How Planning Became the New Procrastination

The science behind why we love planning more than doing—and how to fix it

I’ve lost count of how many planners I’ve purchased over the years. Each one felt like hope in hardcover—color-coded, beautifully laid out, full of promise. For a while, they worked, but then...

I'm so relieved to learn it's not me failing again. That planning rush? It's real. And it has a biological basis.

The Sweet Science of Planning

Planning is productive...until it isn't. Planning gives us a sense of control in an overwhelming world. It allows us to visualize a better future and imagine ourselves moving through it with grace and structure. When we make a plan, we feel like we've already done something. That's not a mistake—it's neurology.

The brain releases dopamine not only when we achieve a goal, but also when we anticipate it. According to Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford neuroscientist, dopamine spikes when we expect a reward—not necessarily when we receive it¹. This means that planning can deliver a dopamine hit just by promising future success.

In a 2009 study published in Neuron, researchers found that the brain's reward centers activate during goal-setting and planning activities—the same regions associated with food, sex, and drugs². No wonder I love walking through new planner aisles.

The Psychology of the Planning Trap

Planning paints a picture of certainty. Doing invites discomfort. One feels clean, controlled, and full of promise. The other is messy, unpredictable—and often emotionally risky.

When you plan, you're in control. When you do, you're exposed. The task might be boring. Or hard. Or remind you of everything you don't know. You may run into unexpected challenges or life events that derail your carefully laid plans. So we retreat into planning—a safer, cleaner domain.

Psychologists describe this as “procrastinatory planning”—a form of behavioral procrastination in which we delay emotionally risky tasks by over-preparing or organizing³. It's also been called "productivity porn," a term popularized in both academic and popular media for the obsessive consumption of productivity advice that substitutes for action⁴. It gives us the illusion of forward motion without emotional risk.

When Good Planning Goes Bad

The problem? Planning feels productive, which can trick us into thinking it is productivity. But as Dr. Tim Pychyl, a psychologist who studies procrastination, explains: "Planning is only helpful if it connects directly to action. Otherwise, it's just another form of avoidance"⁵.

We mistake movement for momentum. Apps, templates, and beautifully organized systems create the illusion of progress. But if they don't lead us into real engagement, they're just procrastination in disguise.

The Planning Fallacy: "Good Planning" Is Not the Starting Point

Even with the best intentions, our plans are often derailed—not solely due to unforeseen circumstances but because of our inherent cognitive biases. The planning fallacy, a term coined by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, describes our tendency to underestimate the time, costs, and risks of future actions while overestimating the benefits⁶. This bias persists even when individuals, groups, or organizations have prior experience indicating that similar tasks took longer than anticipated⁷. The dissonance between what we planned and what actually happens often feels like failure. But the failure is often in the plan itself, not in us. Understanding the planning fallacy can help us design more resilient systems—ones that expect fluctuation, build in buffers, and normalize recalibration.

The Real-Life Collision

This gap only widens when our plans collide with real life. Our energy fluctuates. Life throws us curveballs—an illness, a family emergency, a dip in mental health—and suddenly, the perfect plan sits untouched. We feel behind. We blame ourselves. And instead of adjusting the system, we spiral into shame.

Chronobiology shows that our cognitive capacity isn't stable—it ebbs and flows throughout the day and across seasons⁸. Ignoring these rhythms in favor of rigid productivity metrics not only harms our effectiveness but also our well-being. Meanwhile, self-critical rumination in the face of missed goals has been shown to increase stress and erode motivation⁹. Shame doesn't restart a plan. It stalls it.

And the longer we feel ashamed, the harder it becomes to begin again.

The Cultural Amplifier

We live in a culture that rewards the appearance of busyness. Screenshots of digital workspaces get likes. Bullet journal videos go viral. There's status in being organized—even if it has no connection to outcomes.

As productivity culture has exploded—especially in remote work environments—so has productivity theater. And planning, with its aesthetic appeal and low emotional risk, is the star of the show.

The irony? The more advanced our tools become, the less we seem to use them to do the thing.

Time to Reset

Let go. Forgive yourself for every plan that didn’t work out the way you hoped.

Because here’s the truth: It was never your personal failure. So instead of blaming yourself, let’s get curious. Let’s start learning how to spot these systemic traps—and replace them with tools that actually support you.

The Planning Trap Diagnostic

Different people get caught in different planning traps. Research reveals distinct patterns:

The System Hopper (like my planner collection): Research from productivity platform Asana shows that knowledge workers switch between apps an average of 25 times per day, often seeking the "perfect" productivity system. Studies indicate that employees at enterprise companies use 50+ applications, with nearly 70% toggling between apps as often as 10 times per hour. This constant switching wastes up to an hour daily and creates what researchers call "productivity tool fatigue"¹⁰.

The Perfectionist Planner: Academic research consistently shows that perfectionism drives procrastination. A 2024 study found that perfectionist concerns create a "persistent paralytic gap between the actual and the ideal self" that contributes to procrastinatory behavior¹¹. Perfectionists often spend excessive time in planning phases because they fear starting tasks that might not meet impossibly high standards¹².

The Research Rabbit Hole: People with ADHD are particularly susceptible to this pattern due to dopamine-seeking behavior. Research shows that ADHD brains have lower baseline dopamine levels, making the anticipation and planning phases more rewarding than actual task execution¹³. The brain seeks the dopamine hit of researching new methods rather than the harder work of implementation.

Signs you're experiencing a planning high:

• Do you feel energized when setting up systems but deflated when using them?

• Have you reorganized your task management more times than you've completed major projects?

• Do you research productivity methods instead of working on your actual goals?

• Does planning feel easier than the work itself?

If any of these resonate, you might be caught in the planning loop.

What Actually Builds Momentum

Research on behavior change and motivation points to a different path. Real momentum doesn't come from the perfect plan. It comes from small actions that generate feedback, meaning, and satisfaction.

BJ Fogg, a behavioral scientist at Stanford, emphasizes the role of tiny habits—micro-actions that are easy to start and celebrate¹⁴. Similarly, Teresa Amabile's "Progress Principle" shows that making visible progress, even on small tasks, is the most powerful driver of motivation at work¹⁵.

In short: We don't need bigger plans. We need better starts.

The Planning Detox Protocol

So what do we do with all these planning tools? Use them to serve action, not avoid it. Here's how:

1. The Two-Minute Test: Before opening your planning app, ask: "What's one thing I could do in the next two minutes that moves this forward?" Do that first.

2. Design for Real-Life Behavior: Make your systems around your actual patterns, not your ideal ones. If you never check your task app after 2 PM, stop scheduling afternoon reviews.

3. Make the Next Step Obvious: Your system should answer "What's next?" in under 5 seconds. If you need to scroll, search, or decode, simplify.

4. Embrace Imperfect Action: Progress beats perfection. A rough draft beats a perfect outline. A 10-minute workout beats a detailed fitness plan you never start.

5. Plan Less, Review More: Instead of front-loading all your planning, do quick daily reviews. What worked? What didn't? What's the smallest next step?

Planning Substitutes: What to Do When the Urge Strikes

When you catch yourself reaching for another planning tool or starting to reorganize instead of working, try these immediate redirects:

• Do the smallest possible version of the actual task (write one sentence instead of outlining)

• Call someone about the project (accountability often breaks the planning loop)

• Set a two-minute timer and start working (often the hardest part is just beginning)

• Ask: "What would I do if I had to present this in an hour?" (urgency cuts through perfectionism)

• Write one messy paragraph instead of creating a detailed outline

Recovery When Planning Becomes Procrastination

When you catch yourself in the planning loop:

Stop mid-setup and ask: "What am I avoiding?" Set a timer for 15 minutes and work on the actual task Save planning energy for the end of the day, not the beginning Celebrate small completions over system optimization

Don't Abandon Planning—Transform It

Don't abandon planning entirely. But don't confuse it for progress either. The goal isn't to eliminate planning but to make it a bridge to action rather than a substitute for it.

Your planning system should be like scaffolding—useful for building, but not the building itself. When in doubt: Close the tab. Open the task. Begin.

The magic isn't in the plan. It's in what happens when you set the plan aside and start.

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Sources

1. Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst. Penguin Press.

2. Hare, T. A., Camerer, C. F., & Rangel, A. (2009). Self-Control in Decision-Making Involves Modulation of the vmPFC Valuation System. Neuron, 63(5), 639–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2009.07.015

3. Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change. TarcherPerigee.

4. Denny, E. (2022). Productivity Porn: The New Obsession with Life Hacks. Medium.

https://medium.com/

1. Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2024). Perfectionism and Procrastination: Revisiting the Role of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 42(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-023-00491-w

2. Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Intuitive prediction: Biases and corrective procedures. Decision Research.

3. Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the "Planning Fallacy": Why People Underestimate Their Task Completion Times. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 366–381. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.3.366

4. Foster, R. G., & Kreitzman, L. (2017). Circadian Rhythms: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

5. Schoenfeld, P., et al. (2017). Effects of Rumination on Negative Mood and Executive Function. Journal of Affective Disorders, 222, 65–72.

6. Asana. (2022). Anatomy of Work Index. https://asana.com/resources/anatomy-of-work

7. Amabile, T. M., & Kramer, S. J. (2011). The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work. Harvard Business Review Press.

8. Sirois, F. M. (2007). “I'll look after my health, later”: An investigation of procrastination and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(1), 15–26.

9. Martin, J. (2019). Productivity Porn and the Myth of Effortless Success. Psychology Today.

10. Fogg, B. J. (2019). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

11. Amabile, T. M. (2001). Motivating creativity in organizations: On doing what you love and loving what you do. California Management Review, 40(1), 39–58.