The Science Behind Why It’s So Difficult to Start Doing Your Work

Understanding Procrastination

I’ll admit it, I procrastinated writing this article about procrastination. I told myself I just needed to find the perfect topic – one that would somehow combine psychology, productivity, and human nature into an organized, informative article with a nice finish. Then, the commitment that naturally comes with 6 AP classes slowly started to consume my life, and the blinking cursor on my blank document started to irritate me, and before I knew it, I had spent more time thinking about writing than actually writing. If that sounds familiar, you’re in good hands (and, good science to back it up as well!). The Educational company Magoosh conducted a study that found that 86% of high school students said they procrastinated on their assignments. Research by Dr. Piers Steel, author of “The Procrastination Equation”, argues that it’s not about laziness at all. It’s about emotion regulation and how our brains try (and eventually fail) to avoid discomfort. The problem isn’t that we don’t want to work. It’s that our brains are unfortunately pretty good at convincing us that we’ll feel better if we don’t start work now. With that being said, I’ll break down the most common types of procrastination, and how to outsmart it well and effectively!

1. Perfectionist Procrastination: Perfectionist procrastination happens when you wait until the conditions are just right: your drink has the right amount of flavor and is the perfect temperature, your desk is neat and spotless, and you also feel motivated, organized, and the best you have ever felt in your entire life. This type of procrastination is less about time management and more about… fear management. The fear of not doing something well enough activates the amygdala, the brain’s emotional alarm system, which interprets imperfection as a kind of threat. Neuroscientists at Stanford University have shown that when the amygdala perceives potential failure, it floods the body with stress hormones that shut down the prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for planning and decision-making. In short, your brain attempts to protect you from the pain of not being perfect by stopping you from doing what you need to do altogether. The solution? Minimize the threat. Break your task into mini tasks so small that your brain doesn’t have the capacity to panic about them. Set short time limits (they can be as short as two minutes) to bypass the perfectionism trap. Most importantly, remember that something being done is better than being perfect. Slow progress will always be better than stagnant perfection!

2. Avoidant Procrastination: Avoidant procrastinators are experts at productive avoidance. You could find them color-coding their notes or deep cleaning their desk to distract themself from a more stressful task. Again, the culprit here isn’t loneliness, but dopamine. According to research from the University of Michigan, the brain’s reward system prioritizes short-term pleasure over long-term goals. That’s why doom scrolling on TikTok or a small snack feels immediately gratifying (the dopamine release!) while starting a complex task feels like you’re getting ready to climb Mount Everest. To trick your brain into cooperating, make the task rewarding from the start. Use the 5-minute rule: tell yourself you’ll work for just 5 minutes. The brain will most likely shift from avoidance to engagement, and once the task is underway, we will have a natural tendency to want to finish what we’ve started (this is called the Zeigarnik effect!). Complement that with small rewards (music, a snack, or a relaxing break after), and you’ll find the emotional resistance goes away.

3. Decisional Procrastination: Sometimes, procrastination hides behind the guise of overthinking. You aren’t avoiding the task, you tell yourself. You’re just researching more, or waiting to be sure, or deciding the best approach. Sound familiar? Cognitive psychology links this to the prefrontal cortex, which handles complex reasoning. When it’s overloaded with too many options or too much uncertainty, it triggers what’s called “analysis paralysis”. A study by Dr. Sheena Iyengar at Columbia University shows that when people are presented with too many choices, they're less likely to decide at all. To combat this, limit your options to two or three, set a decision deadline, and remind yourself that indecision is a decision, except it’s one that keeps you stuck. Embracing imperfection in your choices is what actually leads to movement, and mistakes will always be inevitable.

4. Thrill-Seeker/Deadline-Driven Procrastination: Do you know any adrenaline chasers? People who swear that they work better under pressure? What they claim is true to an extent, as the stress hormone cortisol does temporarily boost alertness and focus. But, research has shown that chronic reliance on last-minute stress creates long-term dopamine imbalances, leaving people more anxious and less motivated as a whole. If you crave that sense of urgency, create it without causing any sort of stress for yourself. Break big projects into smaller deadlines and visually track your progress. Checklists, productivity apps, or even cute sticky notes can simulate that satisfying “rush” of completion in a healthier way. In conclusion, reward yourself for finishing early, not just for beating the clock!

Rewiring Your Habits

The key to overcoming procrastination is self-awareness. Each type of procrastination has its own neurological “script”, and by understanding which one(s) you tend to use, you can rewrite that script. This is called neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways through repetition and reward. Each time you act despite discomfort, you’re teaching your brain that the action is safe and not scary. And, maybe that’s what this article was really about all along (at least for me). I didn’t need the perfect topic or the perfect timing, just a willingness to start (though I find it ironic how writing about my procrastination itself cured this). So, if you’re reading this and you find that you’re putting something off (whether it be a small homework assignment or an important application), consider this your sign to start small. You could start scared, or even start imperfectly, but what matters is that you start. At the end of the day, the most powerful way to beat procrastination isn’t to wait for motivation, but to prove to your brain over and over again that you don’t need it, one imperfect action at a time. With that being said, I now have to go back to my AP Biology notes, before that task turns into something I procrastinate.

Wong, A. (n.d.). Students suffer at the hands of time: the root of procrastination in high school. The Dispatch. https://thedispatchonline.net/17272/indepth/students-suffer-at-the-hands-of-time-the-root-of-procrastination-in-high-school/ Stress disrupts our ability to plan ahead. (n.d.). Stanford University. https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2020/04/stress-disrupts-ability-plan-ahead https://news.umich.edu/dopamine-new-theory-integrates-its-role-in-learning-motivation/ https://business.columbia.edu/press-releases/cbs-press-releases/how-too-many-options-can-impair-ability-make-skillful-choices#:~:text=NEW%252520YORK%252520%E2%80%94%252520June%25252030%25252C%2525202011,lucrative%252520gamble%252520of%252520five%252520dollars.