For the longest time, I believed that procrastination meant doing nothing. Sitting idly, scrolling endlessly, or staring at a blank screen while time slipped through my fingers. That wasn’t me. I live in a constant state of anxiety, always moving, always doing. The idea of putting things off seemed foreign to me because I was always busy, always crossing things off my list. But then, I realized something that completely shifted my perspective: procrastination isn’t just about doing nothing—it’s also about doing everything except the thing that truly matters.
It sounds obvious, but somehow, I had never connected the dots. I told myself I wasn’t procrastinating because I was being productive. Answering emails, reorganizing my space, handling small tasks that made me feel accomplished. But deep down, I knew I was avoiding the real work, the tasks that carried actual weight. The ones that required deep focus, energy, and, frankly, a level of emotional engagement I wasn’t always ready to give.
This kind of procrastination—disguised as productivity—can be even more harmful than doing nothing. When we are aware that we’re procrastinating in the traditional sense, we at least acknowledge that we’re avoiding something. But when we fill our time with endless small tasks, we trick ourselves into thinking we are being productive, even though we’re simply avoiding what really needs to be done. It creates a false sense of accomplishment while leaving the most important things untouched.
Procrastination, in all its forms, is often rooted in fear—fear of failure, fear of imperfection, fear of confronting difficult emotions. Our brains seek comfort and control, so we choose tasks that feel manageable, that give us instant gratification, rather than the ones that truly push us forward. It’s a coping mechanism, but one that can quietly sabotage progress.
And here’s the real danger: constantly doing things can be just as exhausting as doing nothing, if not worse. It drains mental energy, scatters focus, and creates an illusion of movement while leading nowhere. It feeds anxiety rather than relieving it because, at the end of the day, the important tasks are still there, looming over us. The weight doesn’t disappear—it just shifts, growing heavier with time.
It’s almost funny how easily the mind tricks itself. Keeping busy became my shield, my excuse. How could I be procrastinating if I was always doing something? But busyness is not the same as progress. Filling my day with smaller, manageable tasks didn’t move the needle where it really counted. It just kept me in motion, circling around the things I truly needed to face.
Recognizing this was uncomfortable. It forced me to admit that my version of productivity wasn’t always serving me. That sometimes, the hardest thing isn’t getting started but getting started on the right thing. And that just because I was constantly doing didn’t mean I was actually moving forward.
Like for mostly everyone, procrastination ends when a deadline is coming up and then we end up in a state of severe stress. How I sometimes trick myself by moving deadlines forward or on some days just plan that one important thing and nothing else to force myself to finally do it. This worked wonders in some situations. But to be honest I am still a bloody specialist in cluttering up my day with unimportant things. Sorry for not having a master trick solution. But maybe you are further ahead in the process, so please share how you outsmarted this damn pattern?
xx baj.