Procrastination: what it is and what it means

Procrastination is the voluntary delay of a planned activity while knowing that the delay will make things worse. It is not disorganization. It is a short-term emotional regulation mechanism that shifts a cost onto your future self. The procrastinator is not mismanaging the calendar: they are prioritizing the regulation of their present mood over their future well-being. The aversive task generates anticipatory discomfort, and putting it off removes that discomfort immediately: a real but temporary relief.

Distinctive: short-term emotional regulation mechanism
Distinctive: it is not disorganization
Essential: voluntary delay
Essential: knowing that the delay will make things worse
Essential: shifts a cost onto your future self
Constant: planned activity
Constant: anticipatory discomfort

Glossary

Procrastination

Voluntarily putting off a planned activity while knowing the delay will make things worse, as a short-term emotional regulation mechanism.