Why Do We Procrastinate? When “I’ll Do It Later” Is About More Than Laziness

“I’ve procrastinated so long on this idea…” 😂

Yep. I actually said that to myself recently.

And considering how much time I've spent thinking about procrastination, avoiding things because I was procrastinating, and then finally doing the thing I had been avoiding… maybe I should have written about this sooner.

But there you have it.

I am a procrastinator.

Not about everything. In fact, that's what makes it interesting.

There are plenty of things I can knock out without much hesitation. Give me a project I'm excited about and I can disappear into it for hours. I can research, create, organize, redesign, rethink, and obsess over tiny details until I'm completely immersed.

But then there are certain tasks.

Those tasks are different.

They seem to set off some kind of panic button in my gut.

I know what needs to be done. I may even want to do it. I think about doing it. I make plans to do it. I tell myself I'm going to do it tomorrow.

And somehow… tomorrow keeps moving.

So why do we do this?

Procrastination Isn't Always About Laziness

One of the first things I discovered when I started looking into procrastination is that it isn't necessarily a character flaw.

Sometimes procrastination has very little to do with laziness and much more to do with emotion.

We tend to think procrastination means:

“I don't feel like doing this.”

But sometimes what we're really saying is:

“I don't want to feel what doing this is going to make me feel.”

That's a very different thing.

A task might trigger anxiety, uncertainty, perfectionism, fear of failure, fear of success, boredom, overwhelm, resentment, or even grief.

Sometimes the task itself isn't the problem.

The feeling attached to the task is.

And that certainly explains some of mine.

The Psychology Behind Procrastination

Psychologists often describe procrastination as a form of short-term emotional regulation.

In other words, we avoid something uncomfortable because avoiding it makes us feel better right now.

There's an immediate reward.

You don't have to make the phone call.

You don't have to open the document.

You don't have to make the decision.

You don't have to face the possibility that something might not turn out the way you imagined.

For a few minutes, hours, or sometimes months, you get relief.

The problem is that the relief doesn't last.

The task is still sitting there.

And now you've added another layer of emotion: guilt.

So the cycle becomes:

Task → discomfort → avoidance → temporary relief → guilt → more discomfort → more avoidance.

And around and around we go.

Sometimes the hardest part isn't actually doing the thing.

It's getting past the emotional wall that appears when we think about doing it.

Different People Procrastinate for Different Reasons

I've also realized that procrastinators aren't necessarily all procrastinating for the same reason.

Some people are perfectionists.

If they can't do something exceptionally well, they have trouble starting it at all.

Some are overwhelmed.

The project feels so large that their brain doesn't know where to begin.

Some are easily distracted and are constantly pulled toward things that provide a faster reward.

Some are decision avoiders.

They keep putting something off because making the decision means committing to one path.

And some people are emotionally attached to the outcome.

That's a big one.

When something matters deeply, starting—or finishing—can suddenly feel much more difficult.

Because now there is something to lose.

The Procrastination Personality

I don't think there is one single “procrastinator personality.”

But there are definitely patterns.

You might be a Perfectionist Procrastinator, endlessly tweaking something because “almost finished” isn't good enough.

You might be an Overwhelmed Procrastinator, staring at a mountain of tasks and having absolutely no idea which rock to move first.

You might be an Avoidant Procrastinator, putting off things that trigger anxiety or uncomfortable emotions.

You might be a Rebel Procrastinator, someone who doesn't respond well to feeling pressured—even when the pressure is coming entirely from yourself.

Or you might be a Last-Minute Procrastinator, the person who somehow becomes extraordinarily productive when a deadline is breathing down their neck.

And you can probably be more than one.

I know I am.

But Is Procrastination Always Bad?

There can actually be some benefits to procrastinating.

Sometimes stepping away from a problem gives your subconscious time to work on it.

Sometimes we need distance before we know what we really want.

Sometimes waiting prevents us from rushing into something simply because we feel pressured.

And sometimes procrastination is actually information.

If I continually avoid something, I have to ask myself:

Why?

Is it boring?

Does it overwhelm me?

Am I afraid I'll fail?

Am I afraid I'll succeed?

Does it conflict with something I really want?

Or is some part of me simply not ready?

That doesn't mean every delay is meaningful.

Sometimes procrastination is just procrastination.

But occasionally, the resistance is trying to tell us something.

The Downside

Of course, procrastination has consequences.

The task doesn't disappear.

Deadlines get closer.

Stress builds.

Things take longer than they needed to.

And perhaps worst of all, we can start losing trust in ourselves.

We tell ourselves:

“I'll do it tomorrow.”

Then tomorrow comes.

And we don't.

After enough repetitions, we begin to wonder whether we can rely on ourselves to follow through.

That's a pretty heavy price for a few hours of temporary relief.

My Latest Procrastination Project

Which brings me to my current procrastination project:

The angel number cards.

I've been working on this project for quite a while.

And this one is a little easier for me to understand.

Because I'm not simply procrastinating about finishing a project.

I'm procrastinating about finishing a piece of myself.

These cards are more than a product or a creative project to me.

They contain pieces of my journey, healing from Tina's death, divorcing and becoming me.

I've spent countless hours healing, creating, imagining, writing, drawing, revising, questioning, and envisioning what this could become.

My Light Language is part of it.

My artwork is part of it.

My spiritual journey is part of it.

And ultimately, I am part of it.

So I think I know what kind of emotional release is waiting for me when this particular project reaches the finish line.

And maybe that's what I've been avoiding.

Not the cards.

The ending.

Because once they're finished, something that has lived inside my imagination and creative space for so long will suddenly exist outside of me.

It will be real.

And there may be a moment when I have to stand back and say:

I did it.

That can be surprisingly emotional.

The Strange Relief of Finally Doing the Thing

And then there is that moment.

You finally do it.

The thing you've been avoiding.

The email gets sent.

The appointment gets made.

The closet gets cleaned.

The project gets finished.

The decision gets made.

And suddenly you realize:

“That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

Sometimes the anticipation was worse than the actual task.

There is an almost physical release that happens when something you've been carrying around mentally finally gets checked off.

The background noise stops.

Your brain gets quieter.

Your shoulders drop.

You breathe differently.

And sometimes you even laugh at yourself.

Why did I wait so long to do that?

I've had that experience more times than I care to admit.

Maybe procrastination isn't something we completely eliminate.

Maybe it's something we learn to listen to.

Sometimes the answer is:

Just do the damn thing.

Sometimes the answer is:

Slow down and figure out why you're resisting it.

And sometimes the answer is somewhere in between.

For me, I'm learning to recognize the difference.

When I feel that familiar little knot in my gut, I'm trying not to immediately label myself lazy, undisciplined, or incapable.

Instead, I'm asking:

What am I actually avoiding?

The task?

The uncertainty?

The possibility of failure?

The possibility of success?

Or the feelings that might come when it's finally finished?

Because sometimes procrastination isn't about not wanting to move forward.

Sometimes we're simply not ready for what happens after we do.

And maybe that's exactly where I am with these angel number cards.

I've procrastinated long enough.

It's probably time to finish them.

And then...

I'll see what comes next.

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