Member-only story
The Hidden High of Procrastination: Why Your Brain Gets Addicted to Avoiding Life
Why procrastination feels so good — and how it silently sabotages your goals, peace of mind, future happiness
We’ve all been there. It’s 11 PM. The report is due tomorrow. You swore you’d start at 7, then 8, then 9. Now you’re elbows-deep in a Reddit thread about Icelandic horses or alphabetizing your spice rack like it’s the key to inner peace. That, right there, is the strange high of procrastination.
At first, procrastination offers a soft landing. You tell yourself you just need a minute, just one more video, just a little break before diving in, that taking a breather actually makes you more productive. But hours pass, the deadline looms larger, and you start feeling a mix of guilt, panic, and self-loathing. Despite knowing better, we repeat this cycle again and again. Why? Because our brains are wired in a way that rewards this avoidance. The emotional relief we feel from putting something off mimics the psychological rush people experience with addictive behaviors. It’s not just bad habits or poor planning. There is a deeper, neurological game at play.
