Procrastination › Submodalities

Submodalities for Procrastination

In short: Submodalities are the qualities of your mental images and sounds (size, distance, brightness, volume). Changing them often changes how strongly a thought affects you. Here is how to apply this neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) technique to procrastinating on an important task, step by step.

Why procrastination sticks

Procrastination often runs on an automatic inner sentence like "I'll do it later when I feel more ready". Submodalities works on the structure of that experience rather than arguing with it, which can give you room to respond differently. Context: this most often shows up in work.

Steps

  1. Think of procrastinating on an important task and notice the mental picture that comes with it.
  2. Note its qualities: Is it big or small? Close or far? Bright or dim? Color or black and white? Moving or still? Is there a voice, and what does it sound like?
  3. Change one quality at a time: push the image further away, shrink it, drain the color.
  4. If there's a critical voice, make it slower, quieter, or give it a silly cartoon tone.
  5. Keep the changes that reduce the intensity. Undo the ones that don't.
  6. Lock it in: imagine the image stays that way and notice how you feel now.

Example script

"When I think about it, the picture is big and close. I'll push it back... smaller... dimmer... and that voice saying 'I'll do it later when I feel more ready' now sounds slow and far away, like a radio in another room."

The reframe

Old frame: "I'll do it later when I feel more ready"

New frame: I don't need to feel ready to start; starting is what creates readiness, and a messy first step counts.

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Other NLP techniques for procrastination

Submodalities for other problems

Related techniques

Swish Pattern · Anchoring · Timeline Work

FAQ

Does submodalities work for procrastination?

Many people find submodalities a useful structured way to reflect on procrastinating on an important task, but there is little rigorous scientific evidence that NLP techniques work better than chance. Treat it as an experiment: try it a few times and keep what helps.

How long does it take?

Most people can run through these 6 steps in 5 to 15 minutes. Repeating the exercise over several days usually matters more than doing it once perfectly.

What is a good reframe for procrastination?

Instead of "I'll do it later when I feel more ready", try: I don't need to feel ready to start; starting is what creates readiness, and a messy first step counts.

Is this the same as therapy?

No. This is a self-help exercise from neuro-linguistic programming. If procrastination is seriously affecting your work, health, or relationships, an evidence-based approach such as cognitive behavioral therapy with a licensed professional is a better first step.

What should I try if this doesn't help?

Try a related technique such as Swish Pattern, Anchoring, Timeline Work, or one of the other approaches for procrastination listed on this page.

Procrastination Script Pack ($19), coming soon
Printable step-by-step scripts and guided audio for every technique on this site. Not on sale yet.

Background

Developed by Richard Bandler in the early 1980s; see Using Your Brain for a Change.

Sources and further reading

Honest note: Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a popular personal-development approach, but its scientific evidence base is limited and it is widely criticized as unsupported (Sturt et al., 2012). These exercises are self-reflection tools, not therapy or medical advice. If a problem is seriously affecting your life, please talk to a licensed professional.

Last updated 2026-10-16