"I will do it tomorrow": why we put things off, and a 2-minute way out

Every language has a word for it. Tomorrow. Mañana. Demain. Morgen. Amanhã. Kal. Tomorrow I will call the bank. Tomorrow I will start the diet. Tomorrow I will fill in that form. Tomorrow, as everyone knows, is a very busy day.

We joke about it, but it stings, because most of us really do want to do these things. So why don't we?

Is procrastination just laziness?

No, and this is the most useful thing to understand about it.

Laziness means you do not want to do anything. Procrastination is different: you want the thing done, you feel guilty that it is not done, and you still do something else. You will clean your entire desk, reorganise your phone's home screen and research the history of biryani, all to avoid one ten-minute email.

Psychologists who study this, like Tim Pychyl and Fuschia Sirois, describe procrastination as a problem of managing feelings, not managing time. The task triggers a small bad feeling: boredom, confusion, fear of doing it badly, or just "ugh". Putting it off makes that feeling go away instantly. Your brain learns that delay feels good, so it does it again.

The cost arrives later, with interest: stress, rushing, and the special guilt of a task that has been "tomorrow" for three weeks.

Why are some tasks harder to start than others?

In a large review of procrastination research published in 2007, psychologist Piers Steel found that people delay most when a task is:

• Unpleasant or boring (taxes, forms, cleaning)
• Far away in reward (exercise, savings, studying for an exam months away)
• Vague (what exactly does "work on project" mean?)
• Something they doubt they can do well

Look at your own "tomorrow" list. Almost every item will tick two or more of these boxes. That is not a character flaw. It is a pattern, and patterns can be broken.

What actually helps you start?

1. Shrink the first step until it feels silly

"Prepare for the exam" is a mountain. "Open chapter 4 and read the first page" is a pebble. Your brain does not resist pebbles.

The trick is to make step one so small that saying no to it feels ridiculous. Not "clean the room", but "put five things back in place". Not "start running", but "put on running shoes". Very often, once you start, you keep going. Starting is the hardest part.

2. Decide when and where, not just what

There is a well-studied technique called an implementation intention: a simple plan in the form "When X happens, I will do Y."

• "When I sit down after lunch, I will call the insurance company."
• "When I reach the office, I will send the invoice before opening email."

Researchers Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran reviewed close to a hundred studies of this technique in 2006 and found it had a meaningful effect on whether people followed through on their goals. A specific time and place turns a wish into an appointment.

This is why in doMahan a card can have a time. "Bank tomorrow at 10 am" is not just a note. It is a moment, and your phone will remind you when it arrives.

3. Forgive yesterday

This one sounds soft, but there is research behind it too. A study of university students by Michael Wohl and colleagues found that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating on the first exam procrastinated less before the next one.

Guilt makes a task feel even worse, which makes you avoid it more. Forgiveness breaks the loop. So when a card goes red, do not spiral. Just note it, and move it to a better time.

4. Make the not-done visible

"Tomorrow" works because tomorrow is invisible. Nobody sees the task slide.

When you honestly mark a task as not done, it stops sliding silently. In doMahan, a card you swipe down gets a red cross and shows up in your calendar for that day. It is not a punishment. It is information. After a week you will spot your own patterns: the tasks you always avoid on Mondays, the calls you never make after 6 pm.

What is a 2-minute plan for today?

Pick one thing from your "tomorrow" list right now. Then:

1. Rewrite it as the smallest possible first step.
2. Give it a time today and a place. "At 4 pm, at my desk."
3. Set a reminder for that time.
4. When the reminder rings, do only the tiny step. Permission to stop after that.

Most days, you will not stop.

Tomorrow is a very busy day. Give the task to today, but make it small.

What if I procrastinate on everything?

If putting things off is seriously affecting your work, studies or sleep, or comes with constant worry or low mood, it can be worth talking to a doctor or a counsellor. Chronic procrastination sometimes travels with anxiety, depression or attention difficulties, and those are treatable. There is no shame in getting help.

For everyday "I will do it tomorrow", though, the fix is usually simple: smaller steps, specific times, and a lot less guilt.

Quick answers

Is procrastination the same as laziness?

No. A lazy person does not want to do anything. A procrastinator usually wants to do the task and feels bad about not doing it. Psychologists describe procrastination as a way to escape an unpleasant feeling, like boredom, self-doubt or fear of doing it badly, in the short term, at the cost of feeling worse later.

What is the fastest way to stop procrastinating on a task?

Make the first step so small it feels almost pointless, like opening the file or writing one sentence, and decide exactly when and where you will do it. Starting is the hardest part. Once you begin, continuing is usually much easier than you expected.

Last updated 11 Oct 2026.