Why We Leave Things To The Very Last Minute

I always laugh when it comes to challenge time bc people ALWAYS sign up the day before, night before, hour before, minute before and then after it’s already begun.

I used to get pissed, until I realised it was my own purchasing behaviour.

I asked our trusty/creepy friend ChatGPT for why we often leave things to the last minute and here’s what I got…

ChatGPT response:

Creative, neurodivergent business owners often leave things to the last minute due to a mix of psychological, neurological, and emotional factors. Some of the most common reasons include:

1. Dopamine-Driven Deadlines

Many neurodivergent people (especially those with ADHD) struggle with self-imposed deadlines because their brains are wired for urgency (ahem trauma response). They need a sense of pressure or excitement to trigger the dopamine necessary to focus. The looming deadline acts as an external motivator.

2. Perfectionist Avoidance

For INFPs and ENFPs (who are often deeply creative and idealistic) (lol that’s us) the fear of their work not living up to their vision can lead to avoidance. They may overthink, tweak endlessly, or delay starting until the last possible moment when there's no time left to be “perfect.”

3. Task Paralysis & Overwhelm

If a task feels too big, ambiguous, or emotionally loaded, the brain may default to shutdown mode rather than tackling it in small steps. Without clear structure, it’s easier to avoid the task entirely.

4. Hyperfocus & Time Blindness

Many neurodivergent creatives struggle with accurately gauging time—either underestimating how long something will take or getting lost in deep focus on something unrelated (like researching fonts instead of writing the sales page).

5. Emotional Resistance

If the task involves visibility (posting online, launching a project, sending an email), there can be subconscious fears of judgment, rejection, or "what if this flops?" Instead of pushing through, they wait until urgency outweighs fear.

6. Overcommitting & Energy Cycles

Stop-start business owners often take on too much when they're feeling inspired, only to burn out and avoid things later (hello I think we can all relate to this…). This leads to a cycle of high-energy creation → avoidance → last-minute scrambling when reality catches up.

7. More Ideas Than Time

Creative brains generate ideas faster than they can execute. The result? Prioritisation struggles, decision fatigue, and unfinished projects that get pushed to the last minute (or never launched at all) ← this is why our Messy Action Skool Community exists.

Ready to align and curb these incredibly un-useful confidence crushing patterns?

The Alignment Challenge will upgrade your standards, boundaries and income as a business owner.

This challenge is for you if…

👀 You’ve been standing on the precipice of change, scared as hell to leap

🦢 You’re ready to trust your intuition vs waiting for ‘more information’ 

🫨 You know what you’re available for but have felt too scared to follow through

💸 You’re ready for money and synchronicities to flow again, you already know what that feels like

🤸 You’d like to welcome more joy, play and lightness to your life

— For all the other deets & to sign up — click here.

You are...

committed to self discovery, self responsible, take ownership, persevere, willing to change your mind, coachable, open minded, receptive and lean into feeling whatever is present even if it’s causing fear and resistance.

We begin Sunday, Feb 2nd for our first call at 11am NZT (replays will be available throughout so don’t let that stop you signing up) — (USA: Sat, Feb 1st @ 2pm PST)

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