About this session
Procrastination is often treated as a time-management problem, but many delays are emotional. A task may feel boring, overwhelming, uncertain, uncomfortable or too important to get wrong.
Avoiding it brings short-term relief, but the relief is usually followed by more pressure, guilt and self-criticism.
This session helps participants understand their own procrastination pattern. They identify the tasks they tend to avoid, the emotions and thoughts that show up before delay and the behaviors that provide temporary escape.
Participants then learn how to reduce the size of the task, lower the emotional barrier to starting and create progress before motivation fully arrives.
The final part focuses on sustainability. Participants practice responding to setbacks without self-attack, reducing last-minute pressure cycles and building a practical approach to starting, continuing and finishing work that feels difficult.
What your people take away
- Recognize the emotional and cognitive triggers that drive procrastination
- Understand how avoidance creates short-term relief but longer-term pressure
- Break difficult tasks into smaller, easier-to-start actions
- Use practical strategies to begin before motivation or confidence fully arrives
- Build a more sustainable approach to follow-through without guilt or panic
Shared with you
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- What each length covers, 30 minutes to full day
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What each length covers
30 minutes
30 Minutes — Key Points: Understand Your Procrastination PatternA focused 30-minute session on three key points from Understand Your Procrastination Pattern: identify the tasks you avoid most, notice the emotion before the delay and map the short-term relief.
- Identify the tasks you avoid most
- Notice the emotion before the delay
- Map the short-term relief
Covers 3 of 4 points in Understand Your Procrastination Pattern.
60 minutes
60 Minutes — Module 1: Understand Your Procrastination PatternParticipants identify the types of tasks they most often delay, map the emotions and thoughts that appear beforehand and choose one recurring procrastination pattern to work on.
- Module 1: Understand Your Procrastination Pattern
- Live Q&A
Covers 1 of 4 parts: Understand Your Procrastination Pattern.
90 minutes
90 Minutes — Modules 1 and 2: Make Starting EasierEverything in the 60-minute session, plus practical work on task size, next actions, emotional resistance and starting before motivation arrives. Participants build a more workable entry point into difficult tasks.
- Module 1: Understand Your Procrastination Pattern
- Module 2: Make Starting Easier
- Procrastination cycle mapping exercise
- Live Q&A
Covers 2 of 4 parts: Understand Your Procrastination Pattern and Make Starting Easier.
3 hours
Covers 3 of 4 parts: Understand Your Procrastination Pattern, Make Starting Easier and Stay With the Task When Discomfort Shows Up.
Full day
Full Day — Full Managing Procrastination WorkshopFull coverage of all four modules with procrastination mapping, starting strategies, follow-through exercises and recovery planning. Participants leave with a practical 30-day procrastination reset plan.
- Module 1: Understand Your Procrastination Pattern
- Module 2: Make Starting Easier
- Module 3: Stay With the Task When Discomfort Shows Up
- Module 4: Build a Sustainable Follow-Through System
- Workplace procrastination scenarios
- 30-day personal action plan
- Live Q&A
Covers all 4 parts.
Also available as a 4-week or 8-week program, for change that lasts. Ask us about it.
What’s covered
Understand Your Procrastination Pattern
Every length- Identify the tasks you avoid mostParticipants identify the kinds of work they delay most often, such as ambiguous tasks, difficult conversations, repetitive admin, high-visibility work or large projects.
- Notice the emotion before the delayParticipants identify what they feel before procrastinating, such as boredom, anxiety, confusion, dread or fear of failure.
- Map the short-term reliefParticipants identify what they do instead, such as checking email, tidying, scrolling or switching to easier work, and notice the immediate relief that follows.
- Notice the longer-term costParticipants identify how delay creates pressure later through rushed work, guilt, self-criticism, missed opportunities or reduced recovery.
Make Starting Easier
90 minutes and longer- Reduce the task to the next visible actionParticipants convert vague tasks such as 'prepare presentation' or 'sort the project' into a concrete first action such as opening the file, outlining three points or identifying the first decision.
- Lower the starting standardParticipants practice beginning with a rough draft, first pass or incomplete version rather than expecting the first attempt to be polished.
- Remove setup frictionParticipants identify unnecessary steps that make beginning harder, such as unclear files, missing information or having to decide where to start each time.
- Use a small starting commitmentParticipants choose a short, realistic starting period or first action and give themselves permission to reassess afterward.
Stay With the Task When Discomfort Shows Up
3 hours and longer- Expect some discomfortParticipants recognize that boredom, uncertainty, self-doubt or frustration may still be present after they start.
- Notice the urge to switchParticipants identify when attention starts looking for an easier task, message or distraction and practice pausing before following the urge.
- Use progress markersParticipants break longer tasks into visible milestones so progress can be noticed before the whole task is finished.
- Reset after losing focusParticipants practice returning to the task without turning one distraction or unproductive period into a reason to abandon the whole session.
Build a Sustainable Follow-Through System
Full day only- Create a reliable starting cueParticipants identify an existing cue such as a calendar block, location or end of another task and attach a clear starting action to it.
- Plan for the tasks you know you will avoidParticipants identify recurring high-avoidance tasks and decide in advance how they will start, what support they may need and how small the first step should be.
- Recover without self-attackParticipants practice reviewing procrastination by asking what triggered the delay, what made starting hard and what could change next time.
- Know when the work design is the problemParticipants identify procrastination being reinforced by chronic overload, unclear tasks, conflicting priorities or repeated approval delays.
How booking works
- Book online. Create a free Workbliss profile, then pay with session credits, by card or by invoice.
- Pick a date. Choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or book now and set the date later.
- Choose your expert. Within 3 working days, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date.
- We deliver it. Your expert is briefed on your people and goals, then runs the session live online or at your site.
Questions about Managing Procrastination
How long is Managing Procrastination?
Managing Procrastination runs as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours or full day. You choose the length when you book. A 30-minute session covers three key points from Understand Your Procrastination Pattern: identify the tasks you avoid most, notice the emotion before the delay and map the short-term relief. A 60-minute session covers Understand Your Procrastination Pattern in full, with a live Q&A. A 90-minute session adds Make Starting Easier. A 3-hour session adds Stay With the Task When Discomfort Shows Up. A full-day session adds Build a Sustainable Follow-Through System. It is also available as a 4-week or 8-week program.
Can Managing Procrastination be delivered online or in person?
Yes, both. It runs live online, so every office can join at the same time, or in person at your site, in any country.
How do we book Managing Procrastination?
Create a free Workbliss profile with your work email, then open Managing Procrastination to see the price for each length and book it. You can pay with session credits, by card or by invoice, and choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or set it later.
Who leads the session?
A vetted Workbliss expert, briefed on your people, culture and goals before the session. After you book, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date within 3 working days, so you can choose who leads it.
Can it be tailored to our company?
Yes. Every session is shaped around your goals, your people and the benefits you already offer, and delivered by experts in your people’s languages.