A Two-Minute Strategy That Helps You Finally Start the Tasks You Keep Avoiding
Procrastination is one of those universal human experiences—everyone knows the feeling of dodging an email, assignment, or chore while doing anything else that feels easier. A new study from UC Santa Barbara dives directly into this moment of hesitation and presents a surprisingly simple solution: a two-minute reflection exercise that helps people reduce emotional resistance and actually begin the task they’ve been putting off. This research not only uncovers why we avoid starting things but has already inspired a real app called Dawdle AI, designed to bring the technique into everyday life.
What the Researchers Wanted to Understand
The research team—doctoral researcher Anusha Garg, National Science Foundation graduate fellow Shivang Shelat, and professor Jonathan Schooler—focused on what they call the starting line problem. They weren’t interested in long-term personality changes or habit-building strategies. Instead, they studied what happens during the brief psychological pause between the intention to act and the actual decision to begin.
Their argument is straightforward: procrastination is not a deep personal flaw. It’s a momentary emotional hurdle. And if you can make that moment easier, you can shift behavior right when it matters.
How the Two-Minute Exercise Works
The exercise tested in the study, published in BMC Psychology, takes less than two minutes to complete. Yet, according to the data, those two minutes make people noticeably more likely to tackle a task in the next 24 hours.
The activity includes three parts:
- Affect labeling — The user simply identifies and names the emotions that make the task feel difficult. This reduces emotional intensity and lowers task aversion.
- Breaking the task into a small subgoal — Instead of thinking about the entire task, the person defines one tiny, achievable step.
- Choosing a self-selected reward — The user picks something enjoyable, such as a snack, a short walk, or messaging a friend, to pair with completing the subgoal.
Participants who used this method reported:
- a better mood,
- a clearer sense of progress,
- reduced emotional resistance,
- and a higher likelihood of starting their task soon after.
The researchers emphasize that the goal is not to eliminate procrastination entirely but to make the first step feel lighter and more doable.
Why This Approach Works
The study is grounded in the temporal decision model of procrastination, which sees procrastination as a balance between:
- the immediate emotional discomfort of starting, and
- the future benefits of completing the task.
People procrastinate when the emotional cost outweighs the expected reward. The intervention reshapes that mental math by reducing emotional discomfort and enhancing reward value.
There is also a reinforcement theory involved, known as learned industriousness. This idea suggests that when effort is consistently paired with rewards, effort itself becomes intrinsically satisfying. Over time, this could shift how people view challenging tasks.
A Follow-Up Study: Is Breaking Tasks Down Enough?
Garg’s team also conducted a follow-up study, still unpublished, to examine whether simply breaking a task into smaller steps was sufficient. Early results show that the real power comes from combining the subgoal with a reward. Subgoal alone increased motivation a little, but subgoal plus reward significantly boosted the willingness to begin.
The added reward makes the effort feel meaningful rather than punishing. This insight is part of what shaped the design of the Dawdle AI app.
Turning Research Into a Real App: Dawdle AI
Instead of leaving the findings in a research paper, Garg collaborated with UCSB computer science students to create Dawdle AI, a free app that puts the two-minute technique directly into people’s hands. Since procrastination typically strikes right where people are—on their phones—the app is designed to intervene at the perfect moment.
The app features:
- an animated guide named Pebbles,
- a conversational interface that helps users express what they’re avoiding,
- built-in tools to generate subtasks,
- reward-picking prompts,
- timers, streak tracking,
- and positive feedback animations.
In November 2025, Dawdle AI officially launched on the UCSB campus with ambassador programs and events aimed at helping students adopt the method. The creators hope this becomes a model for translating psychological research into everyday tools instead of keeping insights trapped in academic journals.
A New Way to Think About Procrastination
A major contribution of the study is its reframing of procrastination. The goal is not to shame people or treat procrastination as a deep personality issue. Instead, the research positions procrastination as a temporary emotional conflict—one that can be softened with a few strategic moments of reflection.
This reframing encourages people to approach procrastination with practical tools instead of frustration or guilt. According to the researchers, the hardest part of any task is not the labor itself—it’s the emotional resistance to starting.
Additional Insight: What Science Already Knows About Short-Term Motivation
To add broader context, this two-minute technique fits into a growing body of research showing that small psychological shifts can dramatically alter behavior. Other studies over the past decade have demonstrated:
- Affect labeling reduces activity in brain regions associated with emotional distress.
- Implementation intentions (if-then planning) make people more likely to follow through on tasks.
- Micro-goals reduce cognitive load and make tasks seem achievable.
- Self-reward cycles increase dopamine, making repeated action more satisfying.
Dawdle AI essentially bundles several of these small but powerful mechanisms into one simple process.
Why This Matters for Everyday Life
This research offers a practical, experimentally validated tool that can be used anytime, anywhere. It’s particularly relevant for:
- students juggling deadlines,
- professionals who struggle with email or high-pressure tasks,
- creatives facing start-up inertia,
- anyone who finds themselves overwhelmed by everyday responsibilities.
Because the intervention is short, low effort, and easy to remember, it has the potential to scale widely. It’s also accessible to people who don’t want to overhaul their habits or commit to complex productivity systems.
Final Thoughts
Procrastination is often framed as a character flaw, but this study shows it’s much more about fleeting emotional friction. With just two minutes of structured reflection—naming emotions, choosing a tiny first step, and pairing it with a reward—people can override the hesitation that normally stops them. Thanks to tools like Dawdle AI, this research is becoming something people can use instantly, not just something found in academic journals.
Research Reference
Now I feel like I’m going to get to it soon: a brief, scalable intervention for state procrastination – https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03388-3
