Lesson Video
The Procrastination Trap
In this B2 Ultra lesson, students watch an animated explanation of why people procrastinate even when it makes them feel worse. They learn key psychology vocabulary, notice gerund and infinitive patterns in context, practise tricky verb patterns, and finish with a high-energy Mystery Grid grammar game.
Why do people delay important tasks even when they know it will make life harder? This B2 lesson uses a relatable TED-Ed video on procrastination to explore the emotional cycle behind delay, stress, avoidance, and short-term relief.
Students begin by discussing their own avoidance habits, then learn useful psychology vocabulary such as dread, willpower, relief, vicious cycle, instant gratification, self-compassion, and threat response. They watch the video in stages to understand why procrastination is not simply laziness or poor time management, but often a response to negative emotions.
The grammar focus is gerunds and infinitives. Instead of presenting a dry list of rules, the lesson uses transcript-based noticing. Students examine real sentences from the video, identify verb patterns, complete rules, and practise forms such as avoid doing, keep doing, decide to do, need to do, try doing, and stop to do vs stop doing.
As an Ultra lesson, the final stage uses the Deadline Escape Mystery Grid: a fast-paced digital grammar game where teams reveal hidden tiles, complete gerund/infinitive challenges, answer personalisation prompts, and survive distraction events.
Objectives
- Discuss procrastination, avoidance habits, and emotional triggers.
- Understand the main ideas and key details in an authentic animated psychology video.
- Learn and use vocabulary connected to procrastination, stress, relief, and self-compassion.
- Notice and practise common gerund and infinitive patterns.
- Explain meaning differences in verbs such as stop and try.
- Use gerunds and infinitives in personalised speaking.
- Take part in an Ultra Mystery Grid grammar game.
Lesson Sections
- The Avoidance Habit
- The Science of Delay
- The Psychology of Stress
- Gerunds and Infinitives: Avoiding and Intending
- Stop, Try, Remember: Small Words, Big Differences
- The Deadline Escape Mystery Grid
