Why ADHD Brains Procrastinate:

(It’s not what you think it is)

You're sitting at your desk, staring at the blank screen, laptop open, ready to tackle that important project. But instead of diving in, your brain starts to wander, and before long, you’re daydreaming about a dancing seahorse with some serious moves.

It’s not until you’re 20 minutes into a YouTube wormhole about seahorse disco that you think- how did I get here?!?

Procrastination. 

It's a word that carries a heavy weight of judgment, particularly for ADHD brains who, much more often than not, have a long and sordid history with the practice.  But is procrastination really about laziness or lack of willpower, or is it something else?  

If you’ve been around for a while, you probably can guess- but let’s dive in and find out:

Is Procrastination caused by ADHD?

Everyone procrastinates- neurotypical and ADHD brains alike.  And the busier and more distracting our lives become, the more often we all procrastinate.

But, ADHD brains are much more likely to procrastinate more frequently (1), and they are also more likely to suffer negative consequences from procrastination. (2)

Is that because ADHD brains are primed to self-sabotage?  No.

Is it because ADHD brains are lazy?  Double-dog no!  (It takes a whole lot of effort to walk through this neurotypical world with an ADHD brain- lazy they are not!) 

No.  The reason ADHD brains are more likely to procrastinate is that procrastination is not what you think it is. It’s not just simple time management or productivity hacks. It goes a lot deeper- 

Procrastination is really about emotional regulation.

The Emotional Landscape of Procrastination

Let's get real for a moment. You and I both know that we're more likely to procrastinate tasks that are, well, a little less than thrilling. Whether it's that report that feels as exciting as watching paint dry or that never-ending pile of paperwork, these tasks tend to be the breeding ground for procrastination. 

But boredom and drudgery isn’t the only thing that has us fleeing to TikTok. We also put off the passion project that we desperately want to get just right, the email that’s bound to disappoint its reader, and the report that we’re not quite sure exactly where to start.

Why?!?!? Why do we find ourselves avoiding these particular tasks with such fervor?

It's because they trigger a cocktail of emotions that our ADHD brains struggle to navigate.

Boredom, frustration, difficulty, ambiguity, lack of structure, lack of rewards, lack of meaning - these factors create a perfect storm of emotional overwhelm. And when our brains encounter these emotions, they get flooded with memories of every other time we felt this way, all wrapped up in a neat package of shame and fear of failure. 

And this, dear ADDepter, is why ADHD brains procrastinate more than neurotypical brains.  NOT because they are lazy or unmotivated or any of the 5 million other things that you’ve heard or told yourself over the years.  It’s because ADHD brains struggle to regulate their emotions (i.e., keep somewhere in between Spock and Cathy-having-a-meltdown), and research shows that people who struggle most to regulate their emotions are most likely to procrastinate. (3)

The Pain-Avoidance Paradox

Now, here's the thing about pain - emotional pain, that is: Our natural reaction to pain is to avoid it. We're wired that way. And when the mere thought of starting that boring, frustrating, overwhelming, shame-filled task brings up a tidal wave of emotional discomfort, our instinct is to steer clear.

It's like when you accidentally step on a LEGO block (the worst!), and you instantly hop away, cursing the universe and vowing never to step foot near LEGO again. Well, procrastination works in a similar way. When we associate negative emotions with a particular task, our brains go into full self-preservation mode, urging us to avoid the task altogether.

And all those super smart folks in white lab coats back this up.  Research has shown that procrastination is motivated by a desire to avoid negative emotions and that people who procrastinate are people who prioritize short-term mood over long-term goals. (4)  

The Vicious Cycle 

Here's the kicker, I know you know this deep in your bones. But if you’re like most people, have a hard time changing when it comes to real life. You know that telling yourself you're lazy, bad, or whatever your go-to self-judgment is, only raises the emotional hurdle. 

When you convince yourself that your procrastination is a result of who you are rather than how your brain responds to pain, you're heaping an extra layer of shame and negativity onto an already difficult situation. And guess what? That added emotional weight makes it even more likely that you'll avoid the task.

And this cycle that feeds on itself, getting stronger and stronger each minute?  It’s not unique to you.  It’s actually so common that there’s a name for it: The Procrastination Cycle.

The Procrastination Cycle

The procrastination cycle is the cycle that begins the minute we are staring down a task that has the capacity to bring on a feeling and cycles through each of these 4 steps until it comes back to the beginning: deeper, stronger, and more painful:

1. Think about doing a Task.

We start by thinking about doing something- anything at all, loved or hated, that procrastination doesn’t discriminate.

2. Have a bad/ uncomfortable/ negative feeling.

Maybe it’s fear, frustration, irritation, uncertainty, or self-doubt. No matter what the feeling is, it sends alarm bells through our system telling us, “We’ve got to go- this feeling is BAD”

3. Avoid the Task.

Our brains hate feeling bad or uncomfortable- they’re built to minimize those feelings whenever possible.  So we avoid, we dive into something else, or numb ourselves out with distraction after distraction.  

4. Guilt/Shame/Hopelessness. 

We know.  We know we really need to be doing something else, and so we start to feel guilt and shame and sometimes anxiety, hopelessness, and depression becuase “here we are again,” not doing the thing.  it stand out

And so we go back up to step 1. 

Only now, that thing, the thing we most needed to do- it’s not only boring or confusing or scary or whatever else got you avoiding it to start, now it’s also covered in shame and guilt and your history of procrastination and your feeling of hopelessness that this will ever change.

Tackling the Procrastination Cycle: What’s next?

It’s time.  It’s time we all shift our perspective on procrastination. 

It's not a character flaw or a sign of laziness—it's a reflection of your complex emotional experience and a struggle to regulate those big ADHD emotions. Understanding this- really truly getting this in the marrow of your bones– is what eventually dismantles the procrastination cycle and allows you to start to approach procrastination with kindness, compassion, and effective strategies.

What do you do instead of whiling all those hours away with endless loops of beating yourself up and TikTok rabbit holes?

Well, that, my friend, is what we’re going to tackle in the next part of this series: Why Avoiding Procrastination isn’t the Answer for ADHD Brains.  Check it out!

And then go out there and conquer that dancing seahorse of a task that's waiting for you!

Citations:

1. Halvorson, H. T., & Ferrari, J. R. (2013). ADHD, procrastination, and time management: A meta-analysis. Journal of Attention Disorders, 17(10), 839-853.

2. Halvorson, H. T., Halasz, V., Ratliff, K. R., Hewitt, J. K., & Barkley, R. A. (2019). Long-term outcomes of ADHD: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(6), 561-573.

3. Pychyl, T. A., & Sirois, F. (2016). Procrastination, emotion regulation, and well-being. In K. D. Heddleston, J. J. Gross, & J. S. Smyth (Eds.), The Handbook of emotion regulation (3rd ed., pp. 509-536). Guilford Press.

4. Sirois, F., & Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Procrastination and emotion regulation: The role of affective intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(1), 163.