Procrastination: Why We Delay and How to Start Anyway

Phase 1: Prepare

Step 1 Warm-up recall

From M7.L2: what are the two parts of an if-then plan?

Your answer

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Step 2 Learning goal

By the end of this lesson you can:

name common causes of delay (Foundation);
calculate the cost of late starts (Core);
pick a small first step (Core).

Phase 2: Teach

Step 3 A familiar example

Dreading a cold swimming pool, you stand at the edge. The longer you wait, the colder the idea feels, and the first step is the hardest.

Step 4 Clear explanation

Procrastination is putting off a task even though you expect to be worse off for it. In a large review, Steel (2007) found that it is linked to tasks that feel unpleasant, to low confidence, to rewards far in the future and to being easily distracted. It is not simply laziness, and it is not fixed.

Delay does not remove the work; it squeezes the same hours into fewer days.

Plan (invented 12-hour task)	Days available	Hours per day
Start on day 1 of 10	10	12 / 10 = 1.2
Start with 3 days left	3	12 / 3 = 4

The invented table shows the cost: a 12-hour task started on day 1 of 10 needs 12 / 10 = 1.2 hours a day, but started with 3 days left it needs 12 / 3 = 4 hours a day, and your attention (Module 2) and sleep (Module 6) will not stretch that far.

Helpful moves include: shrink the first step to something tiny (open the notes and write one question); work for just five minutes and then decide whether to stop; remove cues for the alternative (phone away); and pair the start with an if-then plan. Forgive a slip quickly: self-blame tends to make the dread bigger. If the task keeps feeling impossible, it may be too large, so break it into steps. See spacing effect for why early, short sessions beat one late block.

Step 5 Worked example (4 marks)

A task needs 15 hours. Compare starting with 5 days left and starting with 15 days left, in hours per day.

Five days: 15 / 5 = 3 hours a day. (1 mark)
Fifteen days: 15 / 15 = 1 hour a day. (1 mark)
Difference: 3 − 1 = 2 hours a day. (1 mark)
Answer: 3 hours a day versus 1 hour a day. (1 mark)

Phase 3: Practise

Step 6 Learner practice (instant-marked)

1. Procrastination is best described as:

2. A 12-hour task with 3 days left needs:

3. A helpful first step is to:

4. After a slip, it helps to:

Phase 4: Close

Step 7 Recap

Delay is linked to unpleasant tasks, doubt and distant rewards.
Late starts squeeze the same hours into fewer days.
Shrink the first step and remove cues.

Step 8 Exit ticket (ungraded)

A 10-hour task with 2 days left: hours per day?

Your answer

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Step 9 Go further (Extension)

Pick a task you are putting off and write its tiniest first step.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it fails
Waiting for motivation to start	Start small; motivation often follows.
Planning huge first steps	Make it tiny.
Blaming yourself for slips	Restart without blame.

Limits. Review evidence is correlational in places; if delay feels overwhelming or constant, talk to a counsellor or doctor.