Beating Procrastination by Making Time Your Ally

Procrastination is often misunderstood as laziness or a lack of discipline. In reality, it is more often a sign of emotional overwhelm and a struggle to manage the demands of daily life. Jeffrey Combs, in The Procrastination Cure, describes one of the first habits for overcoming procrastination as learning to work with time frames. He suggests that recovering procrastinators must cultivate a greater awareness of time—whether it’s one hour, one day, one week, or one year—and break it into manageable increments.

This perspective is essential because when we lack awareness of time, we frequently underestimate or overestimate how long tasks will take. This distorted perception fuels avoidance. For example, you may think a report will take “forever,” so you put it off, only to discover later that it takes just 20 minutes. Conversely, you may believe you can finish a project in an hour, when in reality it requires several evenings of focused work. Both patterns lead to stress, frustration, and ultimately procrastination.

Being aware of time and developing a more accurate sense of how long tasks take is key in reducing overwhelm. When we are overwhelmed, our bodies often react with a fight-or-flight response—we feel paralyzed by stress, our concentration falters, and avoidance becomes the default coping mechanism. By breaking time into smaller, realistic chunks, we create a sense of control and predictability, which helps reduce this stress response.

Consider the difference between saying, “I need to write an entire assignment this weekend,” versus “I will spend 30 minutes outlining my ideas tonight, then 45 minutes writing the introduction tomorrow.” The second approach is grounded in time awareness and builds momentum, while the first often feels daunting and triggers avoidance.

This is why effective time estimation is such a powerful antidote to procrastination. Each time you estimate accurately and complete a task within that frame, you reinforce confidence in your ability to manage demands. Over time, this builds a healthier relationship with time—where it becomes an ally that supports your progress rather than an enemy that looms over you.

Ultimately, “time management” is less about controlling the clock and more about managing yourself within the frames of time available to you. The key lies in breaking tasks down, estimating realistically, and approaching them with calm, rather than overwhelm. By doing so, procrastination loses its hold, and you gain clarity, momentum, and emotional balance.

Reference:

Combs, J. (2011). The Procrastination Cure: 7 Steps to Stop Putting Life Off. Wiley.