7 Science-Backed Ways of How to End Procrastination
We’ve all been there: staring at a looming deadline while scrolling through social media, organizing our desk for the fifth time, or suddenly remembering we need to clean the refrigerator. Procrastination is a universal experience, but it doesn’t have to control your life.
The good news? Neuroscience and psychology have uncovered powerful strategies to help with procrastination. In this article, we’ll explore 7 research-backed techniques to help you stop putting things off and start getting things done.
1. Stop Multitasking
Multitasking, or what psychologists call task-switching, overwhelms us and dilutes our memory’s capability. In its essence, multitasking isn’t doing several tasks in parallel but rapidly switching from one to another, which impairs our performance.
Numerous studies show that multitasking has a toll on our productivity and cognitive abilities:
- According to a study on executive control by Rogers and Monsell (2001), alternating between different tasks incurs a measurable “switch cost,” leading to slower response times and increased errors compared to performing the same task repeatedly.
- According to a 2019 study by Madore and Wagner, multitasking may make people more prone to making mistakes. Additionally, an academic performance study shows that students who switch between tasks tend to have lower GPAs and take longer to finish their homework if they continue multitasking at home.
- Other negative effects of multitasking include a higher level of stress and a higher chance of burnout. People who often multitask need help with procrastination, as being used to switching back and forth gives more leeway for distractions.
What can be the solution to procrastination here? Practice single-tasking. How it works: pre-plan chunks of time dedicated to a particular activity in your calendar and eliminate distractions while focusing on what you need to do. Digital anti-procrastination tools can help you a great deal by offering a single space to visualize your day and reserve time slots for certain activities.
Don’t forget to allow yourself some time to recharge after every task is done. This will give you a sense of completion and satisfaction, and will power your brain to perform well in the next activity.
Our anti-procrastination app Arcush can also help you block off distractions and unnecessary calls by creating “focus time” slots in your calendar.
2. Break Tasks Into Micro-Tasks
Our brains are wired to avoid tasks that seem overwhelming. The brain reward system, responsible for recognizing finished tasks, literally makes us happy every time we finish something.
Each small win charges your motivation and creates a loop: from the finished task to the dopamine reward, and then to a sense of motivation, which, in turn, boosts our energy to complete further tasks. And increased motivation and energy are what helps with procrastination.
How to break big tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks so that this process doesn’t turn into a daunting task in itself? Digitize this process and make it fun!
Anti procrastination apps that let you plan your days will allow you to create nested task hierarchies and have satisfying checkmarks for each completed micro-task. This way, you’ll experience more frequent dopamine hits that keep motivation high. At the same time, having your full schedule in an app will allow you to maintain the big picture while breaking down big projects into bite-sized steps.
For example: instead of writing “finish quarterly report” on your to-do list, break it into micro-steps like “create an outline,” “gather data,” or “write introduction.” Each completed micro-step activates your brain’s reward center, creating momentum.
3. Use the Pomodoro Technique
Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, this time-management method has been validated by multiple studies: they show how the Pomodoro technique has been improving focus and reducing procrastination. In essence, it involves using predetermined alternating periods of working and resting.
How it works: work intensely for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. After completing four cycles, take a longer 15-30 minute break. This technique leverages our natural attention spans and creates urgency through time-blocking.
You can do the same with self-regulated breaks, but some studies (for instance, this 2023 one from the British Psychological Society) show that taking pre-determined, systematic breaks such as the Pomodoro Technique leads to mood benefits and faster completion of tasks. In turn, better mood and satisfaction from getting things done are effective ways to not procrastinate but get inspired to accomplish more.
4. Harness the Two-Minute Rule
In Getting Things Done, productivity expert David Allen popularized this technique based on the psychological principle that starting is often the hardest part of any task. If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, you should do it immediately rather than scheduling it for later.
As for larger tasks, commit to just working on it for two minutes—often, you’ll continue once you’ve started. While this rule seems too simple and superfluous, it has proven to work for many people.
5. Visualize Task Priorities
As we’ve seen, procrastination is often linked to executive dysfunction—the brain’s difficulty in organizing, planning, and initiating tasks. Visualization techniques, such as creating time-blocking schedules and color-coding your tasks, help externalize cognitive load, making abstract goals more concrete and manageable. This reduces the mental ambiguity that fuels avoidance.
Studies in cognitive psychology show that when individuals clearly see the structure and hierarchy of their tasks, it activates the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which governs decision-making and impulse control. This activation helps counter the emotional impulsivity associated with procrastination. Moreover, prioritizing tasks visually can engage prospective memory—our ability to remember to perform planned actions—by embedding cues and deadlines into the environment.
How can you easily turn mental clutter into organized visual sequences? Use different colors to mark your tasks in the schedule. For instance, mark urgent and important tasks with red, routine tasks with yellow, and collaborative tasks with blue.
Our procrastination help app Arcush offers you different color schemes to suit your style and lets you choose among two different color-coding approaches (a more explicit and a more subtle way of using color on tasks).
6. Indulge in the Things You Love With Temptation Bundling
Pioneered by behavioral economist Katherine Milkman, temptation bundling is a novel technique to help with procrastination that pairs activities you need to do with activities you want to do. Maybe you’re already practicing this technique: for example, by listening to a podcast while doing your work or crocheting while sitting through a work meeting.
Here are some temptation bundling ideas you can experiment with:
- Listen to enjoyable content while doing repetitive tasks (organizing files, doing data entry, or cleaning emails).
- Eat a favorite snack or drink while doing focused work (allow yourself a special coffee or treat only when tackling a difficult report or project).
- Watch TV or streaming shows during tedious work (like late-night spreadsheet work).
- Reserve a comfortable workspace or nice environment for hard work (work from a favorite café or corner of your home).
- Gamify tasks (create your own reward system for different tasks).
Who knows, maybe this simple trick will be the most life-changing solution for procrastination for you.
7. Be Self-Compassionate and Forgive Yourself for Procrastinating
Research shows that self-forgiveness for previous procrastination actually reduces the likelihood of procrastinating in the future.
For instance, in a 2010 study among students by Sirois and Pychyl, researchers found that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating on an initial exam were less likely to procrastinate on subsequent exams. This relationship was mediated by negative affect: increased self-forgiveness was reducing procrastination by decreasing negative emotions associated with doing it initially.
Treating your prior procrastination with understanding is helpful in work settings just as much as in academic environments. Self-forgiveness can be an effective strategy to help with procrastination in the future. By alleviating the negative emotions tied to past procrastination, you can be more inclined to engage promptly in future tasks.
How to Get Rid of Procrastination: From Science to Practice
Understanding the psychology of procrastination is one thing; implementing effective solutions is another. While these techniques are powerful, consistency is key.
That’s where technology can make all the difference. You can get more organized with apps that help with procrastination. The Arcush app will help you bring some of these research-backed techniques to life and help you transform productive intentions into consistent action. The basic functionality of Arcush is available for free: try it and see for yourself how micro-tasking and priority visualization help you end procrastination.
