How to overcome your procrastination habit, advice from a psychologist

This story is from The Pulse, a weekly health and science podcast.

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Procrastination is a common behavior many people struggle with, but for some it becomes a crippling habit with widespread ripple effects — affecting school, work, and everyday tasks. Some people casually shrug off their delays or attribute it as a part of their personality, “I’m just a procrastinator.”

So, why do people delay tasks, and what is the deeper meaning behind it? In order to overcome procrastination, first, one must understand the reasons behind their behavior.

Psychologist David Maloney had a chronic procrastination habit up until about 8 years ago when he hit an all time low while he was in graduate school. “It was a repeating nightmare. It was a perpetual guilt cycle. I would make these big elaborate plans about everything I was going to try and accomplish for the week ahead and invariably it wouldn’t work.”

Many people can relate to the experience of feeling a sudden motivation to catch up on work, school, cleaning and all the tasks they’ve been putting off — only to abandon their plans soon after. 

Maloney says that while people may have good intentions, making big plans or to-do lists can often lead to feelings of failure if they don’t complete everything they set out to do. 

“It’s this sort of internal bully we have. This is what you need to do, what you have to do. You should have done it yesterday. It’s that kind of narrative that puts all this pressure on us. And with that building pressure, it’s harder to take the action.”

This cycle of inaction and guilt led Maloney to think deeper about the root of his own procrastination — the causes and effects. He ultimately realized that his recurring feelings of guilt, shame and anxiety about his procrastination were tied to his self-esteem.

Maloney began to focus on replacing his feelings of guilt and shame with feelings of empowerment, transforming his chronic procrastination into productivity. He developed practical methods to break the cycle of inaction and stay consistent. He later shared these strategies in his book, “Procrastination Decoded”, offering guidance on overcoming procrastination and achieving success. 

He also created an online video course, “The Procrastination Course”, which breaks down the deeper causes of procrastination and how to stop suffering from inaction.  

David talked with Pulse reporter, Liz Tung, and shared some of his methods for overcoming chronic procrastination.

Interview highlights:

Schedule play into your day

A key part of Maloney’s transformation was scheduling time for guilt free play and relaxation. This approach may seem counterintuitive, since he already appeared to be relaxing most of the time during his procrastination. The problem was he couldn’t truly enjoy that time without feeling guilty because of all the other tasks he should’ve been doing. 

By shifting his mindset and thinking about relaxation as self-care rather than using it as an avoidance tactic, Maloney found himself more productive than ever. Instead of viewing tasks as obligations, he reframed them as choices, which helped reduce anxiety and boost motivation. 

“I can choose to do this … I prioritize guilt free play in my life, and my productivity is very easily achieved. I don’t need to push myself … The more I relax, the more productive I become.” 

Don’t make and break promises to yourself  

Maloney recommends procrastinators set clear time limits for work and tasks. He says the cycle of making and breaking promises to ourselves can be harmful for our self-esteem. Instead of constantly pushing back your start time — saying “I’ll start at 7” only to delay further — establish a firm end time. 

“We make these promises to ourselves all the time. And it’s in breaking those promises repeatedly that we’re kind of undermining our self-trust, our own self-esteem, our own authority.

Commit and don’t compromise

Maloney says to commit to the work time you’ve set for yourself without compromise. Even if it’s just a small burst of effort, it’s better to make some sort of progress rather than none at all. If your initial work isn’t your best, that’s ok too. 

“One of the rules is that there is no such thing as an unproductive work session. Sometimes that little struggle is because it’s complicated. Maybe it’s creative work. It’s not easy work. Maybe you just write something or you produce something and it’s not high-quality. You have to be willing to give yourself permission to have an unproductive, not great productivity session