7 Things You May Be Avoiding When You Procrastinate
You've spent hours thinking about a task instead of starting it.
You've reorganized your workspace, answered emails, or scrolled on your phone while an important deadline hung over your head.
You want to get it done. You know that you’ll feel better when it's finished. But getting started still seems impossible.
That's because procrastination serves a purpose.
As frustrating as it can be, procrastination is often an attempt to protect you from something uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, the relief that procrastination gives is only temporary, while the negative consequences tend to stick around for much longer.
But it does something for you in that initial moment.
In this article, I talk about what purposes procrastination can serve. Specifically, I highlight the uncomfortable experiences people are often trying to avoid when they put things off.
The more you understand about why you procrastinate, the more intentional you can be with overcoming this pattern when it no longer serves you.
What is Procrastination Doing for You?
Every behaviour meets some kind of need when you do it, whether that's helping you connect with others, get attention and recognition, avoid conflict, or feel a sense of control.
Procrastination is no exception.
So what functions does procrastination serve?
The biggest one is helping you escape or avoid uncomfortable experiences.
When a task brings up difficult thoughts, feelings, images, or body sensations, procrastinating gives you a temporary break. You get short-term relief from whatever you’re avoiding, even if procrastination goes on to cause problems long term.
Here are 7 experiences that people struggling with perfectionism tend to avoid through procrastination.
What You’re Avoiding When You Procrastinate
1. Avoiding Failure
Sometimes procrastination is intended to protect you from failing.
Perfectionism brings up huge worries about making mistakes, looking incompetent to other people, or discovering that you’re not as capable as you'd hoped.
Putting things off helps you manage those fears. If you never follow through, you never find out if you’ll fail.
The downside is that limiting your chances for failure also means limiting your opportunities for success, growth, and learning. And the more you avoid failure, the scarier it seems over time.
If you can relate, read more about overcoming fears of failure here.
2. Avoiding Imperfection
This is a common one for people who deal with perfectionism.
You tell yourself that you'll start when you have more time or information. When you feel more motivated. When you know exactly what to say and how to do the task just right.
Procrastination lets you hold onto the idea that you'll produce something excellent later. As long as you haven't started, the work remains perfect in your imagination.
Meanwhile, starting means facing the reality of a messy first draft or a final product that's less than ideal.
3. Avoiding Uncertainty
Some tasks come with a lot of unanswered questions.
What if I make the wrong decision? What if there's a better way to do things? How can I move forward if I don't know exactly how things will turn out?
This uncertainty can be hard to tolerate.
To offset the discomfort, you can procrastinate by doing endless research, overthinking, and planning without ever taking any actual steps forward.
This process seems productive on the surface, but you get stuck trying to reach a level of certainty that doesn't exist.
4. Avoiding Difficult Emotions
Not every task you’re avoiding brings up fear and anxiety. Some tasks are unpleasant in other ways, like if they’re boring, frustrating, or mentally demanding.
Procrastination offers immediate relief from those feelings too, whatever they are.
Usually when you procrastinate, you escape discomfort by switching to something easier or more enjoyable; something that gives you a quick sense of comfort or distraction.
The catch is that your discomfort doesn't disappear forever, because the task still needs to be done. Usually this tension just gets bigger over time with added feelings of guilt, stress, and urgency.
5. Avoiding Threats to Self-Worth
With perfectionism, you tie your self-worth to your performance. You judge yourself harshly based on the success of everything you do.
You can protect yourself by disengaging from tasks that could bring up self-critical thoughts, like trying something new or challenging.
Plus, delaying gives you a good excuse if things don’t go well: "I didn't really have enough time. I started too late. I could have done better if I'd tried earlier."
That protection feels comforting in the moment. But procrastination can reinforce self-critical thoughts, like beating yourself up for delaying things to the last minute once again.
6. Avoiding Rejection
At times, you may be using procrastination to avoid fears of being rejected.
Taking action means putting yourself in a position where someone else might say no, disagree, criticize, or otherwise respond negatively to you
And that feels super vulnerable.
If you avoid putting yourself out there, you don’t have to face the discomfort of seeing how others respond.
For many people, striving to meet others’ expectations is a core part of perfectionism, known as socially oriented perfectionism.
Unfortunately, as with the other forms of avoidance outlined here, escaping fears of rejection also means shutting down opportunities for connection and new adventures.
7. Avoiding Success
This one surprises people.
Sometimes procrastination isn't just about fears of failure but fears of success.
Success can bring new responsibilities, higher expectations, greater visibility, and changes that feel unfamiliar.
Even positive changes often be destabilizing.
Maybe parts of you want to succeed and take on exciting new opportunities, while other parts feel apprehensive about what comes next. So you use procrastination to stay within familiar territory.
Read more about overcoming fears of success here.
Meeting the Needs Procrastination Serves in New Ways
If procrastination serves a function, you may need to understand that function to overcome it.
Try asking yourself what need procrastination is trying to meet.
Is it helping you feel less overwhelmed? Giving you relief from anxiety? Protecting you from self-criticism?
Once you identify the need, you can consider ways to honour that need without avoiding or escaping the discomfort it brings up.
For example, if you're overwhelmed, you can try simplifying the task or breaking it down into small steps.
If you're anxious, practice making room for the feeling while still doing what’s important to you.
If you're afraid of imperfection, give yourself permission to create something “good enough” before trying to make it better.
You can validate why procrastination shows up for you while still practicing a different response: Sticking with tasks that move you toward your goals instead of away from discomfort.
8 Signs Your Procrastination is Really About Perfectionism
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About Dr. Marnie Rogers-de Jong
My goal is to help people who feel overwhelmed by perfectionism, anxiety, and procrastination overcome their fears, embrace their unique strengths, and feel more content with who they are. I’m a Registered Doctoral Psychologist with a PhD in Counselling Psychology. I’m also the founder of Navigation Psychology, located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Registered Psychologists in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Interested in starting counselling? Navigation Psychology offers in-person counselling in Saskatoon and virtual services across the province of Saskatchewan. We support clients dealing with a variety of concerns, including anxiety, perfectionism, depression, trauma, and relationship issues. Get started by booking a free 20-minute consultation call.
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