Ideas change everything

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

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Tim Urban |

TED2016

• February 2016

Tim Urban knows that procrastination doesn't make sense, but he's never been able to shake his habit of waiting until the last minute to get things done. In this hilarious and insightful talk, Urban takes us on a journey through YouTube binges, Wikipedia rabbit holes and bouts of staring out the window -- and encourages us to think harder about what we're really procrastinating on, before we run out of time.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Tim Urban knows that procrastination doesn't make sense, but he's never been able to shake his habit of waiting until the last minute to get things done. In this hilarious and insightful talk, Urban takes us on a journey through YouTube binges, Wikipedia rabbit holes and bouts of staring out the window -- and encourages us to think harder about what we're really procrastinating on, before we run out of time.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

If you liked this talk, try the Wait But Why email list. Tim describes it as follows: "It's very un-annoying — I just email you each new post I write, but I only write 1-3 posts a month, so I won't be up in your grill, I promise."

About the speaker

Writer, illustrator

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With Wait But Why, Tim Urban demonstrates that complex and long-form writing can stand out in an online wilderness choked with listicles and clickbait.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

If you liked this talk, try the Wait But Why email list. Tim describes it as follows: "It's very un-annoying — I just email you each new post I write, but I only write 1-3 posts a month, so I won't be up in your grill, I promise."