{"id":127991,"date":"2024-08-05T09:26:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T13:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=127991"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:34:02","slug":"psychology-of-procrastination-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#8217;t Stay Focused"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What&#8217;s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination\/\">psychology of procrastination<\/a>? Why are humans ill-equipped to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-manage-distractions\/\">deal with distractions<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One reason we find ourselves procrastinating is that we don\u2019t prepare for even the most obvious things that might go wrong, according to Timothy A. Pychyl. You know yourself and know how you typically behave, but you likely don\u2019t use that information to your advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out how that leads to two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-causes-procrastination-2\/\">causes of procrastination<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-we-aren-t-prepared-to-deal-with-distractions\">We Aren\u2019t Prepared to Deal With Distractions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The psychology of procrastination explains that <strong>one of the most common obstacles that can throw you off when you work toward a goal is also one of the simplest: distractions<\/strong>. Whether they come in the form of colleagues knocking on your door or push notifications from your favorite social media app, distractions pull your attention away from what you need to do and make it harder for you to make meaningful progress. But as Pychyl notes, you probably don\u2019t prepare yourself to run this gauntlet of interruptions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-to-do-about-it\"><strong>What to Do About It<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pychyl recommends that you <strong>start by reducing potential distractions (especially internet-related distractions) before you even sit down to begin work<\/strong>. You might put your smartphone away in a drawer, close all of the windows on your computer except the one you need, and draw your shades.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You might also find it useful to take note of the distractions you face as you\u2019re trying to get work done <\/strong>so you can plan for them. Pychyl recommends observing the points in a task where you tend to give in to distraction. Plan to get past these predictable hurdles by removing the distractions that pull you away from your work or by making a predecision about how you\u2019ll handle these difficult moments. (Shortform note: One way to observe what\u2019s distracting you might be to borrow a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/eckhart-tolle-meditation-mindfulness\/\">meditation<\/a> technique where you imagine your thoughts as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulnessmuse.com\/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy\/leaves-on-a-stream-cognitive-defusion-exercise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">leaves floating on a stream<\/a>. Each time a thought distracts you, notice it, then place it on a leaf and let it float away. This allows you to practice letting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-stop-getting-distracted-by-thoughts\/\">distracting thoughts<\/a> come and go without having to act on them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Other psychologists agree with Pychyl that having an environment where you can work without distractions or temptations can play a crucial role in helping you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-stop-procrastinating-and-start-studying\/\">avoid procrastination<\/a> and get work done. In fact, as researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/science-and-health\/2018\/6\/6\/17413000\/marshmallow-test-replication-mischel-psychology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">re-evaluate classic studies<\/a> with more rigorous methods, they\u2019re finding it\u2019s less important to be good at self-control than to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/remove-distractions\/\">eliminate distractions<\/a>. The people who seem to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/melania-trumps-be-best\/\">be best<\/a> at self-control are actually those who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/science-and-health\/2018\/1\/15\/16863374\/willpower-overrated-self-control-psychology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">encounter the fewest temptations<\/a> that might pull their attention from a task. This suggests that anticipating and eliminating potential distractions, as Pychyl recommends, might help you stay more focused on your work and make you more likely to accomplish what you want to get done.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-we-don-t-recognize-personality-traits-that-make-us-likely-to-procrastinate\">We Don\u2019t Recognize Personality Traits That Make Us Likely to Procrastinate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Another obstacle that might stand between you and your goals\u2014and divert you toward procrastination if you don\u2019t prepare for it\u2014is more difficult to change: your personality<\/strong>. Pychyl explains that certain personality traits have been linked to procrastination. Three traits, in particular, seem to have a marked link to higher rates of procrastination: Neuroticism (the tendency to experience negative emotions more than other people), impulsivity (the inclination to make choices without thinking them through fully), and perfectionism (specifically the kind of perfectionism caused by your perception that other people have unrealistically high expectations of your performance).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: While it\u2019s difficult\u2014but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2022\/03\/how-to-change-your-personality-happiness\/621306\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">not impossible<\/a>\u2014to change your personality, you can defy your instincts at least temporarily. In a beloved episode of <em>Seinfeld<\/em>, George Costanza <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/tv\/a35924\/seinfeld-the-opposite-episode\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decides to do the opposite<\/a> of what he\u2019d usually do. He orders something different for lunch, strikes up a conversation with a beautiful woman, and speaks openly about not having a job and living with his parents\u2014which leads to him getting a job and moving out. You don\u2019t need to change <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-genius\/\">who you are<\/a> to change how you behave. But experts say there\u2019s a tool you can use to be a little <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/fulfillment-any-age\/201707\/research-suggests-cure-neuroticism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">less neurotic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/mindfully-present-fully-alive\/201708\/impulsive-intentional\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">impulsive<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/how-to-overcome-perfectionism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">perfectionistic<\/a>: mindfulness. By becoming more aware of what you\u2019re thinking and feeling, you can decide more intentionally how you want to respond.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-to-do-about-it-nbsp\"><strong>What to Do About It<\/strong>:&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While you could try to change your personality, that\u2019s not the strategy that Pychyl recommends. Instead, he advises that you <strong>pay attention to the traits you have and how they prompt you to respond in your usual way <\/strong>(that is, how they make you prone to procrastination). Then, you can decide how to change that response. For example, you can counter the perfectionism that arises from thinking your boss won\u2019t accept anything except brilliant ideas by learning to remind yourself that all ideas are welcomed and valued at your team\u2019s meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In addition to finding that certain personality traits seem to correlate with procrastination, researchers have found likely links with some other common traits. For example, people with attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/to-procrastinate\/\">to procrastinate<\/a> as a way to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/adhd-and-chronic-procrastination-20379\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put off tasks that feel overwhelming<\/a>, either because they don\u2019t know how to get started or because they keep getting distracted. Experts say that people with more severe ADHD symptoms are more likely to experience <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/low-mood-and-anxiety\/\">depression and anxiety<\/a> linked to their procrastination. But dividing tasks into small pieces, using a reward for motivation, and limiting distractions can help people with ADHD learn to procrastinate less.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether or not you have personality traits linked to procrastination, Pychyl emphasizes that <strong>you can\u2019t rely solely on willpower to overcome it<\/strong>. He explains that willpower is limited, and it\u2019s much more effective to make realistic plans to curb your procrastination than to assume you can change through sheer force of will. But when you know you\u2019ll need to rely on willpower, Pychyl recommends preparing by getting enough sleep, spending time with people who give you energy, and not relying on willpower at the end of the day when you\u2019re tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: For decades, psychologists subscribed to a theory called \u201cego depletion,\u201d which says willpower is a finite resource, as Pychyl suggests. As detailed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/baumeister-willpower\/\">Roy Baumeister<\/a> and Jon Tierney\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguin.co.uk\/books\/178740\/willpower-by-tierney-roy-f-baumeister-and-john\/9780141049489\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Willpower<\/em><\/a>, hundreds of studies seem to show that cognitive effort draws down our reserve of willpower. But experts have discovered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/health_and_science\/cover_story\/2016\/03\/ego_depletion_an_influential_theory_in_psychology_may_have_just_been_debunked.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">major flaws in the research<\/a>, and it\u2019s possible the effect isn\u2019t real at all. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/indistractable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Indistractable<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>author Nir Eyal explains it looks like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/science\/psychology\/what-is-willpower\/\">willpower is<\/a> more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nirandfar.com\/ego-depletion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">like an emotion<\/a>: Emotions come and go and take effort to manage. Willpower is also a challenge. But if you accept that you\u2019ll struggle with it from time to time, you can learn from your mistakes\u2014and realize your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/procrastination-habit\/\">procrastination habit<\/a> will probably always be a work in progress.)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s the psychology of procrastination? Why are humans ill-equipped to deal with distractions? One reason we find ourselves procrastinating is that we don\u2019t prepare for even the most obvious things that might go wrong, according to Timothy A. Pychyl. You know yourself and know how you typically behave, but you likely don\u2019t use that information to your advantage. Check out how that leads to two causes of procrastination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":128017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1564],"class_list":["post-127991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","tag-solving-the-procrastination-puzzle","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#039;t Stay Focused - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There isn&#039;t just one reason why people procrastinate. There&#039;s actually a deeper psychology behind procrastination. Let&#039;s look at it here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#039;t Stay Focused\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There isn&#039;t just one reason why people procrastinate. There&#039;s actually a deeper psychology behind procrastination. Let&#039;s look at it here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-05T13:26:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T16:34:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"616\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\"},\"headline\":\"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#8217;t Stay Focused\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-05T13:26:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-21T16:34:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\"},\"wordCount\":1158,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Solving the Procrastination Puzzle\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\",\"name\":\"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can't Stay Focused - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-05T13:26:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-21T16:34:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"There isn't just one reason why people procrastinate. There's actually a deeper psychology behind procrastination. Let's look at it here.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":616,\"caption\":\"A cartoon of a brain next to a clock, showing the psychology of procrastination\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#8217;t Stay Focused\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\",\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Doll\"},\"description\":\"Somehow, Katie was able to pull off her childhood dream of creating a career around books after graduating with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing. Her preferred genre of books has changed drastically over the years, from fantasy\/dystopian young-adult to moving novels and non-fiction books on the human experience. Katie especially enjoys reading and writing about all things television, good and bad.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Bachelor of Arts in English With a Concentration in Creative Writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/katie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can't Stay Focused - Shortform Books","description":"There isn't just one reason why people procrastinate. There's actually a deeper psychology behind procrastination. Let's look at it here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can't Stay Focused","og_description":"There isn't just one reason why people procrastinate. There's actually a deeper psychology behind procrastination. Let's look at it here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2024-08-05T13:26:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-21T16:34:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":616,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Katie Doll","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Doll","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Doll","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937"},"headline":"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#8217;t Stay Focused","datePublished":"2024-08-05T13:26:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-21T16:34:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/"},"wordCount":1158,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp","keywords":["Solving the Procrastination Puzzle"],"articleSection":["Psychology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/","name":"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can't Stay Focused - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp","datePublished":"2024-08-05T13:26:28+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-21T16:34:02+00:00","description":"There isn't just one reason why people procrastinate. There's actually a deeper psychology behind procrastination. Let's look at it here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp","width":1100,"height":616,"caption":"A cartoon of a brain next to a clock, showing the psychology of procrastination"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-procrastination-3\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Psychology of Procrastination: Why You Can&#8217;t Stay Focused"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937","name":"Katie Doll","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Doll"},"description":"Somehow, Katie was able to pull off her childhood dream of creating a career around books after graduating with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing. Her preferred genre of books has changed drastically over the years, from fantasy\/dystopian young-adult to moving novels and non-fiction books on the human experience. Katie especially enjoys reading and writing about all things television, good and bad.","knowsAbout":["Bachelor of Arts in English With a Concentration in Creative Writing"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/katie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/brain-and-clock.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127991"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147298,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127991\/revisions\/147298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}