Ever wonder why some tasks seem to sit on your to-do list forever?

Maybe it’s that email conversation you’ve been avoiding, that social media update you’ve been meaning to post, or that pile of expense receipts waiting to be organized. These tasks aren’t necessarily difficult, but for some reason, they just never get done.

The truth is, procrastination can sneak up on even the most organized among us. But the danger of putting things off is that those small tasks can snowball into bigger problems down the line, adding unnecessary stress to an already full plate.

So, what if we could break that cycle and finally check those lingering items off our list? The good news is, you can! It all starts with understanding why you’re putting them off in the first place.

In this post, we’ll explore the root causes of procrastination, along with ten tasks that spend more time on the back burner than most. More importantly, we’ll share how to finally get them done and reclaim your productivity, progress, and peace of mind.

Keep reading to find out how!

The truth about why we put things off

No matter who you are or what you’re putting off, experts agree that the reasons why we procrastinate can be boiled down to these three factors:

There’s something about the task itself

Procrastination is often misunderstood as simply a matter of poor time management, but it’s actually an emotion-focused coping strategy.

When you find yourself delaying a task, it’s often because there's a negative emotion tied to it, whether that's frustration, boredom, resentment, fear, or stress. Your brain's limbic system—also known as your lizard brain—kicks in to protect you.

When you touch something hot, you don’t have to think about moving your hand away, your body does it automatically. In the same way, sometimes we don’t even realize we’re procrastinating until it’s already happened. That’s our limbic system in action.

It’s not laziness, it’s an evolutionary response. Your brain is simply trying to shield you from discomfort and pain in the short term, even though, in today’s world, this avoidance often creates more stress down the line.

See: How To Overcome Productivity Paralysis When Starting Work Is A Struggle

There’s no reason not to

We all know that procrastination can lead to some pretty big headaches in life, whether it’s professional, personal, or financial. But, let’s be real, that’s not always the case! There are plenty of instances where delaying a task doesn’t lead to any immediate fallout.

As Professor Joseph Ferrari, a leading expert on procrastination, points out, "We get punished for being late in our culture, but we don’t get rewarded for being early." In other words, there’s often a negative consequence for not getting things done on time, but rarely a ‘good reason’ for being ahead of the game.

So, if the stakes are low, it’s easy to tell yourself, “I’ll get to it later...”

There never feels like enough time

You might start your day determined to tackle certain tasks, but then life happens—an urgent call, a knock on the door, or a flood of emails that need immediate attention. Before you know it, hours have flown by, and that task remains untouched.

When your schedule is packed and your time is limited, even the best intentions and most determined efforts can fall short. Sometimes, it’s simply just not possible to accomplish everything you need to do each day.

This is why so many business owners find that unstarted or unfinished tasks pile up—there’s always something else demanding your attention.

10 tasks you’re probably putting off

So, with those three reasons in mind, these are the tasks that are likely to be the most prone to procrastination—ones that stir up negative emotions, don’t have immediate consequences, or feel more time-intensive than your schedule allows.

1. Reviewing and responding to customer feedback

Why does something so vital to our business sometimes feel like the last thing we want to tackle?

It turns out, this task checks all three boxes for procrastination.

Unsurprisingly, a recent survey found that handling complaints is the task people find the most stressful at work. So when you think about opening up those feedback emails or online review sites, there’s always a level of anticipation or dread of what you might have to deal with. Will it be glowing praise or constructive criticism?

This initial uncertainty alone can be uncomfortable enough to make our limbic systems kick in and steer us away from more potential stress.

Also, unless you’ve set strict guidelines for yourself, there usually aren’t any immediate penalties for letting feedback sit. And while you might understand the importance of timely responses, the lack of immediate tangible benefits can make it tempting to put it off just a little longer.

But the longer you wait, the bigger that pile of feedback grows—and the more time you’ll need to set aside to respond. As a busy business owner, this is time you just might not have.

2. Posting on social media

Managing social media always sounds easy—until you actually sit down to do it!

As a business owner, you might feel the pressure to create eye-catching, engaging content that truly reflects your brand and stands out in a crowded digital landscape. But crafting captions, choosing the right images, and responding to comments takes consistent effort and a steady stream of creativity, which can be tough to summon after a long day of juggling all your other responsibilities.

Unlike other tasks with hard deadlines, social media posts often feel like they can wait. So when time is short and your energy is drained, it’s easy to justify putting off that post until you’re in a better headspace to tackle it. But, as we all know, those ideal moments of inspiration and availability are likely few and far between. What starts out as flexibility can quickly warp into a cycle of avoidance and further delays.

See: 10 Social Media Tasks To Delegate To Your Virtual Assistant

3. Updating your website

With all the meetings, emails, and fires you need to put out on a daily basis, updating a webpage or adding new content often feels like it can wait. Especially if dealing with layouts, plugins, or formatting quirks isn’t exactly your idea of fun.

You might think, “It’s working fine for now, no rush.” Or, “I’ll get to it when I have a quiet moment.”

But as time goes on, that “quiet moment” you’re waiting for never seems to arrive. Weeks (or months!) can slip by, and before you know it, services have changed, links are broken, or key info is missing—and now it’s an even bigger task than before.

See: How A Virtual Assistant Can Help You With Your Website

4. Financial admin

Let's be real—going through spreadsheets, invoices, and expense reports isn’t something many of us look forward to. In fact, according to a recent survey, 40% of business owners say that dealing with finances is their least favorite part of owning a business.

For starters, financial tasks aren’t something you can easily breeze through. It demands your full attention, meticulous detail, and a solid block of uninterrupted time. And as a busy business owner, those long, uninterrupted stretches can be pretty hard to come by. The risk of making costly mistakes when you’re rushing or distracted is high, which makes this task all the more daunting.

Unlike a missed client call or a delayed project, the fallout from putting off your financial admin often takes a while to catch up with you—until tax season or a payment reminder rolls in!

See: 5 Financial Admin Tasks To Delegate To A Virtual Assistant

5. Responding to emails

At first glance, replying to emails may seem like one of the simplest tasks on your to-do list. After all, it’s just a few taps on the keyboard and you're done, right? But if you’ve ever felt that pit in your stomach when you open your inbox, you know it’s a little more complicated than that.

Research shows that emails are a significant source of social and productivity-related anxiety, and a staggering 92% of us experience elevated blood pressure and heart rate just from opening our work emails.

Every email represents a decision waiting to be made or a potential new demand on your time. When you’re already stretched thin, it’s all too easy for your limbic system to take over and push it to the side, “out of sight, out of mind.”

Whether it’s an unhappy customer or a difficult conversation with a colleague, there’s often an emotional weight to emails that we would rather not deal with. Not only that, the lack of face-to-face interactions gives you the added challenge of deciphering tone and context. For example, did that person sound curt because they’re unhappy with you? Or are they just having a bad day?

So, it’s no surprise that emails can sit unchecked in your inbox while you focus on tasks that feel more pressing (or at least, less anxiety-inducing). But, of course, the longer those messages sit unanswered, the more those nagging feelings build, leaving you stuck in a loop of avoidance and anxiety.

See: 10 Email Tasks To Outsource To A Virtual Assistant Today

6. Scheduling an appointment over the phone

Ever find yourself staring at the phone, putting off that simple call to schedule an appointment? You're not alone. Phone anxiety is a real thing, and it's a big reason why you keep pushing this down the list.

Studies show that about 90% of Gen Z, 76% of millennials, and 40% of baby boomers experience anxiety when it comes to making phone calls.

It’s not so much the phone itself that’s stressful, but the fear of what the conversation might hold. Maybe you get anxious about sounding awkward or not knowing the right words to use, and the person on the other end might misunderstand you or judge you. Or you might dread the thought of bothering someone when they might be busy.

All these worries can turn the thought of a quick call into a major task, leading to procrastination.

7. 1:1 meetings or performance reviews

Even if things are generally going well, sitting down for a formal discussion about performance probably isn’t at the top of anyone's wish list when their to-do list is overflowing.

It’s not just the time spent in the meeting itself and the anticipation of a potentially uncomfortable conversation that can make procrastinating oh-so-tempting. All the prep work that needs to be done beforehand—digging through notes, reviewing goals, and outlining questions—can take a serious chunk of your time.

So, it’s hardly surprising that putting these meetings off in favor of less emotionally taxing or time-consuming tasks can often feel like the best option for all involved!

8. Creating or improving standard operating procedures (SOPs)

With the constant pressure to meet deadlines, respond to emails, and keep clients happy, the idea of spending time documenting processes can feel like a luxury rather than a necessity. No matter how important SOPs are to a smooth-running business, it doesn’t stop it from being tedious!

Unlike the urgency of a looming deadline or a client request, the drawbacks of not having well-documented SOPs often sneak up on you. So when everything seems “good enough” already, it’s easy to push this task to the back burner.

Plus, the idea of change can be pretty daunting. As a business owner who’s poured your heart and soul into building your processes, it’s natural to feel attached—even if they’re a little outdated or inefficient. Creating or refining your SOPs takes not just a clear grasp of your current workflows, but also a leap of faith into new methods that might shake up the status quo. That thought alone can stir up some anxiety, making it all too easy to keep putting it off.

9. Organizing your digital files and documents

In today’s world, running a business means accumulating endless digital files. We’re talking about client contracts, invoices, marketing assets, project reports, and loads more.

Since those files are hidden away on your computer, you probably don’t give them much thought. But if we’re not careful, the clutter can start to build and the chaos can start to snowball—with files scattered across random folders, duplicates that clog up your storage, and mislabeled documents that make it a real challenge to find what you need when you need it.

But let’s be honest, organizing these files can be a tedious and time-consuming chore, which is why it always ends up being a job for “future you.”

10. Conducting research

With the ever-changing landscape of market trends, competitor insights, tech, and tools, research is a business owner’s best friend.

But with so much information out there, it’s tough to know where to begin or which sources to trust. This uncertainty can lead to decision paralysis, making it hard to take that next step.

Not only that, but the prospect of uncovering less-than-favorable information can make procrastination even more tempting. We might find ourselves hesitant to dig deep into facts and figures in case our research reveals things we’re not quite ready to tackle.

Instead, it’s easier to prioritize tasks that feel more manageable or instantly gratifying than to step out of our comfort zone or confront potentially tough truths.

See: 9 Research Tasks To Delegate To A Virtual Assistant

How to take control

Now, let’s explore some strategies to help you tackle those tasks you’ve been putting off and regain momentum:

Identify and address negative emotions

As we mentioned earlier, one of the biggest reasons for procrastination is the negative emotions tied to certain tasks. So, if you need to stop putting things off, the first step is pinpointing what emotions are behind these mental blocks.

Ask yourself what’s really making you avoid the task—is it fear of messing up, frustration over how long it’ll take, or boredom with the process? Once you identify the emotion, you can start figuring out how to neutralize it.

Reward yourself for ticking it off your list

Knowing there’s something to look forward to could be just what you need to dive in and power through those tough and tedious tasks. It doesn’t have to be extravagant—a quick coffee break, a refreshing walk outside, or even a few minutes scrolling through your favorite app can do the trick.

What matters is that you reward yourself with something you genuinely enjoy, so you can create new positive associations with completing the task instead of just negative ones. Over time, you might find that checking off these tasks becomes something you actually look forward to!

Delegate to a virtual assistant (VA)

No matter how capable you are, it's important to remember that one person can only do so much. But the good news is: you don’t have to do it all.

If you're finding any excuse to put off those day-to-day admin tasks that feel like time-sucking chores, offloading them to a virtual assistant could make a world of difference to your business.

Virtual assistants can take care of almost any regular task necessary for your business operations, but that doesn’t require your unique skills or expertise. Think scheduling, email management, social media management, financial admin, data entry, and customer inquiries (to name a few!).

Handing over these routine duties doesn’t just free up your time, it makes sure those tasks never fall by the wayside.

The best part? Hiring a VA can save you up to 90% compared to bringing a full-time employee on board.

What’s the bottom line?

Procrastination can sneak up on even the most organized business owners, catching us off guard when we least expect it. We push tasks aside with every intention of coming back to them later, but before we know it, we’re staring at a mountain of work that feels too overwhelming to tackle.

The first step to gaining control is understanding what’s holding you back. Often, it’s not the tasks themselves, but the negative emotions tied to them—stress, fear of failure, or simply feeling overwhelmed. Recognizing these emotions and addressing them with practical strategies, like rewarding yourself for progress, can make a world of difference.

Sometimes, the mental weight of just remembering all this uncompleted work is heavier than the tasks themselves. That’s where delegation comes in. Offloading responsibilities like social media management, research, or email management to a virtual assistant can lighten your load and stop these important tasks from falling through the cracks.

So, why not take the leap and see the difference for yourself?

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We understand how valuable your time and resources are, so by working with us, you’ll save between three to six weeks of searching for the perfect assistant and up to 90% of the costs compared to hiring in-house!

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