In this episode of Working Scientist from Nature Careers, philosopher Simon May offers a striking rethink of procrastination, one that will feel uncomfortably familiar to many researchers.
Rather than treating procrastination as a failure of discipline, May frames it as a signal. A response to something deeper. In academic life, where output is often the currency of success, this matters. The pressure to publish, compete, and produce can turn meaningful work into something mechanical. When that happens, motivation does not just dip. It disconnects.
At the heart of his argument is what he calls the “cult of work”. The idea that our identity is defined by what we produce. In research environments, this can translate into chasing papers, grants, and metrics, sometimes at the expense of curiosity or purpose. Paradoxically, the more important work becomes, the harder it can be to begin.
Fear plays a central role here. Not just fear of failure, but fear of success. Success can fix our identity in place, closing off other possibilities. It can make us feel suddenly defined, even exposed. So instead, we delay. We stay in motion, but avoid committing to what really matters.
This is where procrastination becomes more than a time management issue. It can shape entire careers. As May describes, people do not just postpone tasks, they postpone their vocation. They fill time with activity, sometimes impressive activity, while quietly sidestepping the work they care about most.
Yet the message here is not entirely bleak. Procrastination can also be useful. Boredom, for example, is reframed as a diagnostic tool. It may signal that we are on the wrong path, or approaching the right one in the wrong way. Rather than avoiding it, May suggests listening to it.
There is also a shift in perspective required. Instead of trying to optimise productivity, we might need to lower the stakes of the things that matter most. To treat them with a sense of play, rather than pressure. And to move away from the idea that fulfilment lies at the end of a goal. It does not. It sits in the process itself.
For researchers working in high pressure environments, this conversation lands close to home. It challenges the assumption that more output always means more progress, and invites a quieter question instead.
Not “how do I get more done?”
But “why am I putting this off?”
Find the original and more great content on the Nature Careers website – doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00551-7
Nature Careers Blog
Adam Smith
