Become an Unstoppable Productivity Badass

The Psychology of Procrastination: Why We Do It and How to Overcome It

No. 1 out of 5 little-known secrets from the field of psychology to supercharge your productivity

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

This article is part of a series on the psychology of productivity. Start here.

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task that needs to be done.

It’s often associated with feelings of guilt, shame, and anxiety. And it can be a major obstacle to getting your work done.

So, why do we procrastinate? The answer lies in psychology.

There are several psychological factors that contribute to procrastination, including:

• Perfectionism: The belief that your work must be perfect to be successful. This can lead to paralysis by analysis as you strive for perfection and get nothing done.
• Fear of failure: The fear that you will fail if you don’t do something perfectly. This can lead to procrastination as you try to avoid the possibility of failure.
• Fear of success: The fear that you cannot handle success if you achieve it. This can lead to procrastination as you try to avoid the pressure of…