Psychology of Procrastination

Why do we put off things until later—even things we know are important; even in cases where we know the cost of delaying; even when doing the work more gradually over time would be less unpleasant; even sometimes on tasks we anticipate enjoying? Everyone procrastinates sometimes, but why do some people seem to procrastinate a lot while others don’t have much of an issue with task delaying? This course reviews current research on selected cognitive and motivational theories of procrastination, as well as interaction of task delay with mental health and neurodiversity. We will close with an examination of some potential interventions that may help people reduce or avoid procrastination, both at the individual level and in academic settings such as course design.