"I'll Do It Later"

As November descends, dark skies, rain-soaked walks home, and endless hours in the library suddenly become rituals at university. With the semester’s end in sight, many of us know the familiar feeling of opening MySaint, only to see deadlines creeping closer while the days race past. Yet most of us have been in situations such as promising ourselves a quick ten-minute Instagram scroll that spirals into half an hour, or getting lost online shopping with an essay due in three days. This is one habit that we can all relate to, and it’s the infamous feeling of procrastination.

Procrastination has been a constant human struggle. In Ancient Greece, Aristotle coined the term “akrasia,” or weakness of the will, to describe acting against your better judgment. However, procrastination is more complex than just putting something off — it is a battle between the brain's emotional and rational cognitive frameworks. The limbic system, situated deep within the brain, is responsible for processing emotions such as pain, anger, and reward. When faced with a difficult task like essay writing, the amygdala — a structure within the limbic system that processes negative emotions like anxiety — quickly diverts attention towards short-term pleasures like chatting to friends. This reaction immediately gives your brain a dopamine hit, encouraging you to keep on repeating this task. At the same time, the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decisions and controlling impulses, often overrides the limbic system’s emotional drive. This drives this ‘tug of war’ feeling during procrastination — feeling both guilty for avoiding work yet relieved by the distraction.

However, as the limbic system is the stronger and more developed part of the brain, it often wins, leading to repeated cycles of procrastination. Giving our brain what feels good to us right now describes the concept of ‘temporal discounting’, where future rewards or consequences tend to feel devalued. Similarly, delayed rewards activate the prefrontal cortex, while immediate rewards trigger the limbic system, creating this imbalance that sustains procrastination.

So, the science is clear: procrastination isn’t as simple as feeling bored or unmotivated. As exam season approaches, there are many tips and tricks that we can utilise to help overcome this feeling. The Pomodoro Technique, a cycle where you work for 25 minutes then take a break for five, is a standout example. This technique aligns with scientific research suggesting the brain's optimal focus time is around 25 to 40 minutes before starting to feel distracted. These shorter time slots of focus, therefore, keep the mind more engaged whilst activating the limbic system during the five-minute break period. The Pomodoro Technique aligns with the Zeigarnik Effect, where the brain fixates on unfinished tasks more than completed tasks, creating a mental block to starting big pieces of work like an essay. By splitting workloads into smaller, manageable pieces of time, it reduces the fear placed on the amygdala of tackling an immense project, hence reducing the desire to find a short-term distraction.

“Our minds learn through reward-based learning. Paradoxically, mindfulness taps right into the reward-based process to help us step out of it.’’ This statement from Dr Judson Brewer, Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University, presents practical steps we can take to combat procrastination this exam season. She suggests intentionally recognising how procrastination leaves us feeling more stressed, anxious, or angry over time, helping us break the robotic cycle of doom scrolling or staring into space. Combined with tools like the Pomodoro Technique, it empowers students to stay focused, beat procrastination, and take control.

Illustration by Ana Brockmann Aldasoro