What the research says — in plain language

Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment

Students often chose to set themselves costly earlier deadlines, showing they knew they might procrastinate. Self-imposed deadlines helped, but evenly spaced external deadlines helped more.

Ariely, D., & Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00441 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, Practical exercises toolkit, How to Stop Procrastinating, Why Do I Avoid Important Tasks?

Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation

People who did an undemanding task during a break — one that let their minds wander — later improved more on previously seen creative problems (an 'unusual uses' task) than people who did a demanding task, rested, or took no break.

Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Mrazek, M. D., Kam, J. W. Y., Franklin, M. S., & Schooler, J. W. (2012). Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1117–1122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612446024 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, Incubation theory: why stepping away can help, Divergent thinking: generating many possibilities, Productive rest, Productive Procrastination: When Delay Helps, What Is Incubation in Psychology?, How Procrastination Affects Creativity

Rethinking procrastination: Positive effects of "active" procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance

Distinguished 'passive' procrastinators, who delay because they struggle to act, from 'active' procrastinators, who deliberately delay, prefer working under pressure and still meet deadlines. Active procrastinators looked more like non-procrastinators on several outcomes. The concept is debated, and later researchers argue that deliberate delay may be better called something other than procrastination.

Chu, A. H. C., & Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking procrastination: Positive effects of "active" procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 245–264. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.145.3.245-264 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The psychology of procrastination, Is Procrastination Always Bad?, Productive Procrastination: When Delay Helps

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Describes 'flow', a state of deep absorption that tends to occur when a task's challenge is well matched to a person's skills and there are clear goals and immediate feedback.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper & Row.

Cited in: Creativity fundamentals, How to Start Difficult Tasks

Where creativity resides: The generative power of unconscious thought

Participants who were distracted before listing ideas produced somewhat more unusual ideas than those who listed immediately or deliberated. Later replication attempts of 'unconscious thought' effects have been mixed, so this is best read as suggestive.

Dijksterhuis, A., & Meurs, T. (2006). Where creativity resides: The generative power of unconscious thought. Consciousness and Cognition, 15(1), 135–146.

Cited in: Divergent thinking: generating many possibilities, What Is Incubation in Psychology?

Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research, and Treatment

An early scholarly book that brought together research on the causes, measurement and treatment of procrastination, including the distinction between delay in specific situations and chronic patterns.

Ferrari, J. R., Johnson, J. L., & McCown, W. G. (1995). Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research, and Treatment. New York: Plenum Press.

Cited in: Why Do I Procrastinate?

Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students

In college students, procrastination was linked most clearly with socially prescribed perfectionism — the feeling that others expect perfection — rather than with simply having high personal standards.

Flett, G. L., Blankstein, K. R., Hewitt, P. L., & Koledin, S. (1992). Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students. Social Behavior and Personality, 20(2), 85–94.

Cited in: Procrastination and Perfectionism

When the muses strike: Creative ideas of physicists and writers routinely occur during mind wandering

Professional writers and physicists logged their daily ideas. About a fifth of their most important ideas came while they were doing something unrelated or mind wandering, and those ideas were rated as no less creative than ideas found while working on the problem.

Gable, S. L., Hopper, E. A., & Schooler, J. W. (2019). When the muses strike: Creative ideas of physicists and writers routinely occur during mind wandering. Psychological Science, 30(3), 396–404.

Cited in: Incubation theory: why stepping away can help, Creativity fundamentals, What Is Incubation in Psychology?, How Procrastination Affects Creativity

Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans

Describes 'if–then' plans ("If it is 9 a.m. and I sit at my desk, then I open the report"). Linking a specific situation to a specific action makes it more likely people start goal-directed behaviour on time.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, Habit formation without streak pressure, Practical exercises toolkit, How to Overcome Task Paralysis, How to Start Difficult Tasks

Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes

Across 94 independent tests, forming if–then plans had a medium-to-large positive effect on reaching goals compared with goal intentions alone.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.

Cited in: Habit formation without streak pressure, Practical exercises toolkit, How to Stop Procrastinating, How to Start Difficult Tasks

The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review

Set out the 'process model' of emotion regulation: we can influence emotions by choosing or changing situations, shifting attention, reappraising what a situation means, or modulating our response. Reappraisal is generally a healthier long-term strategy than suppression.

Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Emotional regulation: the feelings behind delay, How to Overcome Task Paralysis

The Nature of Human Intelligence

Introduced the distinction between divergent thinking (generating many possible answers) and convergent thinking (narrowing to the best answer), which remains central to how creativity is studied and measured.

Guilford, J. P. (1967). The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Cited in: Divergent thinking: generating many possibilities

Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology

Introduced a multidimensional view of perfectionism: self-oriented (demanding perfection of yourself), other-oriented, and socially prescribed (believing others demand perfection of you). The dimensions relate differently to distress.

Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456–470. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.456 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Procrastination and Perfectionism

Thinking, Fast and Slow

An accessible overview of research on fast, intuitive thinking and slow, deliberate thinking, and the predictable biases that arise when we rely on intuition for decisions that need deliberation.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Cited in: Decision-making: deciding when to delay

Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk

Showed that people weigh losses more heavily than equivalent gains and evaluate outcomes relative to a reference point — foundations for understanding why decisions under uncertainty often depart from 'rational' models.

Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185 (opens in a new tab)

The relationship between procrastination and academic performance: A meta-analysis

Across studies, procrastination had a small-to-moderate negative correlation with academic performance. The size of the link depended on how procrastination and performance were measured.

Kim, K. R., & Seo, E. H. (2015). The relationship between procrastination and academic performance: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 82, 26–33.

Cited in: The psychology of procrastination, Is Procrastination Always Bad?

The cognitive neuroscience of insight

Reviews research on 'aha' moments: insight solutions are preceded by distinctive patterns of brain activity, and a relaxed, positive and broadly attentive state appears to make insight more likely.

Kounios, J., & Beeman, M. (2014). The cognitive neuroscience of insight. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 71–93.

Cited in: Creativity fundamentals, What Is Incubation in Psychology?

How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world

Volunteers repeated a chosen daily behaviour in the same context. Automaticity rose gradually; the median time to approach its plateau was 66 days, with a very wide range (18 to 254 days). Missing a single day did not meaningfully harm the process.

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Habit formation without streak pressure

Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli

Naming the emotion shown in a picture ('affect labelling') was associated with reduced amygdala response compared with other ways of processing the picture — evidence that simply putting feelings into words can dampen their intensity.

Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.

Cited in: Emotional regulation: the feelings behind delay, Self-reflection: learning from your own patterns, How to Stop Procrastinating, How to Overcome Task Paralysis

Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey

Summarises decades of research showing that specific, challenging goals generally lead to better performance than vague 'do your best' goals, when people have feedback, commitment and the ability to reach them.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Practical exercises toolkit, How to Start Difficult Tasks

Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals

Unfinished goals tended to intrude on people's thoughts during unrelated tasks, but making a specific plan for when and how to pursue the goal reduced those intrusions — even before the goal was completed.

Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 667–683.

Cited in: Incubation theory: why stepping away can help, Practical exercises toolkit, Productive Procrastination: When Delay Helps, How to Overcome Task Paralysis

The associative basis of the creative process

Proposed that creativity involves combining remote associations into useful new combinations, and introduced the Remote Associates Test, still widely used in incubation and insight studies.

Mednick, S. A. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69(3), 220–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048850 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Creativity fundamentals, Divergent thinking: generating many possibilities

Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself

Defines self-compassion as self-kindness, a sense of common humanity, and mindful awareness of difficult feelings — as an alternative to self-esteem that does not depend on outperforming others.

Neff, K. D. (2003). Self-compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity, 2(2), 85–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309032 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Emotional regulation: the feelings behind delay, Self-reflection: learning from your own patterns, Why Do I Avoid Important Tasks?

Give your ideas some legs: The positive effect of walking on creative thinking

Walking — indoors on a treadmill or outdoors — increased people's divergent-thinking output (for example, generating uses for an object) compared with sitting, during and shortly after the walk. It did not help a convergent-thinking task.

Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: The positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 40(4), 1142–1152. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036577 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Creativity fundamentals, Divergent thinking: generating many possibilities, Productive rest, Productive Procrastination: When Delay Helps

Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process

Summarises studies in which people wrote about emotional experiences for short sessions over a few days. Many studies found modest benefits for well-being and health markers, especially when writing helped people make sense of events.

Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8(3), 162–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00403.x (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Self-reflection: learning from your own patterns

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change

A short, research-informed guide for the general reader that frames procrastination as needless, voluntary delay driven by feelings, and offers practical strategies such as 'just get started' and noticing the excuses we tell ourselves.

Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change. New York: Tarcher/Penguin.

Cited in: The psychology of procrastination, Practical exercises toolkit, Why Do I Procrastinate?, How to Start Difficult Tasks

Understanding and treating procrastination: A review of a common self-regulatory failure

A review of what procrastination is, how common it is, and which approaches have been tested to reduce it. Cognitive-behavioural methods showed the most promise, though the authors note that the evidence base for treatment was still small.

Rozental, A., & Carlbring, P. (2014). Understanding and treating procrastination: A review of a common self-regulatory failure. Psychology, 5(13), 1488–1502.

Internet-based cognitive–behavior therapy for procrastination: A randomized controlled trial

Adults who received an internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural programme reduced self-reported procrastination more than a waitlist group. Guided and unguided versions both helped, with modest-to-moderate effects.

Rozental, A., Forsell, E., Svensson, A., Andersson, G., & Carlbring, P. (2015). Internet-based cognitive–behavior therapy for procrastination: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(4), 808–824.

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, How to Stop Procrastinating

Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice

People who habitually try to find the very best option ('maximisers') reported more regret and less satisfaction than people who choose an option that is good enough ('satisficers').

Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(5), 1178–1197. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.83.5.1178 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Decision-making: deciding when to delay, Procrastination and Perfectionism

When putting work off pays off: The curvilinear relationship between procrastination and creativity

In field and lab studies, moderate procrastination was associated with higher creativity than either very low or very high procrastination, particularly for people who were intrinsically motivated by the task. The authors stress this is about moderate delay, not chronic avoidance.

Shin, J., & Grant, A. M. (2021). When putting work off pays off: The curvilinear relationship between procrastination and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 64(3), 772–798.

Cited in: Creativity fundamentals, Is Procrastination Always Bad?, Productive Procrastination: When Delay Helps, How Procrastination Affects Creativity

Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review

Combining 117 studies, the authors found a reliable but modest incubation effect: taking a break from a problem helps solve it, especially for creative, open-ended problems, and when the break follows a real period of preparation. Low-demand activities during the break tended to help more for some problem types.

Sio, U. N., & Ormerod, T. C. (2009). Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(1), 94–120. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014212 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, Incubation theory: why stepping away can help, Decision-making: deciding when to delay, Productive rest, Is Procrastination Always Bad?, Productive Procrastination: When Delay Helps, What Is Incubation in Psychology?, How Procrastination Affects Creativity

Procrastination and stress: Exploring the role of self-compassion

Across samples, people who procrastinated more tended to report lower self-compassion and higher stress; self-compassion partly accounted for the link between procrastination and stress.

Sirois, F. M. (2014). Procrastination and stress: Exploring the role of self-compassion. Self and Identity, 13(2), 128–145.

Cited in: Emotional regulation: the feelings behind delay, Self-reflection: learning from your own patterns, Why Do I Avoid Important Tasks?

Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: Consequences for future self

Argues that procrastination is mainly an emotion-regulation problem: we put tasks off to get short-term relief from unpleasant feelings the task brings up, at the expense of our 'future self', who inherits the task plus extra stress.

Sirois, F. M., & Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: Consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12011 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, The psychology of procrastination, Emotional regulation: the feelings behind delay, Decision-making: deciding when to delay, Self-reflection: learning from your own patterns, Productive rest, Why Do I Procrastinate?, How to Stop Procrastinating, How Procrastination Affects Creativity, How to Overcome Task Paralysis, Why Do I Avoid Important Tasks?, Procrastination and Perfectionism

A meta-analytic and conceptual update on the associations between procrastination and multidimensional perfectionism

Pooled studies suggest that 'perfectionistic concerns' (worry about mistakes and others' judgement) are positively associated with procrastination, while 'perfectionistic strivings' (high standards on their own) show a weak or slightly negative association.

Sirois, F. M., Molnar, D. S., & Hirsch, J. K. (2017). A meta-analytic and conceptual update on the associations between procrastination and multidimensional perfectionism. European Journal of Personality, 31(2), 137–159.

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, Procrastination and Perfectionism

The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work

Identified four recovery experiences — psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery (learning or challenge outside work) and control over leisure time — that are associated with better well-being.

Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2007). The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(3), 204–221. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Productive rest

The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure

The most-cited review of procrastination research. Pooling hundreds of studies, Steel found procrastination is most strongly linked to task aversiveness, low self-efficacy, impulsiveness and distractibility, and to how far away rewards are. He estimated that a large majority of students and roughly 15–20% of adults procrastinate chronically.

Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, The psychology of procrastination, Why Do I Procrastinate?, Is Procrastination Always Bad?, Why Do I Avoid Important Tasks?

Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: The costs and benefits of dawdling

University students who procrastinated reported less stress and illness early in the semester, but more stress and illness near deadlines, and earned lower grades. Overall the short-term relief was outweighed by later costs.

Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: The costs and benefits of dawdling. Psychological Science, 8(6), 454–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00460.x (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, The psychology of procrastination, Decision-making: deciding when to delay, Why Do I Procrastinate?, Is Procrastination Always Bad?, Why Do I Avoid Important Tasks?

The Art of Thought

Proposed the classic four-stage model of creative thinking: preparation, incubation, illumination and verification. A theoretical account based on accounts of creative work rather than experiments, but it shaped a century of research on incubation.

Wallas, G. (1926). The Art of Thought. London: Jonathan Cape.

Cited in: Incubation theory: why stepping away can help, What Is Incubation in Psychology?, How Procrastination Affects Creativity

I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination

First-year students who forgave themselves for procrastinating before their first exam procrastinated less when studying for the next exam. The effect appeared to work by reducing negative feelings about the earlier delay.

Wohl, M. J. A., Pychyl, T. A., & Bennett, S. H. (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.

Cited in: The procrastination guide: why we delay, and how to choose better, Emotional regulation: the feelings behind delay, Habit formation without streak pressure, Why Do I Procrastinate?, How to Stop Procrastinating, How to Overcome Task Paralysis, Procrastination and Perfectionism

A new look at habits and the habit–goal interface

Explains habits as learned links between context cues and responses that, once formed, can be triggered by the context without a conscious goal. Practical implication: shaping your environment and cues matters as much as willpower.

Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2007). A new look at habits and the habit–goal interface. Psychological Review, 114(4), 843–863. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.843 (opens in a new tab)

Cited in: Habit formation without streak pressure, How to Start Difficult Tasks