"The task we’re putting off is making us feel bad – perhaps it’s boring, too difficult or we’re worried about failing – and to make ourselves feel better in the moment, we start doing something else, like watching videos." Watching cat videos is a popular way to procrastinate. This was confirmed by a survey at Indiana State University which found that people watch cat videos as a way of avoiding what they need to do, and it does boost people's moods. But, in the long run, we only end up feeling worse.
We procrastinate to avoid an uncomfortable feeling.
Chronic procrastination is associated with a host of "adverse mental and physical health consequences, including anxiety and depression, poor health such as colds and flu, and even more serious conditions like cardiovascular disease."
What to do
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been successful. ACT teaches you to "tolerate uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, staying in the present moment in spite of them, and prioritising choices and actions that help you get closer to what you most value in life."
Just start . . .
. . . with something small and simple you know you can succeed at. Research shows that once we start, we're usually able to keep things going.
There's much more about procrastination in Dr. Jarrett's article.