Focus & Routines
How to Stop Procrastinating: A Habit-Based Guide
How to stop procrastinating: why it happens, quick fixes for today, and habits (start times, tiny first steps, other people) that prevent it next week.
10 min readHabit guides / Start what you avoid
How to Stop Procrastinating
Procrastination is mostly about avoiding an unpleasant feeling, not about laziness. Start with the guide below, find the cause that fits you, then pick one habit that makes the next start easier: a smaller first step, a start time, or someone to start with.
The starting point.
Step 01
Understand the cause
Find out whether you're avoiding a feeling, discounting the future, or stuck on an unclear task.
Focus & Routines
Why Do I Procrastinate? The Psychology Explained
Why do we procrastinate on things we want to do? The psychology behind it (mood repair, present bias, task aversion, self-doubt) and what each cause suggests.
8 min readStep 02
Start in two minutes
Shrink the first step until it takes less than two minutes, then begin.
Habit Science
The 2-Minute Rule for Habits: Make Starting Easier
The 2-Minute Rule: shrink any habit to a two-minute start so you begin even on low days. Examples, common mistakes, and how to scale up.
16 min readStep 03
Give tasks a time
Plan the day in blocks so important tasks have a start time, not just a deadline.
Focus & Routines
Time Blocking: How to Plan Your Day (With Examples)
Time blocking explained: how to plan your day in blocks, how long blocks should be, example schedules, and how to keep blocks when plans slip.
9 min readStep 04
Lower the stakes
If fear of doing it badly stops you, separate drafting from judging and define good enough.
Focus & Routines
Perfectionism and Procrastination: How to Break the Cycle
Why perfectionism and procrastination feed each other, and practical ways out: rough first drafts, 'good enough' standards, process goals and self-compassion.
8 min readPut it into practice.
- Write the next physical action, not the whole task.
- Give it a start time today.
- Put your phone in another room.
- Start alongside someone else if you can.
- Forgive yesterday and plan the next start.
Explore a specific question.
Focus & Routines
The 5 Second Rule: How It Works and When It Helps
Mel Robbins' 5 Second Rule explained: count 5-4-3-2-1 and move. How to use it, why it may work, what the evidence says, and when you need more.
7 min read Focus & Routines
ADHD Procrastination: Why It Happens and What Helps
Why ADHD procrastination isn't laziness, the four things that get an ADHD brain moving, and how to build them into your week instead of waiting for a deadline.
9 min read
Focus & Routines
ADHD Paralysis: How to Start a Task When You're Stuck
You know what to do and still can't start. What ADHD paralysis is, the three common kinds, and small ways to get moving within the next few minutes.
8 min read
Focus & Routines
Structured Procrastination: How It Works and When It Helps
John Perry's structured procrastination explained: use the urge to avoid one task to get others done, how to set up your list, and its limits.
6 min read