Our motivational state rarely matches the task at hand, so we always have to use self-regulation skills to bring our focus to it. So at first it will be, "Okay, I recognize that I don't feel like it, but I'm just gonna get started." SL: What's the evidence that just beginning a task, even in a very small way, makes it easier to follow through? TP: We know from psychological research by <a href="http://www.psych.rochester.edu/people/elliot_andrew/">[Andrew] Elliot </a>and others that progress on our goals feeds our well-being. So the most important thing you can do is bootstrap a little progress. Get a little progress, and that's going to fuel your well-being and your motivation.

SL: Can people really overcome procrastination? TP: I guess I'm a living case. When I was an undergraduate, I procrastinated a lot. And now that I understand procrastination, I just have no room to wiggle. Because it's all about self-deception - you aren't aware that it's going to cost you, but you are. When there's no more self-deception and you face yourself, you either shit or get off the pot. You're either going to do it, or you're not going to do it. I really like my life, and I like to make time for the things that are important to me. [Robert] Pozen, who's written a book on <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FExtreme-Productivity-Boost-Results-Reduce-ebook%2Fdp%2FB007HBLNSS">extreme productivity </a>, has the OHIO rule: only handle it once. And I'm like that with email. I look at that email and say, "I can reply to it now, or I can throw it out," but there's not much of a middle ground. I'm not going to save it for a while.

Tax Day is a horror for many procrastinators. For many people, a little procrastination isn't harmful - like 15 minutes lost in Facebook or putting off doing the laundry for a few days. But then there are things like taxes. And all the people who keep meaning to start saving for retirement, but never do.

Why your brain loves procrastination

Lucia Bolanča