Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have identified a brief reflection exercise that can help people overcome procrastination. Their study, published in BMC Psychology, found that spending two minutes reflecting on a task can reduce emotional resistance and increase the likelihood of taking action.
“Most interventions aim to change who we are in the long run — our personality, habits or traits, but procrastination happens in the moment,” said Anusha Garg, a doctoral researcher and co-author of the study. She worked with Shivang Shelat, a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow, and Professor Jonathan Schooler from UCSB’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. The research focused on what they call “the starting line problem,” which is the pause between intention and action. Garg explained: “If we can design tools that make it easier to step over that line, we can help people change behavior right when it matters.”
Following these findings, Garg partnered with computer science students at UCSB to develop Dawdle AI—a free mobile app based on their research. The app aims to provide practical support for overcoming hesitation by turning scientific insights into an accessible tool.
The intervention used in their study involved a guided exercise lasting less than two minutes. Participants who completed this exercise reported improved mood, reduced emotional resistance, and were more likely to begin their tasks within 24 hours compared to control groups. “The goal wasn’t to eliminate procrastination overnight,” Garg said. “It was to make starting feel a little lighter — to give people traction in the exact moment they’re stuck.”
The approach relies on the temporal decision model of procrastination, which views delaying as a balance between how unpleasant starting feels (task aversion) and how rewarding finishing will be (outcome utility). By helping users label their emotions and pair tasks with smaller subgoals and self-chosen rewards, the intervention seeks to lower aversion while increasing perceived benefits.
In additional unpublished work, Garg’s team tested whether breaking down tasks alone was effective or if pairing them with rewards made a difference. Early results suggest both elements are important: “When participants only broke the task down, they felt a little more motivated,” Garg said. “But when they also paired that step with a small reward — like a walk, a snack or texting a friend — the motivation boost was significantly stronger. The reward makes the effort itself feel worthwhile.” This supports theories suggesting that linking effort with reinforcement helps make starting tasks more satisfying over time.
Dawdle AI incorporates these findings into its design by guiding users through identifying avoided tasks, breaking them into subtasks, choosing rewards for completion steps, and providing positive feedback through features like timers and streak tracking.
The app launched at UCSB in November 2025 alongside ambassador programs and events aimed at encouraging students to use these strategies in daily life. According to Garg: “So much psychological research ends up locked in journals… We wanted this to live in people’s hands.”
Garg hopes this approach will shift perspectives about procrastination from personal failing toward practical strategy: “We procrastinate because we’re human… But if we can learn to navigate that starting-line moment — to notice it, label it and tip the scales toward reward — we can start almost anything.
“The hardest part isn’t the work itself. It’s just starting. And that’s exactly where science can help.”
