Productive procrastination — Max van IJsselmuiden

The past few weeks, it feels like procrastination is everywhere. It might just be the frequency illusion — but it’s on my mind, so I need to write about it.

Not too long ago, I finished a video on my channel, a couple of days after filming. Even though my regular schedule would require me to upload videos from an older trip, I disguised the video as a special to work on it close to the trip and just upload it. And I loved it.

It was productive. A new video got published. It felt good.

It just wasn’t the one thing I absolutely have to do: finish my older videos.

It would be great to have those videos finished. I enjoy working on them. It’s a thing I love. Yet I avoid it.

If I can understand the answer to these questions:

• Why is it more fun to work on a new project than one that’s been around?
• Why do we avoid the work we actually have to do?

I might be able to figure out a way to solve my procrastination issue.

The productivity matrix

Casey Neistat, one of my favourite YouTubers, recently made a video about this. We all know we should be doing X but we do Y, to feel productive. He mentions a productivity matrix representing four different categories. Hover or tap the categories to see his activities that match the category.

things I want to do but should absolutely not do

Video gamesHang w/ SamTwitterWatch YouTube

things I want to do and absolutely should do but for some reason I avoid doing

Make YouTube videosEdit YouTube videos

things I don’t want to do and don’t need to but will do to avoid the thing I should do

Check mailboxRewire electronicsOrganize gearClean studio

things I don’t want to do but absolutely need to do

Work callsRespond to emails

want to do don’t want to do unproductive productive

The categories are really Casey-style, descriptive and casual, but he makes a valid point here. We should all have our items falling into each of these categories. It happens to me too — video games, TV shows or administration, to avoid the thing I should be doing. But that doesn’t really happen a lot, and isn’t necessarily my problem here.

I’m still being productive, and I want to do the things I do while being productive. So according to this matrix, that would fall in the top right category. Which is good. The issue is that I’m productive and having fun, but still, I’m aware it’s not the thing I should be focusing on.

There’s no category for that in this matrix.

Let’s call it productive procrastination.

Your brain is protecting you

Let’s figure out what’s happening here. When doing research, the general consensus is that procrastination comes from a collision between two systems in our brains.

The first system being the limbic system, or more specifically the amygdala, an area of our brains which plays a central role in the processing and memory of emotions. It processes threats, rewards and emotions.

The second system is the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which is more deliberate: planning, impulse control and long-term reasoning.

So, when we’re not procrastinating, the prefrontal cortex is doing its task properly: we’re controlling our impulses, acting as planned and thinking long-term. The problem is when a task triggers a significant negative emotion — anxiety, boredom, fear of failure — the amygdala takes over and we try to avoid this negative emotion.

So, in general, that’s what’s happening. Our brains are protecting us from the negative emotions related to that task. A logical conclusion would be to address the negative emotions associated with the main task.

Rewarding novelty

But that can’t be all. Brains are complicated, there’s different systems in play here. In my case, I am still being productive, just not on the tasks that I should be focusing on.

I believe this has to do with the novelty of the tasks.

It’s something that’s been on the back of my mind for a while. For my video editing hobby I make motorcycle travel videos. Vlogs, basically. The closer to the actual date, the more motivated I am to finish a video.

The more time there is between the first recording of a video and the time I spend working on the video, the less efficient I work. Simply put, I prefer working on newly recorded videos.

Which is partially why I disguised my latest video as a special video. I’ve still got many videos to make, chronologically, about a trip I made to the South Island, which is over 90 days ago by now.

The fun part is that I’ve got the data to test this theory. It’s not exactly scientifically accurate, but we might see a trend. Also, it’s fun to do, I’m avoiding what I should be doing, so let’s give it a go.

I’ve gathered the data for my 20 published videos. Out of the 20 published videos, two I’ve marked as specials — because the topic was different enough to break the chronological pattern.

Video editing takes me about an hour per minute of final footage, so longer videos should naturally take longer. Which is why I normalise by duration. The output is the duration in minutes divided by the delta between first recorded date and the export date.

The chart¹ shows that my output drops as the amount of days from the initial recording increases. Also note that the specials have a slightly higher output.

During my trip, I had all the time in the world to work on the videos. After my trip I started a full time job at Sandfield on January 19. So let’s add that to the equation.

A simple chronological chart shows that over time I have become less productive in making videos in general. It makes sense, since I started working 40 hours per week again, there’s less time for me to focus on it. But the two specials definitely stand out here, the output is much higher.

So, I’ve been less interested in working on the older projects than working on the newer projects. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Having taken this non-scientific side-step, let’s take a look at what the actual science has to say.²

What does science say?

Reward system

Our brain’s reward system is mainly focused around dopamine. Dopamine is released in response to reward-predictive cues, as found by Schultz in 1998. Immediately available stimuli generate stronger signals than abstract future stimuli.

More specifically, Bunzeck and Düzel demonstrated that our brain responds specifically to stimulus novelty. The idea is that novel stimuli trigger a hippocampal to ventral tegmental area loop enhancing learning and memory. Wittmann et al. (2007) found that even cues predicting novel stimuli activate our reward system. In contrast, familiar stimuli trigger repetition suppression, dampening our brain’s response to stimuli we’ve already encountered.

Our brains are trained to respond positively to new stimuli. Starting a new project feels exciting and thrilling because of this. This must be the reason why it’s hard to stick to a habit for a longer period, or why I personally always prefer wearing clothes that are new to me.

Humans have always been interested in the new. It has pointed us towards exploration and innovation.

It’s just not helping me right now.

Avoiding guilt

So, we’ve found an answer to the novelty of the projects.

Now, how can we explain the guilt I feel for not working on the main task. The guilt of not working on it should make me overcome it, and actually start, but perhaps actually starting reinforces the guilt. This would mean we’re dealing with an infinite cycle, ever-increasing the feeling of guilt while not making progress.

Perhaps the guilt I feel is the negative emotion associated with the main task.

Moral licensing

Past ‘good’ behaviour generates the psychological permission to start ‘bad’ behaviour (Monin and Miller, 2001). Completing several productive tasks (but not the main task), can trick us into believing we’ve already accomplished a lot.

The past few weeks were genuinely productive outside of video editing: a full portfolio redesign and restructure, a vibe-coded healthy recipe website, and a local AI experiment set up.

Working on these other tasks that are actually productive, my brain gets deceived into thinking that I’ve been productive — so there’s no need to work on the main task.

Zeigarnik Effect

The Zeigarnik Effect states that unfinished tasks persist in working memory, creating cognitive tension. Our brains are remembering the unfinished tasks better than the finished ones. It bothers us, unfinished tasks.

The task I’m avoiding is consuming mental bandwidth even while I’m avoiding it. A study by Masicampo and Baumeister states that making a specific plan for these unfinished tasks eliminates this cognitive burden — of course, the better fix is to actually finish the task.

The opposite is true as well: completion bias states that our brains have a preference for finishing small and easy tasks over tackling important difficult ones. A positive feeling for completing small tasks, a negative feeling for not completing bigger tasks.

That’s why the guilt sets in.

The solution

So, now that we’ve found the two main answers to the questions, let’s look at what to do about them.

The data and the science point to two answers: our brains prefer novelty, and they protect us from the negative emotions tied to tasks we feel we have to do.

To make it more fun to work on an older project, we have to introduce stimuli to make the project feel as if it is new. Tricking our own brains is not easy, so we’ll genuinely have to find creative ways to make an older task feel interesting again.

For me, it can be focusing on a new video editing technique that I want to try out. Hard to figure out for each new video, so I’ll have to be more creative with my solutions here. But, it’s a start.

Affect labeling

A study by Lieberman and colleagues shows that labeling emotional stimuli activates the prefrontal brake. Procrastination is driven by negative affect, and making the affect explicit breaks the automatic avoidance.

Forgive yourself

An interesting study by Wohl, Pychyl and Bennett (2010) shows that students who forgave themselves for procrastinating on a midterm significantly reduced procrastination on the following midterm. Self-forgiveness reduces the guilt. Self-criticism, on the other hand, expands the negative emotions that our brains are trying to avoid.

Make it a habit

Then there are the practical tips, combining a cue and a task (if it’s 9 AM and I sit at my desk, then I work on the main task for 30 min) can get you started. Starting a task often is the hardest part anyway.

For me, understanding the psychological principles behind procrastination helps. I feel less guilt, now that I understand that my brain is wired to make me feel this way.

In the end, it’s up to you to figure out a way to resolve procrastination. I hope reading about these psychological principles has given you a better understanding.

I’ve written this article, so for me, it’s already a productive day. Or is it?