All of us procrastinate. While some procrastinate at certain times or when specific tasks are involved, many are chronic procrastinators. In this article, we dive deep into the neurobiology of procrastination, shedding light on the brain processes that lead us to postpone tasks.

Have you blamed social media, Netflix, sports, laziness, or sheer boredom for procrastinating? Well, procrastination has existed forever in humans, long before the present-day distractions came about. Many historical artists and writers have procrastinated - from the Greek poet Hesiod to Geoffrey Chaucer to Da Vinci, who took 16 years to paint the Mona Lisa.

A survey by Salary.com reported that 69% of employees waste time at work every day, and 34% blame procrastination as the main reason for their unproductive behaviour. So why do we procrastinate? What does modern science have to tell us about this counterproductive behaviour?  

Procrastination has a biological cause to it. It results from a constant battle between two parts of our brain: the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex.   

Putting things off?

Limbic System: This is the part of the brain that plays a role in emotions, particularly those that play an essential role in survival. The limbic system is linked to feelings of motivation and reward, learning, memory, hunger, thirst, and the production of hormones. It acts as a control centre for conscious and unconscious functions and regulates what the body does.  

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are a procras​tinator

So, when your brain tells you to escape or flee from an unpleasant situation (e.g., any task with deadlines in the context of this article), your limbic system is at work.  

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): This is the frontal part of the brain. It is crucial in various cognitive processes, including executive functioning, decision-making, and self-regulation. It plays a vital role in procrastination behaviour. Procrastination often involves difficulties with executive functioning, where people struggle with planning, initiating tasks, setting priorities, or putting in sustained effort to complete tasks. Any impairment to the PFC or its dysfunction can impair the ability to effectively self-regulate and inhibit impulsive or avoidant behaviours, contributing to procrastination.

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Despite the PFC’s best effort to warn you about the impending deadline, you tend to procrastinate because the limbic system is much stronger and often wins the battle. We give our brain what it needs to feel good now rather than later. Therefore, scientists call procrastination the "battle  between our present and future selves".  

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Open thinking framework

Another reason you default to procrastination is that your limbic system starts a process called ‘immediate mood repair’ when you get distracted from an unpleasant task. When you are distracted by what you consider a more pleasant task, your brain releases dopamine, commonly known as a ‘feel-good chemical.’(1) Your brain likes this, so you engage in this task at the cost of your work. Simply put, while procrastinating, you reward your brain for not doing the job that you are supposed to do because it feels better for your brain.(2)

In Conclusion

When we have a task that appears to be boring, frustrating, challenging, ambiguous or complex, our limbic system gets activated and hijacks the prefrontal cortex, leading to procrastination behaviour. But here is what you need to know: you can gain control over your procrastination behaviour.   

Here are some simple tips to help you overcome your procrastination behaviour: 

• Be mindful of your behaviour. Studies have shown that practising mindfulness can modify the connections between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex.

• You can improve emotion regulation through meditation, breathing, and other relaxation exercises.  

• The key is to start small if a task is overwhelming or causes anxiety and stress. Making progress, however small, fuels your sense of achievement and well-being.

Mindfulness practice to sharpen your focus

• Remember, dopamine is released when we do any pleasurable activity. The next time you procrastinate, apply this for task completion. Utilise your dopamine to bias yourself towards action or completion of a task. Try turning off your phone, setting a short-term goal, doing away with all distractions, and trying to complete your set task.   

Mindfulness practice to overcome distractions