Why Do We Procrastinate?

Procrastination is like when you have a big bowl of broccoli for dinner but choose to eat candy instead. You know the broccoli is good for you, and the candy will make your teeth hurt later, but the candy tastes better right now.

Your brain has two parts fighting each other. One part is the rational planner. It says, 'Do your homework so you get an A.' The other part is the feeling thinker. It says, 'This looks boring. Let's watch TV for five minutes.'

The feeling thinker usually wins when you are tired or stressed. If a task makes you feel worried or bored, your brain wants to fix that bad feeling immediately. Watching a funny video fixes the boredom now. Doing math fixes it only if you finish, which might be later.

So, you are not lazy. You are just trying to make yourself feel happy in this exact moment. When you finally do the task, it is often because the fear of being late becomes bigger than the boredom of doing the work.