Why do I keep putting things off?

By No Rush · Updated October 20, 2026

The short answer

You put things off when they feel unpleasant, pay off only later or seem too hard, and something easier is close by. A review of 691 findings on procrastination found these were among the strongest links. People who are easily distracted put things off more. It can help to make the first step smaller and tie it to a set moment, like opening the file right after lunch.

Four things that make you put something off

Psychologist Piers Steel brought together 691 findings from research on procrastination. He describes it as putting off something you meant to do, even though you expect to be worse off for it. These four came out as strong and steady links.

The task feels unpleasant

Tasks that feel boring or unpleasant get put off more. Think of a form, a phone call you dread, or an email you don't know how to begin.

The reward is far away

When the payoff or the deadline is weeks away, something else wins today. Close to the deadline, starting suddenly gets easier.

You doubt you can do it

If you don't expect to manage, starting feels pointless. People who trust they can do a task put it off less.

Something easier is close by

Your phone, a message, one more video. People who are easily distracted put things off more. In Steel's review, this was among the strongest links.

How common it is

It's very common. Steel cites estimates that 80 to 95 percent of college students put things off. In his review, it also seemed to be getting more common.

If for weeks you can hardly start anything, even things you used to enjoy, it may be more than putting things off. Then talk to your doctor.

After a day of putting off

Many people get angry with themselves then. In a study of first-year students, those who forgave themselves for putting off studying for their first exams felt less bad afterwards. Before the next exams, they put off studying less.

Researchers Fuschia Sirois and Tim Pychyl see putting off as a way to feel better now, at a cost to yourself later. Seen that way, blaming yourself makes the task feel even worse.

So after an afternoon that didn't work out, say what happened in one plain sentence, like I left the form today, and set up the first step for tomorrow.

Making the start smaller

Make the first step so small that it hardly feels like the task. For example: open the document and type the title. Or: look up the phone number and put it on your screen.

Then tie it to a moment, like when I've had lunch, I'll open the document. In a review of 94 studies with more than 8,000 people, plans in this when-then form clearly helped people reach their goals.

In the No Rush app

In Tasks, Making it smaller lets you break something you keep putting off into pieces, until there's a start you can do in two minutes. On Home, What's next? sets out one small step, and if it's still too big, you tap Smaller.

What you plan to do goes into Steps, with a day and a time.

No Rush app

An iPhone app for people who feel stuck. It sets out one small next step at a time and tells you why that one. It is not therapy.

Sign up free Take the test For iPhone. Coming soon to the App Store. The first seven days are free in the app. After that, you choose whether to subscribe. Sign up now and the app stays free for you, for life.

Sources

Steel (2007). The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65-94. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65
Wohl, Pychyl & Bennett (2010). I forgive myself, now I can study: how self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(7), 803-808. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.029
Sirois & Pychyl (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(2), 115-127. doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12011
Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1