Get unstuck

1. Press Start and do anything on the task until the timer ends. Anything counts.
2. Can't make yourself start? Pick what's in the way, read the fix, and pick a first step you could do in two minutes.
3. When the timer ends, keep going or stop. Both are fine.

Lots of things to do? Start with a brain dump. A big job with a due date? Use the deadline planner.

A review of 691 findings found that people put things off most when the task feels unpleasant, the reward is far away, they doubt they can do it, or they're easily pulled away (Steel, 2007 (opens in a new tab)). Researchers also describe putting things off as a quick way to escape a bad feeling, at a cost to your future self (Sirois & Pychyl, 2013 (opens in a new tab)). Each reason above matches one of these, with a fix aimed at it.

• Feelings: in randomised trials, students who learned to sit with unpleasant feelings and change them put things off less (Eckert et al., 2016 (opens in a new tab); Schuenemann et al., 2022 (opens in a new tab)).
• Small steps: children working towards small, near goals did better at maths than those with one far goal (Bandura & Schunk, 1981 (opens in a new tab)).
• Treats: people who could only listen to a gripping audiobook at the gym went 51% more often at first, though the effect faded over the weeks (Milkman et al., 2014 (opens in a new tab)).
• If-then plans: students who planned when and where they'd go were nearly 8 times as likely to turn up (Owens et al., 2008 (opens in a new tab)).
• Kindness: students who forgave themselves for putting off revision put it off less before their next exams. That study followed students; it didn't test forgiving yourself as an exercise (BPS on Wohl et al., 2010 (opens in a new tab)).

• You've opened the game "just for a minute" instead of the homework.
• The same task has been on your list for days.
• You feel bad about how long you've left something.

If putting things off is hurting your school, work or mood most days, help exists. In studies, courses based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) reduced it the most (van Eerde & Klingsieck, 2018 (opens in a new tab)). Talk to a doctor or student support.