It’s happened to all of us at least once: you get down to work on that important task you have to finish, but almost immediately you feel the urge to check your phone, remember you have to tidy the house, or want to call Aunt Conchi, whom you haven’t spoken to in a year. We know we’re putting something off and we know it will have consequences, but despite that, we do it anyway.
Procrastination, which consists of postponing important tasks, even knowing that this delay will have negative consequences, is often linked to a failure in self-regulation. That is, to a lack of willpower and an inability to force ourselves to do what we have to do at that moment. And that may be true, but it’s only part of the story.
A recent study has revealed that people prone to procrastination are just as capable of setting goals as anyone else, and of planning how to achieve them. The difference lies in the emotions they bring to those projects.
It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you have an “allergy” to emotional anticipation
Researchers at York St John University asked 111 people to define six relevant life goals: three short-term (to be completed within a month) and three long-term (with a minimum horizon of six months).
Next, they were asked to assess how much effort they thought each goal would require, the likelihood of success, their perceived level of control, and the difficulty of each objective. So far, nothing surprising.
However, they introduced a key element: emotional anticipation. That is, people had to imagine how they would feel in the future if they achieved that goal and, even more importantly, how they would feel if they failed.
Then the difference became clear.
People prone to procrastination not only perceived their goals as more difficult or less likely to succeed, but they also experienced greater anxiety at the prospect of failure. It wasn’t simply a rational assessment of risk, but an intense and almost instantaneous emotional reaction. In other words, they don’t procrastinate because they can’t plan to begin, but because starting generates an emotional state they struggle to manage.
The invisible weight of anticipatory anxiety
This finding fits with an idea that is gaining increasing traction: procrastination, not as a failure of self-control, but rather as an emotional regulation strategy in an attempt to avoid discomfort.
When the prospect of starting a task triggers negative emotions such as anticipatory anxiety, insecurity, or fear of failure, the brain looks for a quick fix. And that fix is usually postponement. Not because the task isn’t important, but precisely because it’s too important.
If we anticipate that something unpleasant might happen, our natural tendency is to avoid it. That’s why, for procrastinators, opening an important email isn’t simply opening an email, but rather the possibility of being exposed to bad news. Similarly, starting a project isn’t just about writing the first page or the first line of code, but about facing the doubt of whether they’ll be able to finish it to a high standard.
Faced with this emotional threat, procrastination acts as an immediate painkiller. If we don’t open the email, we don’t receive the bad news. If we don’t get the medical test, we postpone a worrying diagnosis, and so on. In practice, we anticipate such overwhelming discomfort that we decide to postpone that moment, even though we know it’s not the wisest course of action because the problem remains (and will likely continue to grow).
The paradox of deadlines: when the urgent weighs more
One of the most striking findings of the study relates to short-term goals. In theory, long-term goals should generate more pressure since they are more important and complex, meaning the chances and consequences of failure can be greater. However, with procrastination, the opposite is true.
Short-term goals generate more anxiety for people who procrastinate because the immediacy amplifies the emotional intensity and makes them harder to mentally avoid. A near deadline leaves no room for the comforting fantasy that we can do it, fix it, or improve it later. It forces us to deal with the here and now. And that “now” is precisely what triggers anxiety and fear.
Basically, it’s as if time compresses the emotion. The closer the deadline gets, the more intense the discomfort becomes, and paradoxically, the more tempting it is to avoid it.
How to deal with procrastination due to anticipatory anxiety?
This new perspective on procrastination suggests that typical advice like “Get more organized” or “Make lists” is superficial; it doesn’t address the core of the problem. What should we do instead?
1. Change the emotional time, not the calendar
Most people try to manage procrastination by shuffling tasks around their schedule like a game of Tetris. But the problem isn’t just the actual time involved, but the emotional perception of that time. If something triggers anticipatory anxiety, your brain experiences it as if you have to do it now, even if it’s days away. That’s why you get overwhelmed.
Therefore, instead of asking yourself, “When do I do it?”, approach it differently: “When can I start feeling uncomfortable about this?” It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s a very effective strategy because you consciously choose when to feel uncomfortable, instead of letting it consume you all day. This way, you regain control, instead of letting anxiety dictate your actions.
2. Don’t divide the task; reduce emotional exposure
The typical advice for dealing with procrastination is to break the task down into smaller, more manageable parts. It works, but only partially. If the problem is the task itself, even small steps will still trigger anxiety or fear of failure.
Therefore, it’s advisable to divide the project according to its emotional intensity. For example, if something overwhelms you, start with the task that bothers you the least. When the anxiety subsides, move on to the next one. This way, you progress not through productivity, but through emotional tolerance, which reduces the urge to avoid it.
3. Negotiate with avoidance, don’t fight it
Trying to “defeat” procrastination, seeing it as your enemy, usually intensifies it. Ultimately, you’re engaging in a relentless battle against that part of yourself that tries to protect you from discomfort. Therefore, don’t fight it, negotiate with it.
You can tell yourself, “Okay, I don’t want to do this because it causes me a lot of anxiety. I’ll spend 5 minutes on it and then decide if I continue.” Generally, once you overcome that initial resistance, the rest is easy. However, if you notice your anxiety increasing, stop and come back to it later.
Ultimately, it seems that procrastination isn’t solved simply by improving discipline or self-control, but by reducing the initial emotional friction and the discomfort it triggers. When that tension diminishes, the part of you that resists will raise the white flag and allow you to begin.
Source:
Helgi, J. et. Al. (2026) High Trait Procrastination Predicts Increased Goal Anxiety Despite Invariance in Simulation of Goal Achievement. Psychological Reports; 10.1177.
Leave a Reply