Procrastination

Since enjoying good things (or avoiding bad things) in the present is more attractive than benefits in the future, humans procrastinate — put off doing something — when doing it will cause them some amount of discomfort in the present. Both mental and physical discomfort can cause procrastination.

Applications

• Sometimes it can be uncomfortable to figure out what to write in a report and go through the mental energy of getting the wording right, so an individual keeps putting off starting the report.

• A farmer intends to put fertilizer on their crop but it is hard and exhausting to do. So each day they plan to do it tomorrow.

What it is not:

Putting off thinking about something uncomfortable - that is ostriching.