ask?

Is pre-crastination, like its namesake, “procrastination,” another example of a suboptimal choice? In a recent series of studies, researchers posed a simple question: "Would people naturally prefer to pick up an object that could be carried a short distance rather than an object that would have to be carried a long distance?" The answer will surprise you.

The Role of Goal Focus in Reducing Procrastination

If we want to overcome procrastination, is it more important to focus on the means of goal pursuit (i.e., how we will do a task) or to focus on the outcome of the task (i.e., the possible reward)? It depends.

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