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Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad

TED-Ed

7.9M Views . 2022-10-27

Explore what happens in the brain to trigger procrastination, and what strategies you can use to break the cycle of this harmful practice. -- The report you’ve been putting off is due tomorrow. It’s time to buckle down, open your computer ... and check your phone. Maybe watch your favorite YouTube channel? Or maybe you should just start in the morning? This is the cycle of procrastination. So, why do we procrastinate when we know it’s bad for us? Explore how your body triggers a procrastination response, and how you can break the cycle. Directed by Vitalii Nebelskyi, and action agency. This video made possible in collaboration with Character Lab Learn more about how TED-Ed partnerships work: https://bit.ly/TEDEdPartners A special thanks to Fuschia Sirois who provided information and insights for the development of this video. Support Our Non-Profit Mission ---------------------------------------------- Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop ---------------------------------------------- Connect With Us ---------------------------------------------- Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram ---------------------------------------------- Keep Learning ---------------------------------------------- View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-you-procrastinate-even-when-it-feels-bad Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-you-procrastinate-even-when-it-feels-bad#digdeeper Animator's website: https://and-action.net ---------------------------------------------- Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Andrea Feliz, Victor E Karhel, Sydney Evans, Latora, Noel Situ, emily lam, Sid, Niccolò Frassetto, Mana, I'm here because of Knowledge Fight Facebook group., Linda Freedman, Edgardo Cuellar, Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, Michael Burton, VIVIANA A GARCIA BESNE, The Vernon's, Olha Bahatiuk, Jesús Bíquez Talayero, Chels Raknrl, Sai Pranavi Jonnalagadda, Stuart Rice, Jing Chen, Vector-Dopamine math, Jasper Song, Giorgio Bugnatelli, Chardon, Eddy Trochez, OnlineBookClub.org, Eric Shear, Leith Salem, Omar Hicham, Adrian Rotaru, Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Niklas Frimberger, Hunter Manhart, Nathan Nguyen, Igor Stavchanskiy, James R DeVries, Grace Huo, Diana Huang, Chau Hong Diem, Orlellys Torre, Corheu, Thomas Mee, Maryann H McCrory and Blas Borde.

Procrastination, while often seen as laziness, is actually a stress response triggered by the amygdala. When faced with a challenging task, the brain perceives it as a threat, releasing stress hormones and activating the fight, flight, or freeze response, leading to avoidance behavior. This is particularly common for tasks that evoke negative emotions like dread, incompetence, and insecurity.

Procrastination
Stress Response
Amygdala

  • Procrastination is when we avoid tasks we said we would do for no good reason, even though we expect negative consequences.
  • Procrastination is an irrational behavior that is actually driven by a fear response from our brains, aiming to protect us from perceived threats.

Insights from the YouTube Video Script:

1. Procrastination is a Survival Mechanism, Not Laziness:

The script dives deep into the biological roots of procrastination, explaining how our brains react to stressful tasks like a threat. This leads to a fear response that triggers the "fight, flight, or freeze" mechanism, causing us to avoid the task instead of facing it head-on. This insight challenges the common misconception that procrastination is simply a lack of willpower or laziness.

2. Procrastination is Fueled by Negative Emotions:

The text identifies the key driver of procrastination as negative emotions like dread, incompetence, and insecurity. The script reveals that the more difficult we perceive a task to be, the more we

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