Procrastination may be a freeze response to fear, US professor says

Procrastination may often be a brain's freeze response to a perceived threat rather than laziness, according to Dr Arash Javanbakht, director of the Stress, Trauma and Anxiety Research Clinic at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He told Times Now that when a task feels too big or difficult, and a person does not believe they have the skills to handle it, the brain can freeze, leading to avoidance. This can happen even with tasks someone deeply cares about, because the fear of failure or of making a mistake can be paralysing.

Dr Javanbakht acknowledged that laziness or lack of motivation sometimes plays a role, but he stressed that attributing all procrastination to laziness can be wrong. He noted that procrastination can also stem from being forced into a task, such as studying a subject chosen by parents. Paradoxically, people may put off something they consider very important because the fear of a negative outcome is overwhelming. He said the brain treats the task like a threat, and freezing feels evolutionarily safer than acting.

To overcome this, Dr Javanbakht suggested using a bigger fear, like the fear of losing a job, as energy to push past the smaller fear of the task itself. He added that anticipatory fear is usually worse than reality, and avoiding tasks only reinforces the fear. He said many people train themselves to work at the last minute, which can become a habit, but that recognising the pattern is the first step toward change.