Why Teachers Procrastinate: The Truth About Emotional Regulation and Resistance

Procrastination isn’t about laziness or poor time management — it’s about your brain trying to protect you. In this episode, we explore why so many educators struggle with procrastination and how to shift the narrative from self-blame to self-compassion.

You’ll learn how procrastination is rooted in emotional regulation, not motivation — and how to rewire your brain for focus, calm, and clarity.

💡 What you’ll discover in this episode:

• How procrastination activates your amygdala, overriding the part of your brain responsible for planning and focus
• Why stress reduces your executive functioning and makes it harder to get things done
• How to decode procrastination as a form of emotional resistance, not failure
• The power of asking: “What am I really resisting?” — fear, perfectionism, or exhaustion?
• How to shift from your inner bully to your inner bestie who speaks with compassion and grace
• Brain-aligned tools for gently moving through procrastination with curiosity instead of criticism
• A reminder: Your worth is not measured by your productivity — you are enough, exactly as you are

✨ If you're ready to teach, lead, and live from a more regulated, empowered place, this episode is for you.

🛍️ Explore resources that support your journey at our new Empowered Educator School Store: empowerededucator.com/schoolstore

Stay empowered,
Jen

Let’s keep the conversation going! Find me at:

empowerededucator.com/resources

Instagram: @jenrafferty_

Facebook: Empowered Educator Faculty Room

Empowered Educator Card Deck

Chapters

• 0:00 Invitation to Recharge & Find Balance
• 1:00 Understanding Procrastination Differently
• 3:47 The Brain Science Behind Resistance
• 5:31 Procrastination as Meaningful Data
• 7:42 Practical Steps to Break the Cycle
• 10:22 Your Worth Beyond Productivity

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Are you feeling exhausted by the constant demands of teaching? Do you find yourself wondering if there's a way to balance both your career and your well-being without burning out? Welcome to Unlock your Teaching Potential, your permission slip to hit the brakes, recharge and reignite your joy for teaching and living. I'm Dr Jen Rafferty, former music teacher, author, tedx speaker and founder of Empowered Educator, and I've been where you are exhausted, overwhelmed and just trying to get through the day, making it all work. So each week, I'll bring you short, powerful episodes with actionable tools to help you reclaim your energy, set boundaries and step into your full potential, both in and out of your role as an educator. So take a breath and let's dive in. It's time to unlock your teaching potential, because the world needs you at your best.

Speaker 1: 1:00

Before we dive in today, I invite you to take a breath with me, just one Inhale through the nose and exhale slowly. Let's just be here, because today's conversation is one that so many of us need to hear, especially if you've been silently beating yourself up for not doing quote unquote enough, or if you've been feeling as if you're stuck in a loop of avoidance, guilt and shame, because today we are talking about procrastination, but not in the just try harder or use this productivity hack kind of a way. We're going deeper, because procrastination isn't actually a time management issue. It's not a discipline issue either. It's not a discipline issue either. It's an emotional regulation issue and, more than anything, it's a sign that your brain is doing its best to protect you. So if no one has said this to you lately, there is nothing wrong with you. So let's talk about it.

Speaker 1: 2:04

And I want to start with a moment from when I was in the classroom and maybe you've lived something like this too there was a stack of ungraded music compositions sitting in the corner of my desk and I don't just mean from the day before I'm talking two weeks worth, and every day I'd walk into my classroom and glance at the pile and immediately pivot to something else. I'd maybe be planning out my lessons for the next month, or cleaning out my inbox for my emails, or making copies for that really big event that was happening the following week, and I told myself I was prioritizing, but deep down, I was procrastinating, and every night I'd get into bed and I'd be thinking to myself why didn't I just do it? And here's where we cue in that inner bully right. You're so behind is what my mind would tell me. You're failing your students. You are clearly not cut out for this.

Speaker 1: 2:56

But that inner bully didn't see the full picture, because when I finally got honest with myself, I realized that I wasn't avoiding the grading. I was avoiding the emotional weight of it. Would I see that my feedback wasn't really helping them? Would I find the evidence that I wasn't reaching them and they actually didn't even care? Would it feel like I was failing them in some way that no amount of rubric points could fix? And that grading pile felt like a mirror that I wasn't really ready to look at, and so my nervous system shut down. It steered me towards supposed safer tasks, things that I could more easily control, things that didn't poke at my perceived self-worth. This isn't laziness, it's emotional protection.

Speaker 1: 3:46

So let's talk about the brain science here for a moment. When we face something that brings up fear or discomfort or emotional risk I've said this a million times before and it's worth repeating, because our brain loves repetition also the brain's amygdala gets activated, and that's the part of the brain that's responsible for detecting threats. And yes, those threats used to be lions and tigers and bears, but they're now emails, lesson plans, grading hard conversations literally anything that feels emotionally loaded. And when your amygdala is activated, it temporarily overrides your prefrontal cortex, which is the part of your brain that helps you plan, initiate tasks and focus. So, instead of starting that project or answering that email or grading those papers, your brain nudges you towards something that feels safer, that's more predictable and definitely less vulnerable, like cleaning your desk or scrolling on Instagram. To be clear, in that moment your brain isn't being lazy, it's being protective. This is its way of trying to regulate, even though it's keeping you from doing the thing that you said you wanted to do. Your brain is adapting to avoid any perceived pain, which I think is actually pretty cool, right? And if you've ever wondered why this happens most when you're already stressed out, it's because when your nervous system is maxed out, your capacity for focus and executive functioning shrinks. So again to be crystal clear, there is nothing wrong with you. Your brain is just doing its best with the resources it has.

Speaker 1: 5:22

So let's take this one layer deeper now, because procrastination isn't just a shutdown response, it is also a form of resistance. Now, I used to think about resistance being that I wasn't committed to something, or that I was sabotaging myself. But resistance, I've learned, is also really important data. It's your nervous system saying this feels unsafe right now. Or maybe it's saying this isn't aligned, or maybe it's I've been pushing so hard for so long that I cannot take one more thing.

Speaker 1: 5:57

So when you notice yourself procrastinating, try asking what am I really resisting here? Is it the task itself, or is it the story that I'm telling myself about how it has to be done or what needs to be done? Am I resisting because I think it won't be good enough? Am I resisting because I'm afraid of how people are going to respond? Am I resisting because I'm exhausted? The point is, procrastination isn't the enemy. It's actually an invitation. It's an invitation to get curious, not critical. And this is where your inner bestie comes in, because when you're stuck in that moment, your inner bully most of the time takes the microphone and says oh, you're so behind, you're failing your students, you can't do anything right, you might as well not try. But your inner bestie says things like hey, love, I know that this feels hard right now, so let's just take one small step safely together. It sounds simple, but this shift in inner dialogue is really powerful, because when you speak to yourself with compassion, you actually regulate your nervous system. You're inviting your prefrontal cortex back online because you're creating psychological safety, which is the very thing that your brain has been seeking. So ask yourself, when you're noticing resistance, who's speaking? Is it your inner bully or is it your inner bestie?

Speaker 1: 7:30

Let's walk through an example together. So let's say you're staring at your laptop. There's a task that you've been avoiding, your stomach is tense. You're noticing that you're feeling scattered, or you're irritated, or maybe you feeling like you just need a nap. Here's what you're going to do. First, pause, you noticed amazing. Get your feet on the ground, take a slow, deep breath and gently say to yourself I'm feeling some resistance, it's so interesting and it's okay.

Speaker 1: 8:03

Then you're going to name the emotion. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's pressure or shame or perfectionism. Say it out loud, let your brain hear it. Naming the feeling actually softens that emotional charge, because you're not the emotion, you are observing the emotion. And then ask what would make this feel 5% safer? Maybe you turn on some music and get up and dance. Maybe you text a friend and say, hey, I'm starting this thing that I've been avoiding. And now you're going to take the tiniest step open the document, type a sentence, set a five minute timer, that's it. We're not aiming for completion, you're aiming for connection. You're aiming for safety. You're showing your brain that you can begin and it's safe. And every time that you do this, you're not just getting something done, you're rewiring your brain. You're rewiring it for calm, for clarity and, most importantly, the courage to do it again.

Speaker 1: 9:08

So let's return to you. What is one thing that you've been avoiding lately? And underneath that, what emotion might be there? What would it look like to respond, not with force, but with love and care. Let your inner bestie lead you through this one, because they're wise, they're kind. Your inner bestie knows that you are doing your best, because the truth is you are. Your procrastination is not a flaw, it's a flag. It's your brain waving at you, asking for grace and some attention. So let's give it. Let's give you that grace and attention. And before we close out the podcast, today, I am so excited to share that Empowered Educator now has a school store. So if you head over to empowerededucatorcom slash school store, you will find all sorts of really cool things to support you on your Empowered Educator journey.

Speaker 1: 10:06

And, as always, we're going to end with a card from the Empowered Educator card deck, and this week's card says your worth does not equal your productivity. That's a good one, and so many of us conflate our worth with our productivity, and I think this goes along with this episode that we had today. Your worth has nothing to do with your productivity. You are worthy because you woke up this morning. You don't have to earn it, you simply are. You don't have to earn it, you simply are. Remember the most generous thing that you can do for your students is take care of yourself. So if you found today's episode helpful, be sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment of inspiration, and if you're loving the show, I'd love for you to leave a review. This helps more educators like you find the space to unlock their teaching potential too. Until next time, please remember that you are a gift to this world, so act accordingly. See you soon.