Does a cold shower help procrastination? Huberman's tip, checked

On the Huberman Lab podcast (episode 117, "Leverage dopamine to overcome procrastination and optimize effort", 2023), Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman gave listeners a tool for days when they can't get going. In that solo episode he explained procrastination as a dip in dopamine after a peak, and argued that the fastest way out of the dip is to do something harder than the slump you're in.

you need to put your body and mind into a state of discomfort quickly.

Andrew Huberman, Huberman Lab, 2023

He was careful to say he didn't mean anything harmful. His examples were a cold shower or ice bath, or five to ten minutes of meditation for people who find it hard, and he suggested keeping a short list of about five such activities. He also said the usual advice, to do just one or five minutes of the task itself, can work, and offered the harder activity for the times when that short start doesn't get you moving.

What's useful in the tip

Huberman starts from something true and familiar. When you avoid a task, you often drift to easier jobs such as tidying or paying bills, and many people then wait for a deadline to scare them into action. He is also right that waiting for motivation to return rarely works.

What the research says instead

Procrastination researchers describe it as short-term mood repair. A task brings up boredom, worry or frustration, and putting it off makes that feeling go away for now (Sirois & Pychyl, 2013). A review of trials of psychological treatments for procrastination found small benefits overall and moderate ones for cognitive behavioral approaches, which work on thoughts, feelings and planning, in a small number of studies (Rozental et al., 2018). Neither looked at cold water.

The NHS gives the practical version: plan to spend just five minutes on the task, set a timer, and see how you feel when it ends (NHS Every Mind Matters). That is close to the advice Huberman himself called typical, and it has one big advantage. The effort goes into the task you're avoiding, so the five minutes count.

If you enjoy cold showers, nothing here says stop. You just don't need one before you can start.

How this fits the Stop procrastinating program

The 1h Protocol to Stop Procrastinating is built on that five-minute start. Its chapters walk you through planning one, from the evening before to the evening after, and give you a moment card for when you don't feel like starting, so you have a plan ready instead of a slump to wait out. It takes about an hour, and the first chapter is free.

Source: Huberman Lab, episode 117: Leverage dopamine to overcome procrastination and optimize effort (2023) Research: Sirois & Pychyl (2013) · Rozental et al. (2018) · NHS Every Mind Matters