How to make procrastination work for—not against—you

Procrastination isn’t an easy habit to kick, but Arthur Brooks, social scientist and happiness researcher, says there are ways you can use putting things off to your benefit.

“Procrastination gets a bad rap. And indeed, putting off necessary, routine responsibilities will make your work pile up and is almost always detrimental to your well-being,” Brooks writes in his newly released book, “The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life.”

“But deployed strategically with certain creative tasks, a little procrastination can actually be beneficial.”

Brooks explains that there are two different ways to view procrastination, according to the ancient Egyptian take on the phenomenon; procrastination can either be seen as laziness or “waiting for the right time.”

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Here are five tips for using procrastination “the right way,” according to Brooks.

Take stock of where you stand: It’s important to note that occasional procrastination with intention can be helpful, but consistently putting things off is not, Brooks highlights. “To find out if you suffer from [chronic procrastination], ask yourself whether the way you delay tasks makes you feel out of control or unhappy,” he writes.Develop mindfulness habits: Let’s say you find yourself in the chronic procrastinator category, Brooks suggests developing practices that help you feel more present. Some recommendations he has are limiting your distractions when you’re working on a task or really engulfing yourself in your current project.Create a strategy for using procrastination intentionally: When it comes to creativity, sometimes you’ll need additional time to generate ideas. Brooks always waits a day after coming up with an article idea before actually writing it, he says. “I jot down my idea, think about it, sleep on it, go for a walk, and then start on it,” he writes. “I don’t put it off for a week—just a day or two.”Don’t waste your stalling: While giving yourself more time to flesh out your thoughts can be helpful, that time is only useful if used properly. Don’t use the procrastination to doomscroll, which can lead to more procrastination, Brooks says. Instead, place your phone in a separate room, or take a walk to really boost your creativity.Let tasks be unfinished—not stuck: To avoid starting major projects and never finishing them, “leave projects in a particular state of incompletion, such that picking them up again is easy,” Brooks writes. For example, if you’re painting, work on it up until the point where you’re super excited about what you’ll paint next. Then, pause for the day and pick up your paintbrush tomorrow. “Start the next day by finishing up and moving on to the next task, and repeat the pattern.” This keeps the energy flowing.

If there are tedious tasks that you often avoid and struggle to get done like cutting your grass or cleaning your home, it may be because you strongly dislike doing it. It could benefit you to hire someone to do those tasks for you if you can, Brooks says.

“Your procrastination, maladaptive as it may be, is actually giving you hints as to how you can be happier. It’s up to you to listen.”

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