The real reasons you procrastinate – and how to stop

Well in context it's slightly better, there are in fact two strategies they suggest:

- Forgive yourself for procrastinating b/c procrastination is linked to negative feelings

- recognize you don't have to be in a good mood to do a certain task, just ignore how you feel and get started

But I agree that is not very useful. However I think the answer lies in a section earlier in the article:

"Pychyl discusses the idea of the "monkey mind" — that our thoughts are constantly darting all over the place, preventing us from concentrating. And psychologists agree that the problem with procrastinators is that they are tempted to give in to instant gratification, which brings people the kind of instant relief psychologists call "hedonic pleasure," rather than staying focused on the long-term goal."

This is important! There are concrete methods that have been proven to rewire your brain to lengthen your focus and concentration. One is long distance running. The other is mindful meditation. If you suffer from procrastination, try them, it will make a difference in your ability to concentrate, and thereby allow you to make better long-term decisions.

>Instead of focusing on feelings, we have to think about what the next action is, Pychyl says. He counsels people to break down their tasks into very small steps that can actually be accomplished. So if it’s something like writing a letter of reference, the first step is just opening the letterhead and writing the date.