What is procrastination?
The evasion of doing something which must be done can result in feelings of guilt and stress; we call it procrastination. Naturally, most people procrastinate occasionally. However, excessive procrastination can have a negative effect on our work and studies, so it’s important to be able to identify procrastination and recognise how to stop it.
Why do students procrastinate?
It is common for people to mask procrastination by occupying themselves with tasks unrelated to the object at hand. Here are some of the most common reasons for procrastinating:
- Feeling overwhelmed: A sudden onslaught of deadlines combined with poor time management can distort your sense of time, and without prioritising your work, it may feel impossible. This in turn may create feelings of anxiety and stress, which will hinder the work process.
- Task difficulty: You may be unsure how to start a task, or what is expected of you to complete it. This can be a common problem for students, as University study involves mastering knowledge and concepts that may be new and challenging.
- Disliking the task: Many students procrastinate if they find their work boring or unpleasant.
- Perfectionism: Students can set unrealistically high standards for themselves. Fear of not meeting these standards can cause procrastination.
- Poor concentration: A work environment full of distractions can make it difficult to focus on the task at hand.
- Lack of motivation: All of the above can make students feel less motivated about completing their work.
Signs of procrastination
The following are statements, which if true, are signs of procrastination:
- I delay starting a task because I find it difficult.
- My mind wanders to things other than the task at hand.
- I sometimes wonder why a task needs to be completed.
- I often give up on tasks once they start to become tricky.
- I have difficulty getting started on a task.
- I have so many things to do that I’m never sure where to start, so hardly any of them ever get done.
- I often put off a task in which I have little or no interest.
- I will ignore a task when I’m not sure about how to start or finish it.
- I often start a task without finishing it.
- Frequently, I can’t decide on which of my tasks I should tackle first.
- I find myself ignoring a task, hoping it will go away.
What can I do about excessive procrastination?
Along with understanding how it affects you personally and emotionally, better organisation skills and time management is the key to defeating procrastination. Here are some ideas which may help you to control procrastination:
- Improve your time management and organisational skills. This includes prioritising your workload.
- Commit to completing tasks once you have started them. You could reward yourself when it’s done to keep your motivation levels high.
- Break large projects into small, manageable parts.
- If appropriate, don’t do it alone! If you are struggling with your work, try to discuss it with your lecturers or peers.
- Find a good place to study or work. This means minimising distractions and maximising your comfort.
- Try not to be unrealistic about what you can accomplish. Set yourself standards which you can reasonably meet and be happy with.
- Boost your motivation by reminding yourself of your strengths and tasks you have already accomplished.
- If you get stuck, try a different study strategy. This could mean switching your method of study, or working on a different area of the same task.
- If you are worried about the quality of your work, remember that it’s better to produce something rather than nothing! You can always edit it later.
- Try to discover why you are procrastinating. This may make it easier to overcome it. You may be able to help yourself but if not, you could consult a tutor, supervisor, friend, or counsellor for help.
Above all, think positively and get going. You will feel increasingly relieved as you get closer to completing the task, and you will come to look forward to the feeling of satisfaction experience when you have completed it.
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