During times of stress, like exam season, I can frequently be found reading about esoterica on the internet or cleaning up messes that have been awaiting attention for months. One could easily pin this behavior on procrastination, and that's certainly been a part of it, but such phenomena can also be attributed to low-impulse control.
It's harder to avoid temptations and distractions when you're tired. Think about how many times you've ended up reading or checking social media before bed when you know that you're better off going to sleep and doing that sort of thing in the morning (or not at all). Being tired makes it harder to ignore the appeal of one more click, page, or scroll.
Stress increases fatigue [citation needed]. Stress can reduce your impulse control, but stress also heightens your awareness of all the little issues in your surroundings. Evolutionarily this is great, because it's good to notice the snake when you're running from the tiger. In the modern world, not so much. Suddenly it's desperately important to look up who that actor was in a film you saw and didn't care for eight years ago, or scrub down the bathroom, or whatever. You're going to notice problems that weren't quite able to cross the threshold of perception before.
Another way in which our history comes back to bite us.
The take-away here is to plan your time wisely in times of lower stress. Keep your space clean and up to snuff. Deal with all those pressing issues like bills or groceries in a regular fashion. Don't pollute your mindspace with all sorts of nonsense. Make life easier for future selves.
Why yes, I am talking about you, Mom and Dad.
