eli5: what is procrastination from a psychological perspective, and why is it so hard to stop?
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Other explanations are good, but I’d like to add two more aspects.
1. Often we procrastinate on complex and less defined tasks. That’s why need to study for exam often evokes urges to clean the room. We know how to do it, how much time it will take, what the end result will look. With studying it is less defined. Ok, you may read the textbook, but you will remain unsure of your task’s completion quality until the exam tomorrow (similar thing with writing thesis – the end result is clearer, but its quality is still something less defined, as well as all those tasks needed to be done for it to be good enough). You are a bit unsure how to maximize your gains when studying. It is less defined, progress is difficult to measure, and that is a stressor you’re avoiding. From the other side, you’re avoiding the stressor of doing nothing, you want the marker of meaningful progress somewhere. So room it is.
2. Due to the combination of what is called decision fatigue and perfectionism or self-doubt, we can feel urge to postpone doing task until we can do it perfectly. So you’re afraid to make some choices too early, because what if they are not good enough due to a hurried research, and it will be hard to go back, or it will become a sunk cost? Therefore your progress towards further subtasks is blocked by the bottleneck at the very “entrance”. One day you have time, but not have the willpower. Another day vice versa. Third day you forget doing it at all. That can drag on really much. Nearing the deadline, however, the discomfort of actually doing “something” even if of less quality becomes lower than the stress of consequences of missing the deadline, and it finally kickstarts you.
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