What it can look like
Everyday examples.
Circling a task with planning but not beginning
Starting only when consequences become immediate
Avoiding work that feels ambiguous, tedious, or emotionally loaded
Context matters
A pattern is not a diagnosis.
Procrastination can reflect executive load, anxiety, depression, perfectionism, sleep loss, or other factors—not laziness.
Clinicians consider persistence, developmental history, impairment, multiple settings, health, sleep, mood, anxiety, substance use, learning, and other possible explanations.
Evidence