“Procrastination is a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision.”

Why it was said

Neil Fiore gives this definition early in The Now Habit (1989), and the rest of the book follows from it. If delay is a way of coping with anxiety, the remedy is to lower the anxiety, not to add pressure.

What it actually means

The definition moves procrastination from character to function. People do not delay because they are lazy; they delay because starting or finishing exposes them to something uncomfortable: judgment, failure, a decision that cannot be undone, or a task so large it feels shapeless. Putting it off brings immediate relief, which is why the habit persists. This also explains why the usual remedies backfire. Threats, guilt and harsh deadlines raise the very anxiety that caused the delay. Fiore's tools point the other way: scheduling guilt-free leisure first, starting with thirty minutes of focused work, and replacing "I have to" with "I choose to". Each makes starting feel safer, which is the real goal.

How to use it

1. 1Name the task you are putting off and write down what, specifically, you fear about starting or finishing it.
2. 2Commit to thirty focused minutes on that task today, and decide in advance how you will reward yourself afterwards.