What is procrastination?
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or decisions. Everyone procrastinates sometimes, but procrastination becomes a problem when it is chronic and gets in the way of daily life or success. Procrastination is often considered a time management issue, but it usually has deeper roots and causes.
For people with ADHD, procrastination can be a significant and frustrating struggle. The distractibility, poor focus, and difficulty with organization and time perception that come with ADHD make it very easy to put things off. Procrastination can then lead to added stress, missed deadlines, and negative impacts on relationships or performance. Understanding the link between ADHD and procrastination is the first step to overcoming this challenge.
Why do people with ADHD struggle with procrastination?
There are several key reasons why procrastination tends to be worse for those with ADHD:
Poor impulse control and reward sensitivity – People with ADHD tend to have issues with impulse control and may be hypersensitive to rewards. This means they gravitate towards what feels good or stimulating in the moment, rather than what is in their best long-term interests. The instant gratification of distractions feels more appealing than tasks that require sustained focus and effort.
Trouble staying focused – ADHD involves decreased activity in the areas of the brain that manage attention span. People with ADHD struggle to maintain focus, especially on boring, repetitive, or complicated tasks. It’s easy to put off tasks that require focused mental effort.
Difficulty with organization – ADHD can make it hard to organize tasks, break them into steps, and manage time effectively. Big assignments feel overwhelming which makes it tempting to avoid starting.
Seeking stimulation – When tasks are boring, people with ADHD instinctively look for mental stimulation. This can lead to distracting activities like checking phones, watching videos, or surfing the internet.
Time blindness – Many with ADHD have a poor sense of time or how long tasks will take. This makes it hard to accurately schedule work and leads to underestimating how much time is needed.
Forgetfulness – Working memory and prospective memory issues mean people with ADHD can forget tasks and deadlines easily. Out of sight equates to out of mind.
Low motivation – ADHD may contribute to problems with motivation and avoidance of tedious tasks that require sustained effort. This makes it hard to get started.
Sensitivity to stress – Some research suggests that ADHD may be linked to higher sensitivity to stress, anxiety, and depression. Procrastination often stems from wanting to avoid these negative feelings.
How does procrastination impact those with ADHD?
For those with ADHD, procrastination is not just a bad habit but a real impairment. Procrastination can negatively impact almost every area of life:
School and work – Chronic procrastination can lead to missed deadlines, incomplete work, and poor grades/performance reviews. It gets in the way of success and advancement.
Finances – Procrastinating on tasks like bill payment, paperwork, and applications for loans or benefits can result in fees, debts, and lost opportunities.
Health – Putting off medical appointments, filling prescriptions, or healthy habits like exercise hurts physical health over time.
Relationships – Friends and family can feel hurt, resentful, or inconvenienced when someone continually procrastinates on commitments.
Mental health – Procrastination fuels negative self-talk, guilt, shame, and depression. It prevents enjoying free time fully when obligations hang over your head.
Lost opportunities – Dreams and goals around creativity, family, travel, or learning new skills may go unfulfilled due to chronic procrastination.
Wasted time and money – Hours get swallowed up by distractions and scattered focus. Last-minute rushing leads to inefficient work. Paying late fees is essentially money down the drain.
For adults with ADHD, research shows that problems with procrastination are associated with lower incomes, higher chance of unemployment, and poorer overall functioning. Clearly, finding ways to overcome procrastination can transform quality of life.
Procrastination vs laziness
Procrastination is sometimes confused with laziness, but they are very different. Laziness implies a lack of motivation – not caring enough to act. Procrastination is more about incorrectly prioritizing tasks based on what feels good in the moment, rather than judging their long-term importance rationally.
Someone avoiding a work project to lounge around is lazy. Someone avoiding the same project to compulsively check social media has a procrastination problem. The barrier is more emotional and psychological than a simple lack of discipline or drive.
Understanding this distinction is important because different approaches are needed:
Laziness may benefit from methods that increase motivation and drive like positive self-talk or accountability partners.
Procrastination usually requires strategies that override the link between emotions and behavior, like removing distractions or creating rewards.
Viewing procrastination as a purposeful choice reflecting priorities, not just a bad habit, helps guide treatment.
Risk factors that make ADHD procrastination worse
While procrastination is almost inherent with ADHD, certain factors can make it even worse:
Poor planning and time management skills – Without an organized system and schedule, work is easy to avoid.
Insufficient treatment for ADHD – Unmanaged symptoms like inattention exacerbate procrastination.
Heavy distractions – Environments with TV, social media, etc fuel avoidance of work.
Lack of accountability – Without deadlines or people checking progress, putting things off has no consequences.
Poor sleep habits – Fatigue and brain fog from insomnia or inconsistent sleep times worsen focus issues.
Insufficient support – Criticism instead of compassion breeds shame and avoidance.
Untreated co-occurring conditions – Conditions like depression or anxiety often coincide with and exacerbate ADHD.
Task aversion – A childhood history of struggling with certain tasks can create anxiety and avoidance.
Identifying and managing these risk factors through coaching, therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes gives procrastination less room to thrive.
Procrastination warning signs
How can you tell if procrastination is becoming a significant problem? Here are some common warning signs:
- Frequently missing deadlines or being late
- Rushing at the last minute to finish projects
- Avoiding certain tasks or situations consistently
- Letting chores like laundry or dishes pile up
- Paying bills after their due date and incurring fees
- Putting off medical care and appointments
- Feeling overwhelmed when looking at your to-do list
- Spending more time on low-priority tasks than high-priority ones
- Having items on your to-do list for months without ever starting them
- Excessive distraction with devices, TV, social media, etc.
- Trouble explaining how you spent your time when asked
- Frequently disappointing others by being late or forgetting commitments
Tracking your behaviors, especially how you spend your time, can reveal procrastination patterns. The key is noticing when avoidance behaviors consistently interfere with obligations and goals. Don’t ignore the signs that procrastination is hurting your life.
Procrastination self-assessment quiz
This brief quiz can help reveal the role that procrastination plays in your life and ADHD symptoms:
Do you regularly:
- Postpone starting tasks like work assignments, chores, paperwork until the last minute? Yes/No
- Find yourself avoiding certain types of tasks consistently? Yes/No
- Put off tasks that feel boring, stressful, or overwhelming? Yes/No
- Have trouble sticking to deadlines and meeting due dates? Yes/No
- Feel you work best under pressure, at the last minute? Yes/No
- Find it hard to prioritize competing tasks and stick to priorities? Yes/No
- Struggle with keeping on schedule and managing your time effectively? Yes/No
- Spend a lot of time on low-value activities like TV, web surfing, gaming? Yes/No
- Feel distracted from important tasks easily? Yes/No
- End up disappointed in yourself frequently for procrastinating? Yes/No
If you answered “Yes” to many of these questions, it likely indicates that procrastination is interfering with your productivity and success. Tracking behaviors and talking to a professional can confirm if it’s a significant issue.
Tips to stop procrastinating with ADHD
Conquering procrastination starts with identifying it, then applying targeted strategies to tackle it head-on. Here are some useful tips:
Build self-awareness – Notice when and why you procrastinate through journaling or apps that track time spent on tasks. Increase check-ins with yourself.
List priorities daily – Identify your MITs (Most Important Tasks) to structure your day around. Use a planner religiously.
Break big tasks down – Divide daunting goals into small, specific, actionable steps to make starting easier.
Schedule rewards – Plan little treats for task completion, like breaks or activities, to motivate you.
Remove distractions – When focusing, turn off devices, apps, and anything that pulls your attention.
Use productivity tools – Timers, website blockers, and other tech can help minimize tangents.
Accountability partners – Enlist someone to check your progress and keep you consistent.
Change scenery – Avoid locations where you tend to procrastinate, like your couch. Opt for a desk or library.
Tackle hardest tasks early – Don’t burn mental energy on easier chores first. Knock out priorities when focus is best.
Be compassionate – Don’t beat yourself up. Celebrate any progress and understand ADHD challenges are not your fault.
Consider coaching/therapy – Professionals can help unravel mental obstacles driving procrastination and create structure.
With consistency, these strategies can rewire the brain’s response to challenging tasks. Procrastination habits can be replaced with productivity habits over time.
Medication to reduce ADHD procrastination
Along with therapy and coaching, medication is an evidence-based treatment for ADHD that can lessen procrastination tendencies.
Stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, and Concerta are first-line medications. They work by increasing availability of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, which strengthens focus, attention span, and impulse control.
Studies show that adults taking stimulants for ADHD report significant decreases in procrastination and improved daily functioning. Medication helps establish patterns of consistency and makes it easier to apply other procrastination-fighting strategies.
Antidepressants like Wellbutrin are another option that can sometimes be effective for both ADHD and procrastination. Medication works best as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Can procrastination be cured?
For people with chronic, lifelong ADHD, procrastination may never be fully “cured”. The tendencies come wired in along with the genetics of ADHD. But with the right strategies, ADHD-based procrastination can be managed successfully to improve school, career, finances, and relationships.
Building self-awareness, establishing structure through scheduling and lists, dividing big tasks into doable steps, removing distractions, using medication if needed, and compassionately celebrating progress can transform quality of life.
Procrastination can be viewed not as a fixed character flaw, but an understandable side effect of ADHD information processing differences. Continual effort focused on forming helpful habits can gradually change behavior patterns. With support, procrastination does not have to define or limit your potential.
Conclusion
Procrastination for those with ADHD often stems from poor impulse control, difficulty staying focused, trouble getting organized, time blindness, forgetfulness, and sensitivity to stress. It negatively impacts school, work, finances, health, and relationships. Risk factors that exacerbate it include insufficient treatment, distractions, and lack of accountability. Strategies to overcome procrastination include self-awareness, prioritizing tasks, accountability partners, removing distractions, medication, and compassionately celebrating progress made. Procrastination warning signs include lateness, last-minute work, task avoidance, and excessive low-value activities. Though it may not be fully curable, with the right tools procrastination can be successfully managed to improve quality of life for those with ADHD.