Procrastination: Don’t Wait for the Ice Storms of Life

“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today.” – Wayner Dyer, EdD and bestselling author

Procrastination gets a bad rap. It’s often framed as laziness, poor discipline, or a failure of willpower. But most of us know that story doesn’t quite fit. Especially in medicine. Physicians are among the most hardworking, conscientious people I know, yet we still put things off. Important things. Necessary things. Sometimes things that literally hang over our heads. As it turns out, procrastination is less about time management and more about emotional management.

For months, I knew the magnolia tree in our yard needed attention. Its branches arched gracefully, and increasingly precariously, over the power line coming into our house. I noticed it every time I pulled into the driveway. And then, I didn’t deal with it.  Fast forward to the day Winter Storm Fern was forecast to arrive, bringing potential freezing rain and the real possibility of power outages. That was the day I found myself outside, precariously balancing on a ladder, trimming branches in the bitter cold, with urgency suddenly doing what foresight had not. 

Psychologically, procrastination isn’t about avoiding work – it’s about avoiding discomfort. Research shows that procrastination is strongly linked to emotions like anxiety, uncertainty, self-doubt, or even resentment about having to do the task at all. When a task carries emotional weight, such as responsibility, risk, or consequence, we unconsciously defer it in favor of short-term emotional relief. Our brains are simply trying to help us feel better now, even if it makes things harder later.

Sure it took time, but the magnolia tree wasn’t hard to trim. What I was putting off wasn’t the labor – it was the sense of responsibility. What if I cut it wrong, didn’t cut it enough, cut a branch that falls on the power line, or even hired someone else to do it but resented having to pay them to do what I could have done? That subtle pressure created just enough internal friction to delay action. Sound familiar?  In medicine, many of the things we commonly procrastinate on, such as difficult conversations, documentation, follow-up, leadership decisions, self-care, carry similar emotional weight. And so we often wait until the “storm” forces our hand.  At least I do!

Procrastination isn’t a character flaw. It’s a signal – perhaps of where we could use some support or encouragement and maybe even accountability.  But it can have negative consequences. The invitation isn’t to shame ourselves into action, but to notice what we’re avoiding and ask: What emotion am I trying not to feel? This week, consider one thing you’ve been putting off, not to judge it, but to get curious about it.  And maybe check in with your PeerRx partner or another colleague about theirs. Your “mutual confession” may even provide a chuckle or two.  Chances are, you’re both too often finding yourselves trimming magnolias in the cold, doing your best to keep the lights on. You’re not alone in this work, and you don’t have to wait for the storm.  No one should procrastinate alone ....