“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.“
This advice, often attributed to author Mark Twain, is to tackle an unpleasant task head-on—but what if delaying it ultimately leads to a more creative solution? Or what if a few mental “appetizers” make the task more palatable?
We all know that procrastination has a bad reputation. Timothy Pychyl, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Solving the Procrastination Puzzle, even calls it a vice. But could procrastination have a redeeming side?
The benefits of delayed action
Cultural strategist Margaret Ricci says she was born with the “procrastination gene.” But through trial and error, she’s learned to use procrastination as a tool. By setting herself a “drop-dead date,” she knows she’ll conquer a task on schedule. However, the time she spends incubating her ideas before her deep work begins ultimately benefits her outcome.
Pychyl, who calls Ricci’s method “purposeful delay,” argues that delaying a task isn’t necessarily the same as procrastination. For example, a writer isn’t writing only when they’re at their keyboard. “Writing involves thinking. Writing involves having conversations with people [and] talking about what I would write,” he explains.
Similarly, Owen Fitzpatrick, a psychologist and the host of the Changing Minds podcast, claims that procrastination itself isn’t beneficial—it’s the mental drift it fosters that makes a difference. Our brain’s default mode network is busy even when the brain is not, he says, which allows the mind to wander, reflect and daydream, boosting problem-solving and fueling creativity.
Ricci adds that procrastination pushes her into a “flow state.” This state occurs when the brain hits a sweet spot between challenge and ability—it’s stretched but not overwhelmed.
If the task at hand is engaging, stimulating and aligned to your skill set, it will intrinsically motivate you, Fitzpatrick says. And when you’re fully absorbed, time seems to fly.
In Ricci’s case, she’s propelled by the external pressure of a deadline, which Fitzpatrick calls “procrastination-driven hyperfocus.” This hyperfocus mimics the intense focus of a flow state and is triggered by the brain releasing noradrenaline to sharpen attention and prioritize the task. Dopamine is also involved, igniting motivation and urgency and propelling the brain into action.
“In the right dose,” he says, ”this works great.” But where does healthy delay end and harmful procrastination begin?
The downside of delay
For many procrastinators, the pressure of the task they put off becomes too great, causing their brain to shift into stress mode and cortisol to rise. This, Fitzpatrick warns, can cloud the brain and cripple performance.
Ricci agrees that procrastination can be detrimental. Previously in her career, she struggled to pay attention to schedules and protect her time. She also allowed co-workers to constantly interrupt her work with their demands, which resulted in her ignoring project deadlines. When her boss would ask why she hadn’t finished them, she’d have to explain that she let other things take priority and then spend time making up her backlog. “It made me look like a fool,” she admits.
Now, as a seasoned leader of teams, Ricci empowers others who have the “procrastination gene” by introducing them to some of the bumper lanes that help her thrive.
Procrastinators need structure
During the ”forming stage” of a team, Ricci says, team members should discuss if they are prone to procrastinate and, if yes, explore why.
She suggests asking questions like the following:
- Are they disinterested or ill-prepared in their work?
- Are they operating outside their comfort zones or afraid to ask for help?
- Do they use purposeful delay to compress time and accelerate activity?
“Once you understand the DNA of the people inside the team,” Ricci says, “then you can say, ‘OK, how can we work with your procrastination to make this a better team?’”
Having assigned tasks throughout a project can help procrastinators stay engaged, she adds. Like Ricci, some will shine when given the last deadline to piece the unfinished parts into a whole and bring the project over the finish line.
Fitzpatrick agrees that structure is necessary for optimal focus. “When things feel open-ended or chaotic,” he says, ”we lose access to the very cognitive systems we need most to stay organized, evaluate options and follow through.”
But this structure doesn’t have to be rigid. He adds that a short deadline, specific goal or focused work sprint can allow the brain to shift into a functional, creative state and mimic the feel of the urgency that procrastinators crave without the guilt spiral. For neurodivergent minds, Fitzpatrick recommends time-blocking, visual timers and coworking sessions to create external boundaries.
Pychyl also recommends not looking at our tasks as projects but as a series of manageable steps. Each time you’re faced with something you don’t want to do, he says, ask yourself, “’What is the next action?’” It’s likely as simple as opening your laptop.
Kristina Proctor, executive coach and founder of Neurodivergent Ventures, adds that structure is especially essential in meetings. An agenda should include the order of operations, who is responsible for what, and the ultimate goal to help individuals mentally prepare and avoid dysregulation.
Introducing play into the workplace
According to Pychyl, we tend to procrastinate because we want short-term rewards or to have fun now rather than later. This often makes procrastination an emotional regulation problem instead of an issue of time management. But what if there was a way to make our tasks more fun?
“Play isn’t the opposite of productivity—it’s a portal to it,” Proctor says.
Fitzpatrick notes that incorporating play can be especially helpful for individuals with ADHD, whose brains struggle to generate enough dopamine to engage in tasks that lack novelty, urgency or high emotional relevance. This can explain the common ‘I know I need to do it, but I can’t make myself start’ feeling, which stems not from laziness but from a neurochemical mismatch that triggers stress and guilt.
Wendy Wood, author of Good Habits, Bad Habits, writes that about 43% of our day is based on habitual actions. Proctor adds that we can become depleted quickly when we rely solely on willpower to complete these actions. This is why many of us—neurodivergent or not—turn to our phones for quick dopamine hits throughout the day.
Proctor’s “Fuel, Focus, Flow” method is an alternative that helps individuals increase their productivity levels through play:
- Fuel: Track your energy levels throughout the day and pay attention to when they ebb and flow. What impacts your energy most? Can you find ways to reconnect with what brings you joy?
- Focus: Reduce the friction of unpleasant tasks by gamifying them. For example, pull out a timer and ask yourself, “How much can I get done in ten minutes?”
- Flow: Use dopamine-boosting strategies like physical movement (fidget tools, walking pads or standing in a meeting) or a curated “dopamine menu” to stay engaged, ease transitions and increase momentum.
One of Proctor’s clients says that she was most energized by a midday workout class. Initially, she felt guilty for sneaking in this activity during her workday, but she soon realized that carving out time for that class increased her stamina and productivity levels. ”That time went from a ’[This is] nice to have if I have time’ to a ’This is a strategic need for me to keep moving my business forward,’” Proctor shares.
Procrastination: The future of work
There’s still much research needed on the correlation between procrastination and flow state, Fitzpatrick says. But as we understand more, we’ll hopefully be able to “design environments and workflows that lean into the natural rhythms of the brain.”
After all, “the goal isn’t to eliminate procrastination,” he adds. “It’s to contain it, learn from it and use it as a signal.”
Photo by Nicoleta Ionescu/Shutterstock.com
