How to stop procrastination with ADHD: 3 tricks to overcome procrastination

Procrastination is a common habit in people with ADHD for various reasons, which we'll explore in this blog. Procrastination itself when someone puts off or delays a task. In this case it may be because they feel it is overwhelming or intimidating, or it takes a lot of effort to begin trying to plan or start the task. This phenomenon can become harmful to someone’s home and work life as well as their education. If tasks like revision, assignments, projects, forms, and even things like cleaning the house keep being delayed, it can cause negative outcomes for them. Here’s more about what causes it, why it effects people with ADHD, and how you can try to stop procrastination with ADHD.

Does ADHD cause procrastination?

Procrastination is not officially seen as a symptom of ADHD, though tending to put off or avoid tasks that require a lot of focus is a recognised trait of ADHD. Having difficulties organising and planning tasks is also a symptom of ADHD, so taken together these can partly amount to procrastination.

However, procrastination has been observed as a common occurrence in people with ADHD. For example, Niermann and Scheres (2014) found that in their undergraduate student sample, the inattention aspect of ADHD symptomology was significantly correlated with procrastination.

Another study saw that when the level of ADHD symptoms was higher, procrastination increased, and quality of life decreased (Turgeman & Pollak, 2024). This shows how important to recognise and investigate the role of ADHD in procrastination.

Finally, a study found that the established relationship between procrastination and ADHD could be semi-accounted for by lower self-esteem and emotion dysregulation (Bodalski et al., 2023).

So what does the research tell us about procrastination and ADHD?

• There is a strong association between having ADHD and procrastinating - you are more likely to procrastinate if you have ADHD

• The more someone with ADHD procrastinates, their quality of life can be lower

• Low self-esteem and difficulties managing emotions might make you more likely to procrastinate with ADHD

Why do people with ADHD procrastinate?

There is a number of factors that contribute to why ADHDers procrastinate. For example, some research suggests that ADHD brains have a higher threshold of dopamine required for them to feel a sense of reward, which is an important motivator for starting and completing tasks. This naturally means that they are more likely to procrastinate a task through intentionally distracting themselves or putting it off; ADHD brains want a reward and don't think they'll get one from starting tasks.

Another reason why ADHDers may procrastinate tasks more than people without ADHD is because they often struggle more to plan and organise them. This comes as a result of executive dysfunction, whereby tasks like planning, organising, prioritising, and time keeping is much harder. This generates higher levels of procrastination. Tasks that are not organised or planned out are less desirable, therefore leading to people procrastinating them.

Finally, ADHDers may procrastinate everyday tasks because they aren’t urgent. For example, they may leave the dishes in the sink unwashed for a long time as there is no deadline on washing them up. They may leave tasks that do have a deadline until the last minute, because only then they feel the sense of urgency therefore encouraging them to begin. However, without this urgency, they may procrastinate it. This is also down to the executive dysfunction, with their time keeping abilities being affected.

How to stop procrastination with ADHD?

If you struggle with procrastination as a result of your ADHD or anything else, read these three tips that will help you manage and overcome your periods of procrastination. Managing your procrastination can be imperative in numerous environments, such as at home with the housework, in your educational setting with revision and assignments, and at work with tasks and project. Procrastination can lead you to getting behind on these things, which can soon pile up leaving you to procrastinate more. It can be a difficult cycle to break out of however these tips will hopefully help you to overcome it and get your tasks started.

Tip 1: Use time keeping tools

Using time keeping tools and methods can really help you to feel more encouraged to start your task. This will facilitate for the time keeping deficits that ADHD can bring. For example, the Pomodoro technique encourages working for 25 minutes before taking a 5-minute break. This could be very beneficial because it not only manages your time for you but it also increases the dopamine released in your brain when you get that break reward to reach the higher threshold.

Tip 2: Body doubling

Body doubling is a technique you can use which involves working alongside someone else independently. This is a very helpful technique to help you stay concentrated as it puts you in a study or working environment created by your body doubling partner. This will hopefully target the inattention symptoms of ADHD and help you overcome this when you are completing a task.

Tip 3: Develop a written schedule and turn it into a routine

Through taking a bit of time and writing down your schedule, you can maintain focus on the tasks you need to complete. After carrying this out continuously and allowing it to become a habit, you can ensure that the progress you make on staying focused and getting things done can be maintained. Similarly, when it becomes part of a routine, you won’t have to worry about planning, organising, and time scheduling again as it is already established in habit.

Here we have covered what procrastination is, its relation to ADHD, and ways you can break out of it. If you are interested in reading more about other aspects of ADHD, we have other blogs on topics such as: What to expect from a private adult ADHD assessment, What is Task Paralysis in ADHD, and Tips for ADHD and Planning.

If you are seeking an ADHD diagnosis, that is also something we offer. Please click here for more information about our diagnostic assessments.

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