Why do we procrastinate?

I recently discovered a creator named Sarah who makes an ongoing video series called “Things I’ve Been Putting Off.” The first video I saw was her repairing a pane of glass in a hutch—a task she avoided for two years—yet the whole thing was done in three hours. In another, she simply moves her shoes to a different storage spot to free up closet space. It’s strangely satisfying to watch her knock out the same kinds of lingering tasks we all have on our lists but never seem to get to.

I can’t tell you how often I’m with a client and we run into something that’s been put off: a small repair, an unpacked box, a piece of furniture still waiting to be assembled. It happens to me, too—I recently spent months putting off conditioning a pair of leather boots… a task that ultimately took five minutes.

Another creator, Christi, films a series called “How Long Does It Actually Take?” where she times herself doing things she’s been avoiding. Cleaning the lint trap (36 minutes), repairing her phone screen (1.5 hours), cleaning makeup brushes (18 minutes). Spoiler: it’s almost always less time than we imagine.

So why do we procrastinate? Research shows that procrastination is a self-defeating behavior driven by short-term comfort at the expense of long-term ease. If something feels boring, overwhelming, or time-consuming in the moment, our brains will happily steer us toward anything else—hello, social media scrolling. 🫠

Here are a few strategies I use (and recommend) to beat procrastination:

The Mel Robbins 5-Second Rule: Count down from five, and when you hit one, take action before your brain talks you out of it.

Put it on your calendar: Find a time slot, schedule it, and when the moment arrives—no negotiating.

Make it enjoyable: Pair the task with something you like—fold laundry while listening to a podcast, treat yourself to a coffee on the way to the hardware store, etc.

At the end of the day, most of the tasks we avoid aren’t actually hard—they just feel hard in the moment. But every time we cross one off, we create a little more ease, a little more space, and a lot more momentum. So consider this your gentle nudge: pick one thing you’ve been putting off and give it five minutes today. You might be surprised by how good it feels to finally get it done.