Procrastination is a common and maladaptive behavior characterized by the irrational delay of intended tasks, typically arising from a momentary imbalance between the perceived value of task completion and the emotional discomfort associated with performing it. The current study applied the Temporal Decision Model, which frames procrastination as a cost-benefit evaluation sensitive to emotional states and temporal proximity. The study aimed to test a brief, scalable intervention designed to elevate task outcome utility, reduce emotional aversion, and enhance immediate intentions of individuals to complete procrastinated tasks. The intervention included three evidence-based components: affect labeling to regulate distress, subgoal generation to break tasks into manageable parts, and reward selection to provide immediate incentive.
The primary objectives were to determine whether this combined approach could change task-related evaluation of individuals and elevate their likelihood of completing a procrastinated task, and to assess whether social desirability bias influenced self-reported outcomes.
A total of 1035 adults were recruited through Prolific, with one excluded for failing a seriousness check. Participants (mean age ≈ 39) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: an experimental group which completed seven open-ended prompts reflecting on their procrastinated task, and generated a subtask and reward, and two control groups, one with a neutral task-related question, and one with simply named the procrastinated task. Frequentist ANOVAs and Bayes Factor analyses revealed no significant differences between the control groups on any dependent variables (Bayes Factors supporting the null ranged from 0.01 to 0.33), so they were combined for primary analyses. After the intervention, all participants rated task outcome utility, mood, stress, aversion, motivation, and likelihood of completing the task in the next 24 hours. They also completed the Short Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale to detect response bias.
Statistical analyses revealed several significant effects favouring the intervention. Welch’s t-tests showed that participants in experimental group reported a higher likelihood of completing their task (mean [M] = 5.38 vs. 4.88, t-statistic [t] = −3.04, probability value [p] = 0.002, Cohen’s d [d] = −0.20) and greater outcome utility (M = 7.29 vs. 7.03, t = −2.49, p = 0.013, d = −0.15). Task aversion did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.267). The critical utility aversion difference score showed a balance of costs and benefits was significantly higher in the experimental group (M = 2.87 vs. 2.47, t = −2.29, p = 0.022, d = −0.15). Mood was more positive in the intervention condition (M = 4.68 vs. 4.45, t = −2.06, p = 0.039), whereas stress and motivation did not differ significantly.
A parallel mediation analysis showed that both utility aversion difference (b = 0.09, p = 0.031) and mood (b = 0.08, p = 0.053) mediated the effect of group assignment on task completion likelihood with a significant total indirect effect (b = 0.16, p = 0.009). The total effect of group assignment on task completion likelihood remained significant (b = 0.50, p = 0.002). ANCOVAs demonstrated that all significant findings persisted after controlling for social desirability bias. There were no significant interactions between social desirability and group assignment.
Overall, this study demonstrates that a brief, low-effect, and scalable intervention can shift task-related cost-benefit appraisal and enhance self-reported intentions to complete procrastinated tasks. Despite its simplicity, the intervention provided meaningful gains by enhancing perceived outcome utility through subgoal creation and reward selection and moderately improving mood through implicit affect labeling. These findings suggest that increasing immediate perceived advantages may be a promising strategy for reducing state procrastination, even though effect sizes were modest and actual behavioural outcomes were not assessed. The results provide a foundation for developing digital, task-specific interventions that could be widely implemented to promote goal-directed behavior in clinical, professional, and educational contexts.
Reference: Garg A, Shelat S, Schooler JW. Now I feel like I’m going to get to it soon: a brief, scalable intervention for state procrastination. BMC Psychology. 2025;13:1158. doi:10.1186/s40359-025-03388-3
