Tired of Procrastination?
Stop Relying on Willpower and Make Not Doing the Thing Painful Instead
We've all been there. Staring at a task we should be doing, yet finding ourselves scrolling through endless social media feeds or suddenly deciding the floor needs cleaning.
Procrastination is a common struggle, and often the advice we get doesn't seem to truly help.
You hear things like "just be kind to yourself" or "take small steps," which can feel too gentle when your brain is wired for comfort. Or perhaps you encounter absurdly harsh advice that just isn't sustainable.
The real issue isn't a lack of motivation or mental strength; it's simply that it's far too easy to avoid being disciplined. Your brain instinctively chooses the easiest, least painful option unless something external forces it to do otherwise.
Think about it: you might promise yourself you'll wake up early to work on a project, but if staying cozy in bed has no immediate negative consequence, guess what wins?
Instead of trying to force yourself through sheer willpower – which is notoriously unreliable – the most effective solution is to make the alternative, the act of procrastinating, so annoying and inconvenient that you do the task just to escape the discomfort. This is the crucial point often missed.
Why Willpower Fails Against Procrastination
Most people fight against their own willpower when trying to overcome procrastination, but this is a losing battle. Your brain is hardwired for immediate comfort and will always lean towards the path of least resistance. This is why you're already capable of discipline in situations where the alternative is truly awful. You go to work because getting fired is worse than showing up. You attend class because failing is worse. You pay rent because homelessness is worse. These are examples where the consequence of not doing the thing is so significant and immediate that it triggers action. You're already disciplined; you just need the right level of discomfort to activate it.
The Inconvenience Principle: Making Procrastination Uncomfortable
The core strategy isn't about becoming more motivated; it's about lazy-proofing your environment so that not being disciplined becomes the more uncomfortable option. Behavioral psychology backs this up: people change habits more effectively through consequences than inspiration. As the concept often referred to as the inversion of the second law of behavior change suggests, if you want a habit to stick, you need to make the bad option painful. Studies show that immediate consequences shape behavior more effectively than long-term rewards. Pain avoidance is generally stronger than delayed gratification.
Here's how to apply this principle to combat procrastination:
- Make the Desired Action the Easiest Option: The principle of "Temptation Bundling" also applies here by making the thing you want to do the path of least resistance. But more powerfully, make the undesired action difficult.
- Physical Discomfort: If you struggle to wake up early, don't just set your alarm next to your bed. Put it across the room, perhaps next to a glass of water. When it rings, you have to get up to turn it off. Since you're already up, drinking the water helps wake you up, and suddenly, going back to sleep feels like more effort than staying awake. Boom, you're up.
- Eliminate Digital Distractions: If you get distracted while working and fall down internet rabbit holes, make those distractions physically annoying to access. Use website blockers, but if you know you'll just disable them, go manual. Turn off your phone and leave it in another room. If your laptop is the issue, do the same. Most of the time, the effort of retrieving and logging back into devices will be too much hassle.
Leveraging Financial and Social Consequences
Physical inconvenience is powerful, but financial discomfort hits differently. People are often more motivated to avoid losing money than they are to gain it – this is a psychological principle known as loss aversion.
- Put Money on the Line: If you keep procrastinating on exercise, put money on the line. Tell a friend you'll send them £10 every time you skip a session. Now, skipping isn't just a minor delay; it means losing £10. If £10 isn't enough of a sting, increase it to £50. Even more powerfully, use services that donate your money to an organization you dislike if you fail. Suddenly, procrastinating on that workout session feels much less convenient. The key is making the pain immediate. While a skipped workout has vague long-term consequences, losing money right now makes it matter.
Humans are also social creatures who care about what others think, even if we pretend we don't. You can use this to your advantage.
- Announce Your Intentions: If you need to finish a project but keep procrastinating, tell someone you respect about it and promise them an update by a specific deadline. Now, slacking isn't just disappointing yourself; it's potentially embarrassing. Trying to quit a bad habit? Announce it to your family or friends (not in a boastful way, but in a way that makes backing out feel foolish). This is why accountability groups are effective; nobody wants to be the one who failed.
- Body Doubling: Simply having someone else present while you work can make you more focused. This is called body doubling. Even if they aren't doing the same task, their presence makes your brain register that you're being observed, creating pressure to be productive. If a real person isn't available, joining an online co-working session can have a similar effect.
- Visual Reminders: Even small things like changing your phone wallpaper to an image representing a goal can help. A study found people who did this were more likely to follow through. Every time you see it, it serves as a reminder, and quitting feels like it would make you look silly.
Fine-Tuning Your Procrastination-Fighting Strategy
While the concept is about creating discomfort, it's important to be smart about it.
- Start Manageable: Don't set consequences that are too extreme from the start. If losing £10 per skipped workout motivates you, great; but if setting it at £100 means you skip anyway and just end up broke and demoralised, it's counterproductive. Start with a level of discomfort that's annoying but manageable.
- Beware of Loopholes: Your brain is clever and will look for ways to cheat the system. If you put your alarm across the room but then start keeping a second pillow to cover your ears, you've created a loophole. Try to always be smarter than yourself and adjust your setup if you find a way to cheat.
- Embrace the Pressure: Some might worry that these methods feel like punishment or pure pressure. But honestly, so what? Extreme methods are often what get results; they make you act when you otherwise wouldn't. If your strategy isn't strong enough to override your natural inclination towards laziness, it's useless.
- Aim for Progress, Not Perfection: You won't be perfect. Sometimes, you'll see the consequences coming and still choose to procrastinate. That's normal. The goal is not perfection; it's making the right choice easier and the wrong choice (procrastination) harder. If being undisciplined is too inconvenient eight out of ten times, that's a significant win.
Ultimately, overcoming procrastination isn't about suddenly transforming into a naturally disciplined person. It's about intelligently setting up your environment and consequences so that the easy option is actually the one that moves you forward.
This leverages your brain's natural preference for comfort by making the comfort lie in doing the task, not avoiding it.