Many procrastinators realize that their procrastination takes on a life of its own and its own principles. They compare the experience of procrastination to life on a roller coaster. Their moods wax and wane as they try to progress, and yet they invariably slow down.
When procrastinators delay starting a project and then work on it to see it through, they consistently go through a series of thoughts, feelings, and behavior patterns so typical that they've been called the "procrastination cycle."
Each person has their own unique experience within this cycle. Your cycle may last for weeks, months, or even years, or it may progress so rapidly that you go from beginning to end in a few hours
1. "I'll start early this time."
In the beginning, procrastinators are usually full of hope.
When you're just starting a project, chances are you'll work on it this time in a meaningful and systematic way. And while you can't or don't want to start right now, you probably believe that the start will happen somehow spontaneously, without any planned effort on your part. Only after a while does it become clear that this time will probably be no different, and your hope turns to apprehension.
2. "We need to start soon."
The time when it was possible to start work in advance has already passed, the illusions that this time the project will be done as it should be are melting away.
Anxiety grows, and tension begins to increase. You have almost given up hope that you will start spontaneously, and now you feel the urge to make some effort to do something soon. But there is no deadline on the horizon yet, so there is still some hope.
3. "What if I don't start?".
Time passes and you still haven't started - there's no such thing as a perfect start, and there's no rush to get started. The optimism that still remained has by now turned into an unpleasant foreboding. You imagine that you might never start, and maybe even visualize the dire consequences that will ruin your life forever. At this moment, you may be paralyzed, and a bunch of thoughts will be constantly swirling in your head:
4. "Why didn't I start earlier?"
You may look back at the time you've already wasted, realize that you can't get it back, and be tormented by remorse. You regret the behavior that brought you to the edge of this abyss, and you know that you could have prevented it if only you had started earlier. As one procrastinator put it, "I know what it's like to ruminate and not know the end."
5. "I do everything but..."
An extremely typical behavior of all procrastinators at this stage is to do everything in a row except the project you are avoiding.
The desire to tidy up the desktop, clean the apartment, or try new recipes suddenly becomes so irresistible. Tasks that you previously avoided, but which are less burdensome, simply need to be done now. You easily occupy yourself with solving things, joyfully immerse yourself in any activity that is not this, and comfort yourself with the rationalization: "Well, at least I'm doing something!" Sometimes the distracting activity seems so productive that you genuinely believe you're making progress on your project. However, in the end it becomes clear that you are not doing it.
6. "Nothing makes me happy"
Many procrastinators try to distract themselves with pleasurable activities that produce immediate results.
You can watch movies, play games, hang out with friends, or go hiking on the weekend. And although you try your best to enjoy yourself, the shadow of an unfinished project hangs over you. Any pleasure quickly dissolves — and is replaced by guilt, unpleasant foreboding, or disgust.
7. "I hope no one finds out"
Time flies, and things remain unfinished — and procrastinators feel ashamed. You don't want anyone to find out about your situation, so you look for a way to hide it. You can create the appearance of being busy even when you are not working; create the illusion of progress, even if you haven't taken a single step; you can hide — not show up at the office, avoid people, phone calls, or any other contact that might reveal your secret. As you continue your disguise, you may come up with elaborate fabrications to hide your delay and feel more and more like a criminal. (Let's say people express their condolences because of your aunt's death, and you know she's alive and well.)
8. "There is still time"
Even in the face of guilt, shame, or cheating, you continue to hold on to the hope that there is still time to complete the project. The ground may be slipping away from under your feet, but you try to remain optimistic and wait for the magical extension of the deadline that may still occur.
9. "There's something wrong with me."
And now you are in despair. Good intentions to start earlier did not work; shame, guilt and suffering did not work; believing in magic didn't work. Anxiety about how to implement the project turns into an even more terrifying fear: "It's because of me... Something is wrong with me!" You may feel that you lack something important that everyone else has—self-discipline, courage, intelligence, or luck. After all, they would!
10. Final choice:
to do or not to do At this stage, you need to decide: whether to go to the last one, or to escape from the ship that is going to the bottom.
The first way: don't do it
"I can't stand it!" The tension becomes unbearable. Time is running out, and it seems impossible to complete the project in those last few minutes or hours. Due to excessive tension, it seems to you that you do not have the strength and patience to extract effort from yourself and cope with the work. With the thought "I can't take it anymore!" you decide that the pain of trying to get things done is too much. you run away
"Why stress?" At this late stage in the game, you may look back and see the time wasted and decide that it is too late to pursue this project. There is simply no way in the world you can complete the project as originally planned - it cannot be done well in this minimal amount of time. No matter how hard you try, you will not be able to do what you envisioned. So what's the point of wasting energy on any attempts? You give up.
The second way: to do is to go to the last
"We can't wait any longer." At this point, the tension has grown so much that you can't wait another minute. Either the deadline is right around the corner, or your inaction has become so painful that eventually doing nothing is worse than taking action. So you, as a criminal sentenced to death, decide to surrender to the mercy of fate that cannot be avoided... and get to work.
"It's not so scary. And why didn't I start earlier?" To your surprise, everything is not as scary as you imagined. Even if it's hard, painful, or boring, at least the project is already underway — and that's an incredible relief. You may even discover that you enjoy it! And then all your suffering seems to be in vain. "Why didn't I just do it?"
“Just finish it!” Completion is just around the corner. In the pursuit of time, you can no longer lose a second. When you're playing a risky game of balancing on the edge, you don't have the luxury of extra time to plan, polish, or improve what you've done. You're no longer focusing on how well you could do it, but on doing it at all.
.«I will never procrastinate again!». When the project is eventually canceled or completed, the procrastinator is usually relieved and exhausted. It was a difficult test. But it finally ended. The thought of going through this process one more time is so hateful that you decide never to enter the cycle again. You swear that next time you will start early, be more organized, stick to a schedule, and control your emotions. And stand firm in your belief… until next time.
So the cycle of procrastination comes to an end with an emotional promise never to engage in this behavior again. And yet, despite their sincerity and determination, most procrastinators repeat this cycle over and over again.