One of the most frequently cited obstacles to personal and professional success is procrastination. Interestingly, procrastination is rampant even among people who are generally considered high achievers.

Tim Urban, a self-proclaimed procrastinator, whose TED talk on procrastination ended up being the most-watched TED talk in all of 2016, wrote a fascinating diagnosis of the root cause behind procrastination on his popular Wait But Why blog. (One of its regular readers is none other than Elon Musk.)

Read on to learn more about why we procrastinate and enjoy Urban’s signature stick figure illustrations!