Procrastination: When does it end?
These are my experiences and learnings from procrastinating -- I am actively procrastinating as I write this...
Stop analyzing life... It makes it complicated. Just live it.
I want to start this with — procrastination is an activity, a cognitive loop. Mental activity without action. And it all starts with the mind… *dramatic noise*
What is the Mind?
Okay again I want to preface this with — these are my thoughts based on what I understand fuck you… (sorry)
Okay, so the Mind is… Not you. → This was the thing that helped me the most.
I sat with this for a while, your thoughts just show up most of the time. You have very limited control in the creation of these thoughts but you do control your belief in them. Like your stomach your mind has its own wants and incentives (Comfort, safety and energy conservation)
Unlike your stomach this fucker has the ability to manipulate you in a moment of weakness using thoughts.
Procrastination only works when you believe your mind — that your thoughts are you and your wants. (idk this felt really abstract to me in the beginning makes more sense later)
Tricks of the Mind
It’s like a magician. A very annoying and absurd magician. I figured out some tricks but I still get got sometimes.
Trying to make you think that all of your thoughts are reality — some are, most are not. Don’t play yourself
It will always wants both the sides of the coin — you want to write that stupid post on Substack but you also want to uber eats and watch Stranger things again (solid idea btw!)
Chances are the outcome is already decided — this cognitive loop is just a game your mind plays to satisfy you; to make you feel like you didn’t immediately decide to not do the thing. (Some mental gymnastics to make you feel like you tried) Don’t worry you can change this… I think…
Efficiency > Action: This is the worst, “Oh if you do this like this tomorrow it will be better!”. Don’t engage, do it in the most inefficient way now!
“This is boring”. Yo, this one is the last one for me in every mental argument. “But, this is boring” If you engage with this you will always fail, ignore it.
Where do You stand in all of this?
Yeah I said some shit that is questionable, if your Mind and thoughts are not you then who are you? (Wait a minute… Who are you?)
If you have tried meditating — you’ll notice that when a thought shows up. That awareness is you. Thoughts appear automatically, judgement appears automatically, but you are the one who is aware of them — that’s your leverage.
Like I said earlier, your Mind wants both sides of the coin. It would rather sit and make you debate about each option, weighing out the priority and effort.
The moment you identify with the mind you get dragged into a negotiation.
You are not the voice that is saying “Let’s do it tomorrow”.
You are the awareness that noticed that sentence show up.
If you can notice a thought as a thought and not you, then you don’t have to obey it.
How to win
This is simple but not easy — it requires constant effort which gets easier over time.
You don’t win by fighting your mind or by “having better thoughts”. (I hate when people say that)
You win by not engaging with the mind — the moment you start arguing with your mind, you’ve already lost. Reasoning leads to more reasoning that leads to planning and a need for motivation.
Don’t negotiate. Act — again, it’s simple but not easy.
When a thought like “I’ll do this later”, “This would be better tomorrow” or “I am not in the headspace right now” shows up — you must make a choice. These are not signals, this is your mind trying to conserve energy. Do not engage, Act.
Do or do not, there is no try. But for real, you must either do the thing or nothing at all. No counter-argument, no pep talk and no justification. Get up and do the thing or nothing at all.
Doing nothing is honest — it exposes the whole mental gymnastics
Doing the thing, is doing the thing. Congratulations you just stopped procrastinating!
Help! It’s happening again
Yes, it will. Probably like in the next 30 minutes - 3 hours. It’s not easy and you will have to make this choice again and again.
A thought shows up.
You don’t interact with it.
You act.
You will have to practice this every time. Miss it, and the mind learns it can negotiate. Stop believing that you shouldn’t have to do the work and that it will end eventually. (Sounds sucky but it’s not as bad as it sounds)
There is no finish line and it’s not a do it once and it’s solved forever type of thing. It’s a practice. Good luck!
This piece was inspired by a live talk by Dr. Alok Kanojia on procrastination and the nature of the mind (YouTube, Dec 16, 2025).