how to solve procrastination essay

Procrastination

11 ways to overcome procrastination, easy tips to stop putting things off..

Posted March 7, 2017 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• What Is Procrastination?
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• Procrastination is not a time management problem; rather, it's likely due to difficulty managing negative feelings like boredom or anxiety.
• But avoiding negative emotions—and important tasks—tends to lead to much worse outcomes in the long run, including more stress and regret.
• Changing your mindset, rewarding yourself for progress, and letting go of perfectionism can all help you overcome procrastinating tendencies.

Everyone has put off a task at some point in their life. (Take, for example, this article that I had planned on posting yesterday...) But have you ever wondered why you—or others—procrastinate? While some view it (in themselves or other people) as laziness, there might be something else at play.

In psychology, it has long been believed that people who procrastinate have a faulty sense of time—that they think they will have more time to get something done than they actually do. While that may be true for some, more recent research suggests procrastination is linked to difficulty managing distress. Specifically, it seems that task aversion is to blame—that is, when people view a task in an unpleasant manner (“It will be tough, boring, painful...”), they are more likely to put it off.

While procrastinators may be trying to avoid distress, this approach can ironically cause more distress in the long run. Procrastination can lead to increased stress, health problems, and poorer performance. Procrastinators tend to have more sleep issues and experience greater stressful regret than non-procrastinators. What’s more, procrastination can also hinder your self-esteem with the guilt , shame , or self-critical thoughts that can result from putting off tasks.

If you struggle with putting things off, try any of these tips to get you on track:

1. Get rid of catastrophizing .

One of the biggest reasons people procrastinate is because they catastrophize, or make a huge deal out of something. It may be related to how tough, how boring, or how painful it will be to complete the task; whatever the case, the underlying theme is that doing the task will be “unbearable.”

In reality, challenges, boredom , and hard work will not kill you—or even make you sick. Procrastination, on the other hand, is associated with stress—think of the stress you feel when you avoid making a phone call you know you need to make. So keep things in perspective: “Sure, this is not my favorite task, but I can get through it.”

2. Focus on your “why.”

Procrastinators focus more on short-term gains (avoiding the distress associated with the task), as opposed to long-term results (the stress of not doing it, as well as the consequences of avoiding this task). Instead, try focusing on why you are doing this task: What are the benefits of completing it?

If you've been putting off cleaning out a closet, imagine walking into the closet when it is decluttered and how good that will feel. And consider how much money you will make by selling the items on eBay, or how those in need will feel when they receive these items as donations.

If it is an exercise program you have been avoiding, focus on how exercising will help you have more positive energy, give you a boost of self-esteem, and serve as a great role model for your children.

3. Get out your calendar.

Projects that will get done "when I have time” (as in “I will do it when I have time”) tend not to get done very often, if ever. You need to schedule when you are going to work on a project and block out that time, just as you would an important meeting.

And when it is time to do your work, set a timer so you can be focused for the entire allotted time.

4. Be realistic.

As you establish your schedule, set yourself up for success. Projects often take much longer than expected, so bake in some extra time. And look for ways to make it easier on yourself: If, for example, you are not a morning person, don’t expect yourself to get up an hour early to start the exercise program you have put off for months. It might be better to schedule that activity during lunch or before dinner.

5. Chunk it.

When a task seems overbearing, procrastination often follows. So how can you break that task into smaller, more manageable parts? For example, if you want to write a book, you may choose to make an outline, identify each chapter, figure out the sections in the chapters, and then commit to writing one segment at a time. Chunking it down like this will help you feel less overwhelmed and more empowered.

6. Excuses be gone.

Do any of these sound familiar? “I need to be in the mood.” “I will wait until I have time.” “I work better under pressure.” “I need X to happen before I can start.”

Be honest with yourself: These are excuses. Sure, it might be nice to ”be in the mood,” but waiting for that to happen can mean you never start your project.

7. Get a partner.

Establish specific deadlines for completing a task. Then find someone who will help you be accountable. It could be a promise to your boss or client that you will complete the job by a certain date. Or it may be a coach who helps you stay on track. Or simply find an accountability partner. In this relationship, you connect with someone (on the phone, for example) at certain time intervals (such as once per week) and commit to what you will do before your next meeting. Not wanting to go back on your word, this can be a great way to squash procrastination. (Note: In an effort to save your relationship with your significant other, I recommend this person not be your partner. You don’t want a lack of follow-through to cause tension between you.)

8. Optimize your environment.

Your environment can help or hinder your productivity . Beware especially of technology, such as your email or messenger that keeps pinging to let you know someone has reached out. Social media , internet “research” that leads you far off track, and phone calls can lead to procrastination.

So try this: During your scheduled block of time for working on a particular task, close your email and IM, turn off your phone (or at least set it on “Do Not Disturb” and put it out of sight), and don’t let yourself get on the web until you have completed the task, or hold off any necessary internet searches until the end.

9. Reward good behavior.

Establish a reward if—and only if—you do what you set out to do. Do not let yourself binge that new Netflix show, check your social media, or get lunch until you complete what you've scheduled. So instead of using these tasks and distractions to procrastinate, make them contingent on you actually finishing what you schedule yourself to do.

10. Forgive yourself.

Stop beating yourself up about the past. Thoughts such as “I should have started earlier” or “I always procrastinate; I am such a loser” will only make matters worse. Research shows that forgiving yourself for past procrastination will help you stop putting off working on a task.

You can try to use past procrastination to your advantage as well. How? Determine what went into your avoidance— fear , stress, not having a good understanding of how to progress, lack of accountability, etc. Then address those obstacles in the present and future. If, for example, it was fear that contributed to your procrastination, what steps can you take to feel more empowered and less fearful next time around?

11. Drop the perfectionism.

Perfectionism is an all-or-nothing mentality: Something is either perfect, or it is a failure. People with perfectionistic tendencies tend to wait until things are perfect in order to proceed—so, if it's not perfect, you cannot be finished. Or if it is not the perfect time, you believe you can't start. This all-or-nothing mentality can hold you back from starting or completing tasks.

Instead, focus on being better than perfect. This means to still strive for excellence, creating excellence, or setting yourself up with excellent conditions, but at the same time, you focus on getting the job done. Done is better than perfect.

Make “some day” today. Follow these steps to get started on your project, and be proud of every bit of progress you make.

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Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D . is a Licensed Practicing Psychologist with an MS in physical therapy who combines research findings, real-life stories, and humor to provide actionable tips for individuals.

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Procrastination Essay for Students and Children

500+ words on procrastination essay.

Have you ever put off your homework till the last minute? Or perhaps studied for the test only a day before? Maybe delayed writing an essay till the last possible hour? All of us are guilty of delaying tasks and putting off important work until a later date.  This is essentially procrastinating. It is the action of purposefully delaying any task or activity. In this procrastination essay, we will see the reasons and the solutions to this problem.

As we will see in this procrastination essay, this is not a rare phenomenon. Almost everyone is guilty of it at some point in their lives. So we ask ourselves this question – why do people procrastinate even when they are so busy most of the time? We live in the 21st century, where time is our most precious commodity. And yet, we waste this precious resource procrastinating our time away.

Why do we Procrastinate?

The reasons for a person procrastinating can be varied. It depends on person-to-person and situation-to-situation. However, there are some universal reasons that cause people to delay their tasks and actions. One of the most important ones is the fear of failure. When a person delays doing an important task or is disinterested in finishing it, the cause could be a deep-rooted fear of failure. It is in human nature to avoid and fear failure. So by choosing to never finish the task, we can avoid the consequences as well.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Another reason is the lack of focus and determination. Feeling directionless and unfocused can often cause people to lose their wills to do their jobs. This leads to procrastination. Sometimes the lack of goals and objectives is also the reason a person loses their focus. Since they do not have an end-goal in mind, they end up wasting energy in other useless tasks.

There are other reasons a person may procrastinate. Sometimes, a person may be too much of a perfectionist. This distracts them from other tasks. And then there are other reasons like laziness, low energy levels, easy distractions, etc.

Read 10 Ways to Stop Procrastinating here.

How to Stop Procrastinating?

While procrastinating is a very natural fault we all share, if it gets out of hand it can get quite troublesome. Excessive procrastination can disrupt your life and cause you to lose control of your schedules and deadlines. So when the procrastination gets out of hand, you need to reign it in and get back in control.

One way to stop procrastinating is to break down the dreaded task into little steps. If the work or the task is too overwhelming, we tend to procrastinate about it. But if the job is broken down, then we can tackle one step at a time without being overwhelmed. You can also create a detailed timetable or a timeline of some sort to help you with the steps.

At other times changing your work environment may be beneficial. It can provide you with the boost necessary to stop procrastinating and finish the task. If possible get a friend or a parent to keep a check on your progress. It helps keep the motivation levels up and encourages you to finish the task on time.

The main concern is not to over-focus or blame yourself for procrastinating sometimes. We are all a victim to procrastination from time-to-time. As long as it does not derail your entire schedule, give yourself a break and just get back to work!

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Procrastination

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. —Mary Heaton Vorse

What this handout is about

This handout will help you understand why you procrastinate and offer strategies to combat this common writer’s ailment.

Introduction

Everyone procrastinates. We put things off because we don’t want to do them, or because we have too many other things on our plates. Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human. If you are reading this handout, however, it is likely that your procrastination is troubling you. You suspect that you could be a much better writer if only you didn’t put off writing projects until the last minute. You find that just when you have really gotten going on a paper, it’s time to turn it in; so, you never really have time to revise or proofread carefully. You love the rush of adrenaline you get when you finish a paper ten minutes before it’s due, but you (and your body) are getting tired of pulling all-nighters. You feel okay about procrastinating while in college, but you worry that this habit will follow you into your working life.

You can tell whether or not you need to do something about your procrastination by examining its consequences. Procrastination can have external consequences (you get a zero on the paper because you never turned it in) or internal consequences (you feel anxious much of the time, even when you are doing something that you enjoy). If you put off washing the dishes, but the dishes don’t bother you, who cares? When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged and overburdened, however, it is time to take action.

Is there hope?

If you think you are a hopeless procrastinator, take heart! No one is beyond help. The fact that you procrastinate does not mean that you are inherently lazy or inefficient. Your procrastination is not an untamable beast. It is a habit that has some specific origin, and it is a habit that you can overcome. This handout will help you begin to understand why you procrastinate and give you some strategies for turning things around. For most procrastinators, however, there are no quick fixes. You aren’t going to wake up tomorrow and never procrastinate again. But you might wake up tomorrow and do one or two simple things that will help you finish that draft a little earlier or with less stress.

You may not be surprised to learn that procrastinators tend to be self-critical. So, as you consider your procrastination and struggle to develop different work habits, try to be gentle with yourself. Punishing yourself every time you realize you have put something off won’t help you change. Rewarding yourself when you make progress will.

If you don’t care why you procrastinate—you just want to know what to do about it—then you might as well skip the next section of this handout and go right to the section labeled “What to do about it.” If you skip to the strategies, however, you may only end up more frustrated. Taking the time to learn about why you procrastinate may help you avoid the cycle whereby you swear up and down that you will never procrastinate again, only to find that the next time you have a paper due, you are up until 3 a.m. trying to complete the first (and only) draft—without knowing why or how you got there.

Why we do it

In order to stop putting off your writing assignments, it is important to understand why you tend to do so in the first place. Some of the reasons that people procrastinate include the following:

Because we are afraid

• Fear of failure: If you are scared that a particular piece of writing isn’t going to turn out well, then you may avoid working on it in order to avoid feeling the fear.
• Fear of success: Some procrastinators (the author of this handout included) fear that if they start working at their full capacity, they will turn into workaholics. Since we procrastinate compulsively, we assume that we will also write compulsively; we envision ourselves locked in a library carrel, hunched over the computer, barely eating and sleeping and never seeing friends or going out. The procrastinator who fears success may also assume that if they work too hard, they will become mean and cold to the people around them, thus losing their capacity to be friendly and to have fun. Finally, this type of procrastinator may think that if they stop procrastinating, then they will start writing better, which will increase other people’s expectations, thus ultimately increasing the amount of pressure they experience.
• Fear of losing autonomy: Some people delay writing projects as a way of maintaining their independence. When they receive a writing assignment, they procrastinate as a way of saying, “You can’t make me do this. I am my own person.” Procrastinating helps them feel more in control of situations (such as college) in which they believe that other people have authority.
• Fear of being alone: Other writers procrastinate because they want to feel constantly connected to other people. For instance, you may procrastinate until you are in such a bind that someone has to come and rescue you. Procrastination therefore ensures that other people will be involved in your life. You may also put off writing because you don’t want to be alone, and writing is oftentimes a solitary activity. In its worst form, procrastination itself can become a companion, constantly reminding you of all that you have to do.
• Fear of attachment: Rather than fearing separation, some people procrastinate in order to create a barrier between themselves and others. They may delay in order to create chaos in their lives, believing that the chaos will keep other people away.

Whether these fears appear in our conscious or subconscious minds, they paralyze us and keep us from taking action, until discomfort and anxiety overwhelms us and forces us to either a) get the piece of writing done or b) give up. (The preceding is a summary of Chapters 2-4 of Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen’s Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It.)

Because we expect ourselves to be perfect

Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. Perfectionists tend to procrastinate because they expect so much of themselves, and they are scared about whether or not they can meet those high standards. Perfectionists sometimes think that it is better to give a half-hearted effort and maintain the belief that they could have written a great paper, than to give a full effort and risk writing a mediocre paper. Procrastinating guarantees failure, but it helps perfectionists maintain their belief that they could have excelled if they had tried harder. Another pitfall for perfectionists is that they tend to ignore progress toward a goal. As long as the writing project is incomplete, they feel as though they aren’t getting anywhere, rather than recognizing that each paragraph moves them closer to a finished product.

Because we don’t like our writing

You may procrastinate on writing because you don’t like to re-read what you have written; you hate writing a first draft and then being forced to evaluate it, in all its imperfection. By procrastinating, you ensure that you don’t have time to read over your work, thus avoiding that uncomfortable moment.

Because we’re too busy

Practical concerns: jobs, other classes, etc.

Because it works

Unfortunately, procrastination helps reinforce itself. When we avoid doing something we dread (like writing) by doing something we enjoy (such as watching TV, hanging out with friends, etc.), we escape the dreaded task. Given such a choice, it’s no wonder that many of us choose to procrastinate. When we write a paper at the last minute and still manage to get a good grade, we feel all the more compelled to procrastinate next time around.

What to do about it

Now that you know a little bit about why you may have procrastinated in the past, let’s explore some of the strategies you might use to combat your procrastination tendencies, now and in the future. Experiment with whichever of these strategies appeals to you; if you try something and it doesn’t work, try something else! Be patient; improvement will come with practice.

Take an inventory

Figuring out exactly when and how you procrastinate can help you stop the behavior. It can be difficult to tell when you are procrastinating. Think about the clues that tell you that’s what you’re doing: for example, a nagging voice in your head, a visual image of what you are avoiding or the consequences of not doing it, physical ailments (stomach tightness, headaches, muscle tension), inability to concentrate, inability to enjoy what you are doing.

How do you procrastinate?

• Try to ignore the task, hoping against hope that it will go away?
• Over- or under-estimate the degree of difficulty that the task involves?
• Minimize the impact that your performance now may have on your future?
• Substitute something important for something really important? (For example, cleaning instead of writing your paper.)
• Let a short break become a long one, or an evening in which you do no work at all? (For example, claiming that you are going to watch TV for ½ hour, then watching it all night.)
• Focus on one part of the task, at the expense of the rest? (For example, keep working on the introduction, while putting off writing the body and conclusion).
• Spend too much time researching or choosing a topic

Once you better understand how you procrastinate, you will be better able to catch yourself doing it. Too often, we don’t even realize that we are procrastinating—until it’s too late.

Create a productive environment

If you have made the decision to stop delaying on a particular writing project, it is critical that you find a place to work where you have at least half a chance of actually getting some writing done. Your dorm room may not be the place where you are most productive. Ditto the computer lab. If you have a laptop computer, try going someplace where you can’t connect to the Internet (e-mail and the Web are the bane of the procrastinator’s existence—as you probably already know). If you are a procrastinator, then chances are you are already pretty exasperated; don’t risk frustrating yourself even more by trying to write in an environment that doesn’t meet your needs.

CAUTION: The most skilled procrastinators will be tempted to take this suggestion too far, spending an inordinate amount of time “creating a productive environment” (cleaning, filing, etc.) and not nearly enough time actually writing. Don’t fall into that trap! While cleaning and filing are indeed worthy and necessary activities, if you only do this when you have an approaching writing deadline, then you are procrastinating.

While you are thinking about where to write, consider also when you will write. When are you most alert? Is it at 8 a.m., mid-morning, mid-afternoon, early evening, or late at night? Try to schedule writing time when you know you will be at your best. Don’t worry about when you “should” be able to write; just focus on when you are able to write.

Challenge your myths

In order to break the procrastination habit, we need to get past the idea that in order to write, we must have all the information pertaining to the topic, and we must have optimal writing conditions. In reality, writers never have all the information, and conditions are never optimal.

Think of a writing project that you are currently putting off. On one side of a piece of paper, write down all the reasons for your delay. On the other side, argue (as convincingly as possible!) against the delay.

Myth #1: “I can’t function in a messy environment. I can’t possibly write this paper until I have cleaned my apartment.”

Challenge: There are no conditions that are necessary in order for you to write, save two: 1) You must have a writing implement (e.g., a keyboard or a pen) and 2) you must have someplace for writing to go, such as into a computer or onto a piece of paper. If, when faced with a writing project, you start piling up prerequisites for all the things you must do before you can possibly start writing, consider whether you might in fact be making excuses—in other words, procrastinating.

Myth #2: “I know it’s time for me to start writing, but I just haven’t done enough research yet. I’ll spend one more night at the library, and then I’ll start writing my paper.”

Challenge: Truth be told, you will never collect all the information you possibly could for your paper. Better to write a tightly-crafted argument with the information you have NOW, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, than to keep doing research and risk throwing your paper together at the last minute.

Myth #3: “I do my best work under pressure.”

Challenge: There are lots of other ways to create pressure for yourself, besides waiting until the night before the paper is due to start writing it. You can set a time limit for yourself—for example, “I will write this paragraph in ½ hour”—or you can pretend that the paper is a timed essay exam. If you do this a week or two before the paper is due, you’ll have a draft in plenty of time to revise and edit it.

Myth #4: “In order to work on my paper, I must have six uninterrupted hours.”

Challenge: You can and should work on a paper in one hour blocks (or shorter). This will help you break the writing task down into smaller pieces, thereby making it seem more manageable. If you know that you can work on one part of the paper for one hour, then it won’t seem so daunting, and you will be less likely to procrastinate.

Some writers find, however, that they do need longer blocks of time in order to really produce anything. Therefore, like all of the strategies outlined here, if this one doesn’t work for you, throw it out and try something else. You might still find, however, that you are more productive when you plan to write “all morning” rather than “all day.”

Myth #5 : “What I write has to be perfect, ” AND/OR “I can’t write anything until I have a perfect thesis statement/intro.”

Challenge: A first draft (or a second, or a third, or even—egad!—the final product) does not have to be perfect. When we write an early draft, we need to turn off our internal critic and just get some words down on the page. The great thing about starting early on a writing project is that it leaves us plenty of time for revision, editing, and proofreading; so, we can set ourselves free to just let our writing flow, without worrying about sentence-level concerns such as grammar, punctuation, and style. You’ll find some other thoughts on editing in our video on proofreading and our handout on revision .

Break it down

The day you get the paper assignment (ideally), or shortly thereafter, break the writing assignment up into the smallest possible chunks. By doing this, the paper never has a chance to take on gargantuan proportions in your mind. You can say to yourself, “Right now, I’m going to write the introduction. That’s all, just the introduction!” And you may be more likely to sit down and do that, than you will to sit down and “write the paper.”

Get a new attitude

We shoot ourselves in the foot, to begin with, by telling ourselves how horrible a particular writing assignment is. Changing our attitude toward the task, when possible, may go a long way toward keeping us from procrastinating. Tell yourself that the task isn’t so bad or difficult, that you either know how to do it, or that you can learn how while you’re doing it. You may find, too, that if you start early on a particular assignment, your attitude never has a chance to get very negative in the first place! Simply starting to write can often help us feel more positive about writing.

Ask for help

• Get an anti-procrastination coach. If you are really determined not to procrastinate, then get help from the supportive people in your life. Tell someone about your writing goal and timeline, and ask them to help you determine whether or not your plan is realistic. Once or twice a week, email with a friend, relative, or mentor, in order to report (admit?) on your progress, and declare your promise for the next week (or few days). If, despite your very good intentions, you start procrastinating again, do not think, “All is lost!” Instead, talk to someone about it. They may be able to help you put your slip into perspective and get back on track.
• Get a buddy. See if you can find a friend to work alongside you. They don’t have to be writing a paper; in fact, they can be playing Solitaire, for all you care. What matters is that you arrange to meet them at the library (or wherever you have decided to write) at a particular time and stay there for a specific period of time, thus creating accountability.
• Get help with your writing. If you are procrastinating because you think you are a weak writer, then ask someone (a Writing Center writing coach, a current or former professor or teaching assistant, a friend) to help you improve.
• Form a writing group. A writing group is a great way for undergraduate and more advanced writers alike to create accountability, get feedback, and simply get reminded that you are not alone in the struggle to produce and to improve your writing. See our writing group packet at for more information on how to form and sustain a writing group. Dissertation writers may benefit not only from joining a writing group but also from reading our handout on the dissertation . This handout was written by a former Writing Center staff member who eventually completed her dissertation.

Get unblocked

Sometimes, we procrastinate because we feel stuck on a particular essay or section of an essay. If this happens, you have several options:

• Turn off the screen. Type with a dark screen, so you can’t see what you’ve written, decide you don’t like it, and delete it immediately. Sometimes procrastination stems from insecurity about what to say, or whether we have anything to say. The important thing, in that case, is to get started and KEEP GOING. Turning off the screen may help lessen your fear and turn off your internal critic. When you turn it back on (or print out what you’ve written), you may find that you do have something to say, after all.
• Write about writing. Take 15 minutes and write a letter to yourself about why you don’t want to write this. This lets you vent your frustrations and anxieties. Then, Take 15 minutes and write about what you could do to get unstuck. You can also try writing about what you’re going to write, making an initial assessment of the assignment. You won’t have the pressure of writing an actual draft, but you will be able to get something down on paper.
• Write the easiest part first. You don’t have to start at the beginning. Whatever section you can do, do it! If you think that’s wimpy, and you would rather do the hardest part first so that you can get it out of the way, that’s fine—whatever works for you. If you start writing and you get stuck, write about why you’re stuck.
• Talk it out. Try tape-recording yourself speaking the ideas you want to include in the paper, and then transcribe the tape.

Make yourself accountable

Set a writing deadline (other than the paper’s due date) for yourself by making an appointment at the Writing Center or telling your TA (or a former TA) that you’re going to give them a draft on such-and-such a date. If you make your Writing Center appointment for several days before the paper is due, then you may be motivated to have a draft finished. Or set an earlier appointment at the Writing Center to have a conversation about your plans for the draft. Talking out your ideas with someone will help you get them organized for subsequent writing.

Leave your work out

Keeping your work (books, notes, articles, etc.) physically out, in full view, gives you a reminder that you are in the middle of the paper, or that you need to start. Also, if you write in more than one shift, it can be helpful to leave off in the middle of a paragraph and leave your ‘tools’ where they are. When you return to the paper, you’ll be able to “warm up” by finishing that paragraph. Starting a new section cold may be more difficult.

Work on improving your writing when you don’t have a deadline

Investigate your writing process. First of all, you may not think you have a thing called a “writing process.” But you do—everyone does. Describe your writing process in detail.

Ask yourself:

• When do I usually start on a paper?
• What tools do I need (or think I need) in order to write?
• Where do I write?
• Do I like quiet or noise when I write?
• How long a block of time do I need?
• What do I do before I start?
• What do I do at the end?
• How do I feel at the end (after I have turned it in)?

Then ask yourself:

• What do I like about my writing process?
• What do I want to change?

Once you can see your writing process, then you can make a decision to change it. But take it easy with this—only work on one part at a time. Otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed and frustrated—and we all know where that leads, straight down the procrastination road.

Evaluate your writing’s strengths and weaknesses

If you aren’t ready to evaluate your writing process completely (and it’s okay if you aren’t), then you could try just listing your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. For instance, perhaps you are great at creating thesis statements, but you have trouble developing arguments. Or, your papers are very well-organized, but your thesis and argument tend to fall a little flat. Identifying these issues will help you do two things: 1) When you write, you can play to your strength; and 2) You can choose one weakness and do something about it when you DON’T have a deadline.

Now, doing anything when you don’t have a deadline may sound strange to a procrastinator, but bear with me. Let’s say you’ve decided that your writing is too wordy, and you want to work on being more concise. So, some time when you don’t have a paper—but you do have a free hour—you waltz into the Writing Center and tell your tutor, “Hey, I want learn to how to write more clearly.” You confer, and you come away with some simple strategies for eliminating wordiness.

Here is why this may make a difference the next time you write a paper, regardless of whether or not you have procrastinated (again!): You print out your draft. It’s 1 a.m. You go to bed. The next morning, you read over your paper (it’s due at noon). You say to yourself, “Hmmm, I notice I’m being too wordy.” BUT, rather than concluding, “Oh, well, it’s too late, there isn’t anything I can do about that,” (as you may have in the past), you can choose to employ some of what you learned (previously, when you weren’t under the gun) to make your writing more concise. You edit the paper accordingly. You turn it in.

When your instructor hands the papers back the following week, there are far fewer instances of “awkward,” “unclear,” etc. in the margins. Voila! You’ve made a positive change in your writing process!

What does this have to do with procrastination? Well, making one small change in your writing process creates momentum. You begin to feel more positive about your writing. You begin to be less intimidated by writing assignments. And—eventually—you start them earlier, because they just aren’t as big a deal as they used to be.

Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in your writing gives you a sense of control. Your writing problems are solvable problems. Working on your writing when you don’t have a deadline helps you gain insight and momentum. Soon, writing becomes something that, while you may not look forward to it, you don’t dread quite as much. Thus, you don’t procrastinate quite as much.

This strategy also accounts for the fact that if you perceive procrastination as having been successful for you in the past, you aren’t going to give it up right away

Hone your proofreading and editing skills

If you procrastinate on writing because you don’t like to re-read what you have written, the good news is this: you can learn specific proofreading , revising , and editing strategies. If you finish your paper ahead of time, and you re-read it, and you don’t like it, you have options. Writing a first draft that you don’t like doesn’t mean you’re a terrible writer. Many writers—in fact, I would venture to say most—hate their first drafts. Neither Leo Tolstoy nor Toni Morrison produce(d) brilliant prose the first time around. In fact, Morrison (a big fan of revision) said recently that you don’t have to love your writing just because you wrote it! If you practice some revision and editing strategies, you may feel more comfortable with the idea of re-reading your papers. You’ll know that if you find weaknesses in the draft (and you will), you can do something to improve those areas.

Learn how to tell time

One of the best ways to combat procrastination is to develop a more realistic understanding of time. Procrastinators’ views of time tend to be fairly unrealistic. “This paper is only going to take me about five hours to write,” you think. “Therefore, I don’t need to start on it until the night before.” What you may be forgetting, however, is that our time is often filled with more activities than we realize. On the night in question, for instance, let’s say you go to the gym at 4:45 p.m. You work out (1 hour), take a shower and dress (30 minutes), eat dinner (45 minutes), and go to a sorority meeting (1 hour). By the time you get back to your dorm room to begin work on the paper, it is already 8:00 p.m. But now you need to check your email and return a couple of phone calls. It’s 8:30 p.m. before you finally sit down to write the paper. If the paper does indeed take five hours to write, you will be up until 1:30 in the morning—and that doesn’t include the time that you will inevitably spend watching TV.

And, as it turns out, it takes about five hours to write a first draft of the essay. You have forgotten to allow time for revision, editing, and proofreading. You get the paper done and turn it in the next morning. But you know it isn’t your best work, and you are pretty tired from the late night, and so you make yourself a promise: “Next time, I’ll start early!”

Make an unschedule

The next time you have a writing deadline, try using an unschedule to outline a realistic plan for when you will write. An unschedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for. When you make an unschedule, you consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your untimed activities such as meals, exercise, errands, laundry, time with friends and family, and the like. It is not a list of what you should do in a given week; rather it is an outline of the time that you will necessarily spend doing other things besides writing.

Once you have made your unschedule, take a look at the blank spaces. These represent the maximum number of hours that you could potentially spend writing. By starting with these blank spaces as a guide, you will be able to more accurately predict how much time you will be able to write on any given day. You may be able to see, for instance, that you really don’t have five hours to spend writing on the night before the paper is due. By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night’s sleep, you may also end up with a better paper!

The unschedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger writing project, such as a term paper or an honors thesis. You may think that you have “all semester” to get the writing done, but if you really sit down and map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later. In addition, the unschedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects.

Perhaps most importantly, the unschedule can help you examine how you spend your time. You may be surprised at how much (or how little) time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change. It’s especially important that you build time for fun activities into your unschedule. Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation.

You can also use the unschedule to record your progress towards your goal. Each time you work on your paper, for example, mark it on the unschedule. One of the most important things you can do to kick the procrastination habit is to reward yourself when you write something, even if (especially if) that writing is only a little piece of the whole. Seeing your success on paper will help reinforce the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated to write later in the day or week.

Set a time limit

Okay, so maybe one of the reasons you procrastinate on writing projects is that you just plain hate writing! You would rather be at the dentist than sitting in front of your computer with a blank Microsoft Word document staring you in the face. In that case, it may be helpful to set limits on how much time you will spend writing before you do something else. While the notation “Must work on Hemingway essay all weekend” may not inspire you to sit down and write, “Worked on Hemingway essay for ½ hour” just might. Or, if you tell yourself that you will write “all weekend,” for instance, the sheer agony of the thought may keep you from doing any writing at all. If, however, you say that you will write for two hours on Saturday afternoon, you may actually accomplish something. The important thing here is to keep your commitment to yourself. Even if, at the end of the two hours, you think you could keep going, stop. Go outside and enjoy the weather. Your procrastinating self needs to be able to trust your new non-procrastinating self the next time you say you will only write for a certain amount of time. If you go overboard this time, then the next time you say, “I’ll write for two hours and then stop,” the procrastinator within will respond, “Yeah, right! I’m going rollerblading!”

On the other hand, it may work better for you to trick yourself into working on your paper by telling yourself you’re only going to write for two hours, but then continuing to work if you’re feeling inspired. Experiment with both approaches and see which one seems to work best for you.

Be realistic about how long it takes you to write

Procrastinators tend to be heroic about time; they estimate that it will take them two hours to complete a task that would take most people four. Once you have determined that procrastination is hurting your writing, begin taking notice of how long it actually takes you to write. Many students have a “page an hour” rule. Perhaps you can write a page in an hour if you are totally rested, fed, and focused, your roommate isn’t home, and the wind is blowing just right. But what if the phone rings, what if you are tired, and what if you have to go to the bathroom? When you estimate how long it will take you to write something, expect that there will be interruptions along the way.

Parting thoughts

As you explore why you procrastinate and experiment with strategies for working differently, don’t expect overnight transformation. You developed the procrastination habit over a long period of time; you aren’t going to stop magically. But you can change the behavior, bit by bit. If you stop punishing yourself when you procrastinate and start rewarding yourself for your small successes, you will eventually develop new writing habits. And you will get a lot more sleep.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Burka, Jane M., and Lenora M. Yuen. 1983. Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now . Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing.

Ellis, Albert, and William J. Knaus. 1977. Overcoming Procrastination . New York: Signet.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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What Is Procrastination?

Putting off tasks we don't enjoy is common, despite the consequences

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Why Do You Procrastinate?

Types of procrastination.

• The Negative Impact
• Strategies to Stop

Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, or past their deadline. Some researchers define procrastination as a "form of self-regulation failure characterized by the irrational delay of tasks despite potentially negative consequences."

According to Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago and author of "Still Procrastinating: The No Regret Guide to Getting It Done," around 20% of U.S. adults are chronic procrastinators.

No matter how well-organized and committed you are, chances are that you have found yourself frittering away hours on trivial pursuits (watching TV, updating your Facebook status, shopping online) when you should have been spending that time on work or school-related projects.

Whether you're putting off finishing a project for work, avoiding homework assignments, or ignoring household chores, procrastination can have a major impact on your job, your grades, and your life.

In most cases, procrastination is not a sign of a serious problem. It's a common tendency that most people give in to at some point or another.

Remember that time that you thought you had a week left to finish a project that was really due the next day? How about the time you decided not to clean up your apartment because you "didn't feel like doing it right now?"

We often assume that projects won't take as long to finish as they really will, which can lead to a false sense of security when we believe that we still have plenty of time to complete these tasks.

One of the biggest factors contributing to procrastination is the notion that we have to feel inspired or motivated to work on a task at a particular moment.

The reality is that if you wait until you're in the right frame of mind to do certain tasks (especially undesirable ones), you will probably find that the right time simply never comes along and the task never gets completed.

The following are a few other factors that cause procrastination.

Researchers suggest that procrastination can be particularly pronounced among students. A 2007 meta analysis published in the Psychological Bulletin found that a whopping 80% to 95% of college students procrastinated on a regular basis, particularly when it came to completing assignments and coursework.  

According to researchers, there are some major cognitive distortions that lead to academic procrastination.   Students tend to:

• Overestimate how much time they have left to perform tasks
• Overestimate how motivated they will be in the future
• Underestimate how long certain activities will take to complete
• Mistakenly assume that they need to be in the right frame of mind to work on a project

Present Bias

The present bias is a phenomenon observed in human behavior that may result in procrastination. The present bias means that we tend to be motivated more by immediate gratification or rewards than we are by long-term rewards. This is why it feels good in the moment to procrastinate.

For example, the immediate reward of staying in bed and watching TV is more appealing than the long-term reward of publishing a blog post, which would take much longer to accomplish.

Procrastination can also be a result of depression . Feelings of hopelessness , helplessness, and a lack of energy can make it difficult to start (and finish) the simplest task. Depression can also lead to self-doubt . When you can't figure out how to tackle a project or feel insecure about your abilities, you might find it easier to put it off.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Procrastination is also pretty common in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder . One reason is that OCD is often linked with maladaptive perfectionism, which causes fears about making new mistakes, doubts about whether you are doing something correctly, and worry over others' expectations of you.

People with OCD also often have a propensity toward indecision, causing them to procrastinate rather than make a decision.

Many adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with procrastination. When you're so distracted by outside stimuli, as well as internal thoughts, it can be hard to get started on a task, especially if that task is difficult or not interesting to you.

Is Procrastination a Mental Illness?

Procrastination itself is not a mental illness. But in some cases, it may be symptomatic of an underlying mental health condition such as depression, OCD, or ADHD.

We often come up with a number of excuses or rationalizations to justify our behavior. According to researchers, there are 15 key reasons why people say they procrastinate:

• Not knowing what needs to be done
• Not knowing how to do something
• Not wanting to do something
• Not caring if it gets done or not
• Not caring when something gets done
• Not feeling in the mood to do it
• Being in the habit of waiting until the last minute
• Believing that you work better under pressure
• Thinking that you can finish it at the last minute
• Lacking the initiative to get started
• Blaming sickness or poor health
• Waiting for the right moment
• Needing time to think about the task
• Delaying one task in favor of working on another

Press Play for Advice On Completing Tasks

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to get tasks done with a science-backed trick known as 'temptation bundling.' Click below to listen now.

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Some researchers classify two types of procrastinators: passive and active procrastinators.

• Passive procrastinators : Delay the task because they have trouble making decisions and acting on them
• Active procrastinators : Delay the task purposefully because working under pressure allows them to "feel challenged and motivated"

Others define the types of procrastinators based on different behavioral styles of procrastination, including:

• Perfectionist : Puts off tasks out of the fear of not being able to complete a task perfectly
• Dreamer : Puts off tasks because they are not good at paying attention to detail
• Defier : Doesn't believe someone should dictate their time schedule
• Worrier : Puts off tasks out of fear of change or leaving the comfort of "the known"
• Crisis-maker : Puts off tasks because they like working under pressure
• Overdoer : Takes on too much and struggles with finding time to start and complete task

Procrastinators vs. Non-Procrastinators

"Non-procrastinators focus on the task that needs to be done. They have a stronger personal identity and are less concerned about what psychologists call 'social esteem'—how others like us—as opposed to self-esteem which is how we feel about ourselves," explained Dr. Ferrari in an interview with the American Psychological Association (APA).  

According to psychologist Piers Steel, people who don't procrastinate tend to be high in the personality trait known as conscientiousness , one of the broad dispositions identified by the Big Five theory of personality. People who are high in conscientiousness also tend to be high in other areas including self-discipline, persistence, and personal responsibility.

The Negative Impact of Procrastination

It is only in cases where procrastination becomes chronic and begins to have a serious impact on a person's daily life that it becomes a more serious issue. In such instances, it's not just a matter of having poor time management skills, it's a major part of their lifestyle.

Perhaps they pay their bills late, don't start work on big projects until the night before the deadline, delay gift shopping until the day before a birthday, and even file their income tax returns late.

Unfortunately, this procrastination can have a serious impact on a number of life areas, including a person's mental health and social, professional, and financial well-being:

• Higher levels of stress and illness
• Increased burden placed on social relationships
• Resentment from friends, family, co-workers, and fellow students
• Consequences of delinquent bills and income tax returns

How to Overcome Procrastination

You might find yourself wondering, How can I stop procrastinating?

Fortunately, there are a number of different things you can do to fight procrastination and start getting things done on time. Consider these your procrastination exercises:

• Make a to-do list : To help keep you on track, consider placing a due date next to each item.
• Take baby steps : Break down the items on your list into small, manageable steps so that your tasks don’t seem so overwhelming.
• Recognize the warning signs : Pay attention to any thoughts of procrastination and do your best to resist the urge. If you begin to think about procrastinating, force yourself to spend a few minutes working on your task.
• Eliminate distraction : Ask yourself what pulls your attention away the most—whether it's Instagram, Facebook updates, or the local news—and turn off those sources of distraction.
• Pat yourself on the back : When you finish an item on your to-do list on time, congratulate yourself and reward yourself by indulging in something you find fun.    

Prem R, Scheel TE, Weigelt O, Hoffmann K, Korunka C. Procrastination in daily working life: A diary study on within-person processes that link work characteristics to workplace procrastination . Front Psychol . 2018;9:1087. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01087

American Psychological Association. The Psychology of Procrastination: Why People Put Off Important Tasks Until the Last Minute . 2010.

Bisin A, Hyndman K. Present-bias, procrastination and deadlines in a field experiment . Games and Economic Behavior. 2020;119:339-357. doi:10.1016/j.geb.2019.11.010

Steel P. The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure . Psychol Bull . 2007;133(1):65-94. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65 

Ferrari, Joseph & Johnson, Judith & McCown, William. (1995). Procrastination and Task Avoidance - Theory, Research and Treatment . doi: 10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6

Beutel ME, Klein EM, Aufenanger S, et al. Procrastination, distress and life satisfaction across the age range - A German representative community study .  PLoS One . 2016;11(2):e0148054. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0148054

Limburg K, Watson HJ, Hagger MS, Egan SJ.  The relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology: A meta-analysis .  J Clin Psychol.  2017;73(10):1301-1326. doi:10.1002/jclp.22435

Altgassen M, Scheres A, Edel MA.  Prospective memory (partially) mediates the link between ADHD symptoms and procrastination .  Atten Defic Hyperact Disord . 2019;11(1):59-71. doi:10.1007/s12402-018-0273-x

Tuckman BW, Abry DA, Smith DR. (2008). Learning and Motivation Strategies: Your Guide to Success (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Zohar AH, Shimone LP, Hen M. Active and passive procrastination in terms of temperament and character .  PeerJ . 2019;7:e6988. doi:10.7717/peerj.6988

American Psychological Association. The first step to overcoming procrastination: Know thyself .

Svartdal F, Nemtcan E. Past negative consequences of unnecessary delay as a marker of procrastination . Front Psychol. 2022;13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.787337

Schrager S, Sadowski E. Getting more done: Strategies to increase scholarly productivity .  J Grad Med Educ . 2016;8(1):10-13. doi:10.4300/JGME-D-15-00165.1

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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The science behind procrastination and how to overcome it!

28 May 2021

The saying goes, 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'. Normally however, when things get tough, we just procrastinate. Natalia gives us her 5 tips to stop this unhelpful habit.

Everyone puts things off every now and again, but for some procrastination can be an everyday battle! Have you ever been guilty of not starting an essay until the night before? Do you want to find out why people procrastinate? And most importantly, are you ready to learn how you can overcome it?

What is procrastination?

It is the routine, habitual responses your brain falls into when you try to do something hard or unpleasant. Procrastination makes you focus solely on making the present moment feel better.

Why do we procrastinate?

Learning a new thing or doing something you would rather not do can be stressful. This can cause anxiety and actually activates the area associated with pain in your brain. Your brain then looks for a way to stop that negative feeling by switching your attention to something else more pleasant.

Although this may seem innocent enough, the long-term effect of procrastination can be dangerous! Putting your studies off leads to studying becoming even more painful. Moreover, procrastination is a habit that affects many areas of your life, so if you improve in this area, many positive changes will unfold.

What's the solution?

OK, there isn't one simple solution that can help you overcome procrastination. However, here are 5 tips (which I've personally used myself to challenge my own procrastination) that should steer you in the right direction:

1. Work on what triggers your habitual responses

Seeing procrastination is a habitual stress response to doing something unpleasant, it is important you look into what triggers this response and adjust accordingly. Is it the location? Is it the time? For example, for a lot of people, it's the ease with which they can access distractions on their phone or computer, and so you should consider eliminating those distractions as much as possible.

2. Put some rewards in place

Habits exist because they reward us. They are powerful because they create neurological cravings. As a result, it helps to add a new reward (e.g. "I will watch a movie guilt-free once I've studied for 4 hours today") if you want to overcome your previous cravings (e.g. "I don't want to do this essay - I'm going to go on Reddit instead"). Only once your brain starts expecting a reward will the important rewiring take place that will allow you to create new habits. If you do end up procrastinating, you should not reward yourself, however this doesn't mean you should beat yourself up about it. It has been shown that self-forgiveness regarding procrastination will help you get going without delay next time around, and so helps you overcome your habit!

3. Try weekly/daily lists

Researchers showed that writing the list of things you did not accomplish at the end of the day  helps you accomplish them the next day and also allows you to unwind more successfully. If you don’t write them down, they will take the valuable slots of memory and can cause you to worry and ruminate. So why not ease up on your brain? Create a list of goals at the end of the day. Then, plan your next work day in such a way that you work on the most important and most disliked tasks first (but also have a backup plan, just in case you procrastinate). Don't forget to be reflective about what kind of lists or planning tactics worked and which ones didn't, and update your notes until you have a personalised guide on how you work best!

4. Focus on the process

Having said that, don't get too caught up with goals, as that can also be detrimental. Instead, you should focus as much as you can on the process. You should realise that it’s perfectly normal to start a learning session with a negative feeling, even if you like the subject. It’s how you handle those feelings that matters. For some, it may be especially beneficial to focus on the process, not the product, as it is the product that triggers the pain causing you to procrastinate.

5. The trick is just to start

This may seem like one of those things that is easier said than done, but it can honestly be a game changer! Researchers have discovered that not long after people start working out (something that they found unpleasant beforehand), their neuro-discomfort disappears and the participants start to find the workout to be intrinsically motivating. So next time you have an essay to write, just do the simplest of steps to get you going, such as creating a word document with the title and jotting down a few ideas about the topic.

Now with a little willpower, a plan, and rewards, you can change your habits! Always remember that habits can be changed and it is never too late to self-improve. For more study tips, check out our other articles .

By Natalia Mladentseva, UCL alumna

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How to Beat Procrastination

• Caroline Webb

Outsmart your brain’s tendency to put off big goals.

Procrastination is a part of human nature. While we love crossing off the easy tasks on our to-do lists, the more challenging ones languish there indefinitely. Why? Because it’s much easier for our brains to process concrete (now) versus abstract (future) benefits. The key to tackling those unwanted tasks is making the action itself feel more significant and real, while making the costs of performing the action feel smaller. For example, telling a colleague that you’re going to finish a task at a certain point in time may be the nudge you need to get something done. To make the task feel smaller, break it down into easy steps—that will keep you motivated as you achieve each goal. You’ll notice how much more work you can get done when you’re less short sighted.

Procrastination comes in many disguises. We might resolve to tackle a task, but find endless reasons to defer it. We might prioritize things we can readily tick off our to-do list—answering emails, say—while leaving the big, complex stuff untouched for another day. We can look and feel busy, while artfully avoiding the tasks that really matter. And when we look at those rolling, long-untouched items at the bottom of our to-do list, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed in ourselves.

• Caroline Webb  is the author of  How to Have a Good Day: Harness the Power of Behavioral Science to Transform Your Working Life .  She is also CEO of coaching firm  Sevenshift , and a Senior Adviser to McKinsey & Company. Follow her on Twitter  @caroline_webb_ ,  Facebook , or  Google + .

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84 Procrastination Ideas & Essay Examples

Is procrastination good or bad? Some people judge procrastination and call it “lazyness”. Others insist that procrastinating helps them to do their best under pressing deadlines.

If you assigned to write an essay on this topic, we’ve got your back covered! In this article you will find 51 interesting procrastination essay topics. Keep reading!

🏆 Best Procrastination Topics & Essay Examples

📌 interesting procrastination essay topics to write about, 👍 good procrastination research topics, ❓ research questions about procrastination.

• A Critical Analysis of Hamlet’s Constant Procrastination in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Claudius is successful in his ambition and Hamlet is left with the decision on whether or not to kill his uncle so as to avenge his father’s death.
• Procrastination Essay In both cases, people procrastinate because they fear the consequences of their actions and prefer to live in uncertainty. These are serious obstacles on the way to success and life satisfaction, which is why it […]
• Students Procrastination Problem If the task is big, it should be broken down into small tasks that are easy to manage and to complete.
• Procrastination and Time Management In case the available time is not properly allocated to all activities to be achieved within a given period, then the available time will not be allocated to the correct event.
• Procrastination: Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Due to the nature of the research questions of the study, open-ended questionnaires and interviews will be used to gather the required information for the study.
• Procrastination Among College Students It is not the fear of failure that keeps people from taking on assignments, but their personality traits and desire to have fun instead of putting in the effort.
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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

Two Counterintuitive Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is unfortunately something that most of us are familiar with. We’ve either experienced it firsthand or observed it in others: our students, children, employees, spouses, and more. It’s something they and we almost always want to stop. We would rather feel energized and productive when we make progress on a project or proud when a coworker or family member accomplishes what they set out to do.

If procrastination is more than just an occasional lapse for you or someone you know, then I wrote a new book for you: Procrastination: What It Is, Why Itʼs a Problem, and What You Can Do About It . What qualifies me to write such a book? Well, I do have 20+ years of experience researching procrastination, with more than 30 scientific research articles and book chapters on the causes and consequences of procrastination. But procrastination also holds personal significance for me. I’ve witnessed the toll procrastination has taken on family members and even myself. In writing my book, I’ve realized that I am more of a procrastinator than I care to admit.

It is these personal observations and struggles, along with my professional expertise, that are the source of the unique insights, guidance, and tools I provide in the book. Here, I want to cut to the chase and explore two alternative ways of responding to difficulties that science suggests can reduce distress and increase motivation to persist in the face of obstacles: self-compassion and self-forgiveness .

The trouble with self-criticism

At first glance, self-compassion and self-forgiveness may appear to be unlikely candidates to help reduce procrastination. Being kind and forgiving toward yourself when you are struggling with a challenging task or with your own procrastination could seem like you are letting yourself off the hook, right? It can appear like you are giving yourself a free pass to step away from your responsibility for getting your intended task done and any fallout from doing so. You might feel better, but how will this help you reach your goals?

If mistakes are made along the journey to a goal, we often believe that the only way to correct them is a swift and often harsh cracking of the whip of self-criticism.

But self-criticism is problematic when you’re trying to avoid procrastination. If you have a mindset that includes negative scripts about yourself, then you are more likely to react negatively to any challenges you face when working on a task. The way we view difficulties on the path toward a goal is a reflection of how we see ourselves. You might think, “Everyone can do this task so much more easily than me”; you may have a hard time accepting your imperfections and the fact that, like everyone, you can and do make mistakes.

If that is your attitude, then you will be looking for evidence to support these distorted views of yourself—and you will find it when you are procrastinating. In effect, your negative self-views become self-fulfilling and self-reinforcing. The other problem with using self-criticism to motivate yourself is that it often backfires. For example, say you tend to procrastinate exercising. But instead of examining why you have difficulty maintaining a regular running routine, you berate yourself. This response will generate even more negative feelings toward exercising, and make you want to get relief from these feelings by procrastinating. And when your focus is on managing your emotions so you don’t feel so bad, you will be less focused on finding a solution (like getting a running partner). You might start to judge yourself harshly for not being able to run alone. Lots of other people can run alone, so why can’t I?

That kind of self-criticism can lead to further negative thoughts that generate negative feelings that are demotivating rather than motivating and thus lead to further avoidance.

The gentle power of self-compassion

Most of us have a fairly good idea of what it means to be compassionate. If you found out that someone close to you was struggling with their goal, or feeling down because something didn’t work out the way they had hoped, you would recognize that they are suffering and be kind and understanding toward them.

Being self-compassionate means extending the same compassion to ourselves that we would extend to others. As counterintuitive as it may sound, scientific evidence has shown that self-compassion can both help reduce procrastination and help us achieve our goals.

Consider, for example, a study I conducted a few years back. I asked four groups of people—some students and some from the local community—to complete a survey about how prone they were to procrastination, whether they had a self-compassionate mindset, and their current levels of stress. The less self-compassionate people were, the more prone they were to procrastinating. Difficulties managing negative emotions and then also amplifying these emotions with negative self-talk and rumination over mistakes and lapses are the drivers of procrastination. Being less self-compassionate also explained why those who were prone to procrastination reported experiencing higher levels of stress.

But we can view this research from a different angle. It also tells us that people who are more self-compassionate are less prone to procrastinate. In other words, being self-compassionate can be a protective factor against developing a tendency to procrastinate.

So, if you procrastinate and respond with self-compassion, you will be less likely to continue to procrastinate or engage in ways of thinking that make you feel worse about yourself and thus maintain a procrastination habit. Self-compassion can help defuse the negative feelings and judgments that can make us want to avoid or abandon a challenging task.

Fortunately, self-compassion is a skill you can develop. According to researcher Kristin Neff at the University of Texas at Austin, being self-compassionate involves three core elements.

Turning self-criticism into self-kindness

When we procrastinate, we don’t blame ourselves for our difficulties or make negative judgments about ourselves or our character. We don’t increase our suffering by holding ourselves to unrealistic expectations or insisting that we should be perfect. Instead, we approach our struggles, inadequacies, and failures with warmth, openness, and acceptance. Instead of harshly criticizing yourself for some failure, real or perceived, you might think something along these lines:

I know that I put this off when I didn’t need to, and this may have caused more problems. But I am not going to be hard on myself. I accept that my good intentions to think about others didn’t translate into the best outcome this time, and I will do what I can now to make things right.

Feeling connected rather than isolated in our suffering. This involves recognizing that everyone makes mistakes, falls short of what they had hoped for, comes face to face with their own inadequacies and flaws, and suffers as a result. This is all part of being human. Being self-compassionate means acknowledging and accepting these universal truths and feeling connected to others through our suffering.

Feeling connected means not letting your feelings of shame about procrastinating take over and make you feel like everyone else is so much better at reaching their goals. Instead, you remember that you are not the first person to procrastinate, nor will you be last. Knowing this makes it easier for you to openly admit when you are procrastinating, and to reach out for help from others to get you back on track with your goals.

Being mindful of our emotions. This involves stepping back from our negative emotions and taking a balanced, nonjudgmental view of them and not suppressing or avoiding these emotions or the negative thoughts that stoke them. Taking a mindful approach to our emotions helps us not overreact to our lapses, mistakes, or personal inadequacies or get stuck in self-pity.

What does it look like to be mindful rather than overly identified with our negative emotions? You can acknowledge that you are unhappy with procrastination and its fallout, and accept the negative feelings that you are having, rather than avoiding them or becoming too caught up in them. By taking this mindful stance, you are in a better position to be curious as to why you’re feeling upset with yourself and why you avoided the task in the first place.

One of the best times to practice self-compassion is as a preventative measure—when you are struggling with a task, have made a mistake, and are feeling frustrated or stressed and on the brink of procrastinating. By being compassionate to your own suffering, you can lessen these feelings, accept your struggle, and increase your motivation to complete your task.

The paradoxical power of forgiveness

Forgiveness is the voluntary process of letting go of negative feelings such as resentment or anger directed toward another individual or group because of harm they have caused you. This does not mean that you forget what was done, but it does mean that you release the negative emotions you’ve been holding on to that can be harmful for your own well-being. You accept what happened and move beyond it emotionally.

Self-forgiveness involves showing this same forgiveness to yourself. Like self-compassion, it is often more difficult to forgive yourself than it is to forgive others.

When we have done something that we know caused harm to ourselves or others, such as procrastination, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that we deserve to be punished for what we did. Being harshly self-critical about what happened can be a form of punishing ourselves that can stand in the way and prevent us from moving beyond our mistakes. Holding on to negative emotions can keep us stuck in the past.

So, what does the roadmap to self-forgiveness for procrastination look like? Researchers have proposed that the journey to self-forgiveness involves three key steps.

First, you have to accept that you procrastinated and that you are unhappy with yourself for doing so. For this to happen, you need to take responsibility for your procrastination. As long as you are blaming your procrastination on outside forces, or not admitting that the delay was voluntary, then you are not truly accepting that you procrastinated. Coming to this realization can be difficult, especially if you are prone to procrastination. Your first instinct will be to avoid anything that brings difficult emotions to the surface. Denial is a wonderfully safe place to be, as they say. Next, acknowledge and allow yourself to experience the negative feelings you have about procrastinating. Again, this is no easy feat if procrastination has become a habit. Are you angry, disappointed, or frustrated with yourself? It’s OK to be; these feelings are completely natural. Feeling bad about procrastinating—whether it’s because of your own expectations for yourself or because you’re aware that you have transgressed social norms—is a healthy response. But it’s what you do with those feelings that makes the difference between improving yourself and reaching your goals versus getting stuck in a vicious circle of wallowing in shame, guilt, and other distressing emotions that perpetuates the very behavior that you feel bad about in the first place.

Once you have fully acknowledged your negative feelings about procrastinating, then you are ready for the last and final step—overcoming those feelings. This part of the journey involves working through and coming to terms with your negative feelings about procrastinating, without ruminating about them. It means that you have to accept what you did and forgive yourself, and that you must stop punishing yourself and focus instead on making amends. In other words, you have to shift from a retribution mindset to a restitution mindset. Ask yourself what you can do so that you will be less likely to make the mistake of procrastinating again. Then take action to change your behavior.

In one very clever study , researchers at Carleton University in Canada tested whether self-forgiveness could reduce procrastination among university students who were studying for exams. Before each of two midterms, the students completed questions about the extent to which they had procrastinated studying for their exam and whether they forgave themselves for their procrastination. The students also reported their mood after receiving their first midterm grade.

The results were both paradoxical and encouraging. Students who forgave themselves for procrastinating while preparing for the first exam were less likely to procrastinate on preparing for the second exam, and the reason they procrastinated less came down to mood: They experienced less negative mood, which in turn reduced their procrastination. In contrast, the students who did not forgive themselves for procrastinating on the first exam felt worse about their performance and continued to procrastinate their studying for the second exam. This research tells us that self-forgiveness provides an effective means of regulating negative mood that leads to approaching and dealing with problems rather than avoiding them by procrastinating.

Self-forgiveness may be especially appropriate when the task you have delayed has significant implications for yourself or other people, like when your partner had to wait on you to file your tax return so that they could complete theirs.

If you’re skeptical that being forgiving and compassionate to yourself can help reduce procrastination, it’s not surprising. We live in a world where many of us have learned that the only way to improve yourself and succeed in life is to push yourself harder and further, to strive to be better, and to accept nothing less than your best. But, clearly, that attitude isn’t working for us. Instead of continuing to beat our heads against the procrastination wall, how about trying something new?

About the Author

Fuschia Sirois

Fuschia Sirois, Ph.D. , is a professor in social and health psychology at Durham University, and a former Canada research chair in health and well-being. Professor Sirois’s research aims to understand the psychological factors and qualities that confer risk for physical health and well-being through self-regulation and emotions, and the ways to enhance resilience and support physical and mental health.

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Solving Procrastination

Student Procrastination: Why Students Procrastinate and How to Stop It

Student procrastination is a common problem, which occurs when students unnecessarily postpone working on school tasks, like studying or writing. It affects students at all levels, and can cause serious issues, like worse grades and lower wellbeing. It’s also a complicated problem, since different students procrastinate for different reasons, and can therefore benefit from different solutions when it comes to overcoming their procrastination.

The following article provides a comprehensive and practical guide to the problem of student procrastination. Its goals are to first help you understand why students procrastinate, and then show you what students can do in order to stop procrastinating and start studying. This will be beneficial whether you’re a student yourself, or someone like a parent or a teacher, who wants to help students overcome their procrastination.

Examples of student procrastination

An example of student procrastination is a student who needs to sit down and finish their homework, but instead wastes time on the internet all day and only starts working late at night, even though they wish they could have gotten started earlier.

In addition, other examples of student procrastination are the following:

• A high-school student who puts off studying for a test for several hours, by browsing social media instead.
• An undergraduate university student who postpones writing a class paper for weeks until right before the deadline , by watching TV, playing games, and going out instead.
• A graduate student who postpones working on a large research project or dissertation for an entire semester, by continually putting it off to a later date, while working on small and unimportant tasks instead.

Finally, although the concept of student procrastination is mainly associated with procrastination on academic tasks, students can also procrastinate on other types of tasks , like exercising or cleaning their room.

Prevalence of student procrastination

Procrastination is very common among students. For example, studies show that approximately 50% of college students say that they procrastinate in a consistent and problematic manner, approximately 75% consider themselves to be procrastinators, and approximately 80%–95% procrastinate to some degree.

Furthermore, research shows that procrastination is common among other student populations , including students in elementary school , middle school , high school , and graduate school . In fact, it’s so common among students that the tendency to procrastinate on tasks until right before they’re due is sometimes called the student syndrome .

Dangers of student procrastination

Procrastination can cause various issues for students, by negatively affecting their time management, academic performance, emotional wellbeing, and mental and physical health:

• In terms of time management , procrastination can take up a considerable amount of time, and students often report that procrastination occupies over a third of their daily activities, usually in the form of behaviors such as sleeping, watching TV, or playing games. It can also cause them to experience other time-management issues, such as missing important deadlines, or rushing to complete assignments without enough time.
• In terms of  academic performance , procrastination can lead to various issues , including worse exam scores, worse grades, more course failures, and more course withdrawals. Many of these issues can be attributed to issues that procrastination causes in terms of time management. For example, if students fail to manage their time by continually putting off studying for an important test, they will likely end up unprepared, and therefore earn a worse grade than they could have earned if they didn’t procrastinate.
• In terms of  emotional wellbeing and mental/physical health , procrastination can cause  issues like increased stress  and increased rates of illness . Many of these issues are associated with the issues that students experience in terms of their time management and academic performance. For example, if a student submits an assignment late due to procrastination and ends up receiving a bad grade, then they might feel anxiety, guilt, and stress over their behavior.

Given this, and given how common procrastination is, it’s unsurprising that many students say that procrastination is always or nearly always a problem for them when it comes to various academic tasks (e.g., writing papers and studying for exams), and that they want to reduce their procrastination on those tasks.

In addition, procrastination can also cause serious issues for students once they leave academia and enter the job market, since many of the above issues extend to adults outside academia, and since procrastination is associated with further issues, such as lower salaries, shorter periods of employment, a higher likelihood of unemployment, and lower financial success in general.

Why students procrastinate

Students procrastinate because issues like exhaustion and anxiety outweigh their self-control and motivation. These issues include personal factors, like fear and perfectionism, and situational factors, like distractions and unclear instructions.

Specifically, when students need to study or work on assignments, they rely primarily on their self-control in order to get themselves to do it. Furthermore, their self-control is sometimes supported by their motivation, which helps them do things in a timely manner.

However, in some cases, students suffer from various issues that interfere with or oppose their self-control and motivation, such as exhaustion and anxiety . When these issues are stronger than their self-control and motivation, they end up procrastinating, until they reach a point where the balance between these factors shifts in the students’ favor, or until it becomes too late.

This explains why many students procrastinate in a chronic manner even when they have the necessary motivation and truly want to study and get their work done. This also explains why many students always procrastinate on academic work until right before the deadline, at which point the increased motivation, often in the form of stressful pressure, finally pushes them to start studying or to start working on their assignments.

Accordingly, common reasons why students procrastinate include the following :

• Abstract goals , generally in terms of being vague about when and how the students intend to study or do their work.
• Feeling overwhelmed , often while being unsure of how to deal with the academic task at hand.
• Perfectionism , generally in the form of refusing to create work that has any flaws.
• Fear of failure , often due to concerns over how failure might reflect on the student’s abilities and skills, either in their eyes or in the eyes of others.
• Anxiety , often in light of potential negative feedback.
• Task aversion , especially in cases where the students find an assignment boring or unpleasant.
• Lack of motivation , often as a result of not caring about academic performance, feeling disconnected from their future self, or having rewards that are too far in the future.
• Physical or mental exhaustion , often due to a combination of reasons, such as a high academic workload together with lack of sleep.
• Resentment , generally toward the studying or assignments directly, toward their source, or toward something related, such as a parent pushing the student to do well in a subject that they’re not interested in.
• Sensation seeking , generally in the form of enjoying working on things right before the deadline, when there’s intense time pressure that can make otherwise boring assignments more challenging and exciting.
• Problematic work environment , generally as a result of having many distractions or temptations around.
• Lack of sufficient communication from instructors, for example when it comes to not having clear directions and due dates for a certain class project.

Other common causes of student procrastination include behaviors such as self-handicapping , which involves procrastinating so that if the student fails then they can blame their failure on procrastination rather than on their abilities, and self-sabotaging , which involves procrastinating as a result of a tendency to hinder one’s progress.

Furthermore, certain personality traits , such as distractibility and impulsivity , are associated with the tendency to procrastinate, meaning that people who are naturally high in these traits are more likely to procrastinate.

Finally, there are also some underlying issues that can lead to procrastination, like ADHD , depression , and lack of sleep .

Overall, students procrastinate because issues such as exhaustion and anxiety outweigh their self-control and motivation. Common issues that lead to student procrastination include abstract goals, feeling overwhelmed, perfectionism, fear of failure, task aversion, resentment, a problematic work environment, and sensation seeking.

How to stop procrastinating on studying

To stop procrastinating on your studying or schoolwork right now , you should identify the smallest possible thing you can do to make progress on it, and then modify your environment to make it as likely as possible that you will do it.

For example, if you need to study for an exam, the smallest possible step that you can take toward doing this might be to open your notes and go over just the first paragraph that you have written down. Once you realize that this is all you need to do, you can start modifying your study environment to help yourself achieve this, for example by going to a room with no distractions and leaving your phone outside.

There are many other anti-procrastination techniques you can use as a student. Start by trying a few of them that seem relevant based on factors like your circumstances and the specific causes of your procrastination. Over time, you can modify which techniques you use and how you use them, based on how they work for you.

Improve your planning:

• Set concrete goals for yourself. For example, instead of a vague goal, such as “study for my upcoming exam”, set a concrete goal, such as “on the week of my upcoming exam, go to the library every day after I finish my last class for the day, and spend at least 2 hours studying”.
• Break your tasks into small and manageable steps. For example, if you need to write an essay, you can start with steps such as figuring out the title, creating a rough outline, and finding five appropriate academic sources. Note that if the project in question is large, then you generally shouldn’t worry about figuring out all the steps to it from the start. Instead, start by identifying only the first few steps that you need to take, and then identify new steps as you make progress, to avoid feeling overwhelmed or getting stuck.
• Set intermediate milestones and deadlines for yourself. If your instructor hasn’t done this already, or if they’ve only set a single major deadline at the end, setting scaffolded intermediate milestones and deadlines for yourself will help you plan ahead, be accountable, and feel more motivated to make continuous progress.
• Identify your productivity cycles. Students vary in terms of when they’re most productive; for example, some work best in the morning, while others are more focused at night. You should take this into account, and schedule your study and work to times of day when you’re least likely to procrastinate.

Improve your environment:

• Change your environment to make it harder for yourself to procrastinate. For example, if you tend to procrastinate on writing essays because you keep browsing social media , turn off your internet connection on your computer before you get to work.
• Change your environment to make it easier for yourself to get started. For example, if you know that you’ll need to study for an exam tomorrow morning, organize all the relevant study material on your desk or in your bag before you go to bed.
• Change your environment to make it easier for you to keep going. For example, if you know that you’re likely to lose concentration if you get distracted while studying, go study in a quiet room and leave your phone outside.

Change your approach:

• Start with a tiny step. For example, if you need to write an essay, help yourself get started by committing to only write a single sentence at first. This can help you push yourself to get started on tasks, and often, once you do so, you’ll find it easy to keep going.
• Start with the best or worst part first. Some students find that starting with the most enjoyable or easiest part of an assignment helps them get going, while others find that getting the worst part out of the way first helps them avoid procrastinating over time. You can use either approach if you find that it works well for you.
• Add a time delay before you procrastinate. If you can’t avoid procrastinating entirely, try committing to having a time delay before you indulge your impulse to do so. For example, this can involve counting to 10 before you’re allowed to open a new tab on the social media website that you usually use to procrastinate.
• Use the Pomodoro technique. This involves alternating between scheduled periods of study and rest. For example, you can study for 25-minute long stretches, with 5-minute breaks in between, and a longer 30-minute break after every 4 study sets that you complete.

Increase your motivation:

• Make studying feel more rewarding. For example, you can gamify your studying, by marking down streaks of days on which you’ve managed to achieve your study goals, and potentially also giving yourself some reward once you reach a sufficiently long streak.
• Make studying feel more enjoyable. For example, if studying in your room is uncomfortable, try going somewhere more pleasant, such as the library.
• Visualize your future self. For example, you can visualize yourself being able to relax after finishing an assignment, visualize yourself being rewarded for getting a good grade, or visualize yourself having to handle the issues associated with not studying enough.
• Focus on your goals instead of on your tasks. For example, if you need to work on an assignment that you find boring, then instead of focusing on the assignment, try thinking about your academic goals and about the reason why you want to do well on that assignment, such as that you want to get a good grade in the class so you can have a stronger college application.

Change your mindset:

• Give yourself permission to make mistakes. For example, if you’re working on an assignment, accept the fact that your work likely won’t be perfect , especially at first. Furthermore, you can decide to start by just getting some initial answers written down, and then go over your work at the end to check if you need to make corrections.
• Address your fears. If you’re procrastinating because you’re afraid of something, try to identify your fears and resolve them. For example, if you’re afraid that your writing won’t be good enough, you can say to yourself that your goal is to just start by getting something written down, and that you can always improve it later.
• Develop self-compassion.   Self-compassion can help reduce your procrastination, as well as various issues that are associated with it, such as stress. It consists of three components that you should promote: self-kindness , which involves being nice to yourself, common humanity , which involves recognizing that everyone experiences challenges, and mindfulness , which involves accepting your emotions in a non-judgmental manner.
• Develop self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief in your ability to perform the actions needed to achieve your goals. It can help you reduce your procrastination, as well as associated issues, such as anxiety. To develop self-efficacy, try to identify the various strategies that you can use to successfully study and complete your assignments, and think about your ability to execute those strategies successfully.

You’ll probably need to use multiple techniques in order to reduce your procrastination, but even just a few should help. Start with just a few techniques initially, to avoid getting overwhelmed, and then you can add more techniques over time, based on your progress.

If you suffer from an underlying issue that causes procrastination, such as ADHD , depression , or lack of sleep , you will likely need to resolve that issue first, using professional help if necessary, in order to successfully overcome your procrastination.

Overall, to stop procrastinating on your schoolwork, you should identify the smallest possible thing you can do to make progress on it, and then modify your environment to make it as likely as possible that you will do it. In the long term, you should also figure out the causes of your procrastination, and use relevant anti-procrastination techniques, like setting concrete goals, breaking tasks into manageable steps, and giving yourself permission to make mistakes.

How to help students stop procrastinating

When it comes to helping students overcome their procrastination, for example if you’re a teacher or a parent, there are three main approaches that you can use:

• An externally led approach. This involves using relevant anti-procrastination techniques to reduce students’ procrastination, without actively involving them in the process. For example, this can involve setting a series of intermediate project deadlines for all students in a course.
• A student-led approach. This involves letting students overcome their procrastination with little to no external guidance. External guidance in this case might include something as minimal as mentioning the problem of procrastination and telling students about a relevant resource such as this article.
• A joint approach. This involves giving students external guidance while also encouraging them to take an active role in their attempts to stop procrastinating. For example, this can involve going over relevant anti-procrastination techniques with students, and helping them choose and implement their preferred ones.

None of these approaches is inherently superior to the others. Accordingly, you should decide which one to use based on factors such as the number of students that you’re trying to help and the type of relationship that you have with them. For example, if you’re a teacher trying to help 200 students in a college course you will likely need to use a different approach than if you’re a parent trying to help just your kid.

Almost any type of relationship can be beneficial when it comes to helping a student overcome their procrastination. For example, if you’re a teacher, you’re likely in a good position in terms of your influence over the student’s academic situation. On the other hand, if you’re a parent, you’re likely in a good position in terms of your influence over the student’s home life.

Furthermore, you can reach out to other stakeholders who can help. For example, if you’re a teacher, and you think that a student’s parents might be able to help them stop procrastinating, you can reach out to them and discuss the situation.

In addition, an important factor to keep in mind is how independent the students in question are. In general, the more independent students are, the more they should be involved in the process of overcoming their procrastination, since this can increase their motivation and make the process more effective, while generally leading to more self-development and growth over time. This also raises the importance of giving students a sense of control, even if you’re the one guiding the process, which can be especially crucial when it comes to avoiding procrastination that’s rooted in issues such as resentment, rebellion, or lack of self-confidence.

Finally, the following is a list of specific things that you can do to help students stop procrastinating:

• Explain to the students what procrastination is and what it looks like, and help them understand that they engage in it themselves.
• Show the students why procrastination can be dangerous, when it comes to factors such as their academic performance, their career prospects, and their mental and physical health.
• Explain to the students what causes procrastination, and help them identify the causes of their own procrastination.
• Point students in the direction of resources that can help them deal with their procrastination, such as this article.
• Tell the student about relevant anti-procrastination techniques —which are listed in the previous section—and help them pick their preferred ones.
• Implement the previously mentioned anti-procrastination techniques on behalf of the students, for example by breaking apart large tasks into manageable steps and setting intermediate deadlines for each.

Overall, you can help students overcome their procrastination in various ways, such as by helping them understand that they’re procrastinating in a problematic manner, helping them identify the causes of their procrastination, and helping them choose and implement relevant anti-procrastination techniques. The specific approach that you should use depends on factors such as how autonomous the students in question are, how many students you’re trying to help, and what kind of relationship you have with them.

Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is a challenge we have all faced at one point or another. For as long as humans have been around, we have been struggling with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that matter to us.

During our more productive moments, when we temporarily figure out how to stop procrastinating, we feel satisfied and accomplished. Today, we’re going to talk about how to make those rare moments of productivity more routine. The purpose of this guide is to break down the science behind why we procrastinate, share proven frameworks you can use to beat procrastination, and cover useful strategies that will make it easier to take action.

You can click the links below to jump to a particular section or simply scroll down to read everything. At the end of this page, you’ll find a complete list of all the articles I have written on procrastination.

 I. The Science Behind Procrastination

What is Procrastination?

Why do we procrastinate, the procrastination-action line.

II. How to Stop Procrastinating Right Now

• Make the Rewards of Taking Action More Immediate
• Make the Consequences of Procrastination More Immediate
• Design Your Future Actions
• Make the Task More Achievable

III. Being Consistent: How to Kick the Procrastination Habit

The Daily Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity

How to avoid chronic procrastination with visual cues, the science behind procrastination.

Let’s start by getting the basics nailed down. What is procrastination? What does procrastination mean? What exactly are we dealing with here?

Human beings have been procrastinating for centuries. The problem is so timeless, in fact, that ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle developed a word to describe this type of behavior:  Akrasia .

Akrasia  is the state of acting against your better judgment. It is when you do one thing even though you know you should do something else. Loosely translated, you could say that  akrasia  is procrastination or a lack of self-control.

Here’s a modern definition:

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks. So, whether you refer to it as procrastination or akrasia or something else, it is the force that prevents you from following through on what you set out to do.

Ok, definitions are great and all, but why do we procrastinate? What is going on in the brain that causes us to avoid the things we know we should be doing?

This is a good time to bring some science into our discussion. Behavioral psychology research has revealed a phenomenon called “time inconsistency,” which helps explain why procrastination seems to pull us in despite our good intentions. Time inconsistency refers to the tendency of the human brain to value immediate rewards more highly than future rewards. 1

The best way to understand this is by imagining that you have two selves: your Present Self and your Future Self. When you set goals for yourself — like losing weight or writing a book or learning a language — you are actually making plans for your Future Self. You are envisioning what you want your life to be like in the future. Researchers have found that when you think about your Future Self, it is quite easy for your brain to see the value in taking actions with long-term benefits. The Future Self values long-term rewards.

However, while the Future Self can set goals, only the Present Self can take action. When the time comes to make a decision, you are no longer making a choice for your Future Self. Now you are in the present moment, and your brain is thinking about the Present Self. Researchers have discovered that the Present Self really likes instant gratification, not long-term payoff.

So, the Present Self and the Future Self are often at odds with one another. The Future Self wants to be trim and fit, but the Present Self wants a donut. Sure, everyone knows you should eat healthy today to avoid being overweight in 10 years. But consequences like an increased risk for diabetes or heart failure are years away.

Similarly, many young people know that saving for retirement in their 20s and 30s is crucial, but the benefit of doing so is decades off. It is far easier for the Present Self to see the value in buying a new pair of shoes than in socking away $100 for 70-year-old you. (If you’re curious, there are some very good evolutionary reasons for why our brain values immediate rewards more highly than long-term rewards.)

This is one reason why you might go to bed feeling motivated to make a change in your life, but when you wake up you find yourself falling back into old patterns. Your brain values long-term benefits when they are in the future (tomorrow), but it values immediate gratification when it comes to the present moment (today).

You cannot rely on long-term consequences and rewards to motivate the Present Self. Instead, you have to find a way to move future rewards and punishments into the present moment. You have to make the future consequences become present consequences.

This is exactly what happens during the moment when we finally move beyond procrastination and take action. For example, let’s say you have a report to write. You’ve known about it for weeks and continued to put it off day after day. You experience a little bit of nagging pain and anxiety thinking about this paper you have to write, but not enough to do anything about it. Then, suddenly, the day before the deadline, the future consequences turn into present consequences, and you write that report hours before it is due. The pain of procrastinating finally escalated and you crossed the “Action Line.”

There is something important to note here. As soon as you cross the Action Line, the pain begins to subside. In fact, being in the middle of procrastination is often more painful than being in the middle of doing the work. Point A on the chart above is often more painful than Point B. The guilt, shame, and anxiety that you feel while procrastinating are usually worse than the effort and energy you have to put in while you’re working. The problem is not doing the work, it’s starting the work. 2

If we want to stop procrastinating, then we need to make it as easy as possible for the Present Self to get started and trust that motivation and momentum will come after we begin. ( Motivation often comes after starting, not before .)

Let’s talk about how to do that now.

How to Stop Procrastinating Right Now

There are a variety of strategies we can employ to stop procrastinating. Below, I’ll outline and explain each concept, then I’ll provide you with some examples of strategy in action.

Option 1: Make the Rewards of Taking Action More Immediate

If you can find a way to make the benefits of long-term choices more immediate, then it becomes easier to avoid procrastination. One of the best ways to bring future rewards into the present moment is with a strategy known as temptation bundling.

Temptation bundling is a concept that came out of behavioral economics research performed by Katy Milkman at The University of Pennsylvania. Simply put, the strategy suggests that you bundle a behavior that is good for you in the long-run with a behavior that feels good in the short-run.

The basic format is: Only do [THING YOU LOVE] while doing [THING YOU PROCRASTINATE ON].

Here are a few common examples of temptation bundling:

• Only listen to audiobooks or podcasts you love while exercising.
• Only get a pedicure while processing overdue work emails.
• Only watch your favorite show while ironing or doing household chores.
• Only eat at your favorite restaurant when conducting your monthly meeting with a difficult colleague.

This article covers some specific exercises you can follow to figure out how to create temptation bundling ideas that work for you.

Option 2: Make the Consequences of Procrastination More Immediate

There are many ways to force you to pay the costs of procrastination sooner rather than later. For example, if you are exercising alone, skipping your workout next week won’t impact your life much at all. Your health won’t deteriorate immediately because you missed that one workout. The cost of procrastinating on exercise only becomes painful after weeks and months of lazy behavior. However, if you commit to working out with a friend at 7 a.m. next Monday, then the cost of skipping your workout becomes more immediate. Miss this one workout and you look like a jerk.

Another common strategy is to use a service like Stickk to place a bet. If you don’t do what you say you’ll do, then the money goes to a charity you hate. The idea here is to put some skin in the game and create a new consequence that happens if you don’t do the behavior right now.

Option 3: Design Your Future Actions

One of the favorite tools psychologists use to overcome procrastination is called a “commitment device.” Commitment devices can help you stop procrastinating by designing your future actions ahead of time.

For example, you can curb your future eating habits by purchasing food in individual packages rather than in the bulk size. You can stop wasting time on your phone by deleting games or social media apps. (You could also block them on your computer .)

Similarly, you can reduce the likelihood of mindless channel surfing by hiding your TV in a closet and only taking it out on big game days. You can voluntarily ask to be added to the banned list at casinos and online gambling sites to prevent future gambling sprees. You can build an emergency fund by setting up an automatic transfer of funds to your savings account. These are all examples of commitment devices that help reduce the odds of procrastination.

Option 4: Make the Task More Achievable

As we have already covered, the friction that causes procrastination is usually centered around starting a behavior. Once you begin, it’s often less painful to keep working. This is one good reason to  reduce the size of your habits because if your habits are small and easy to start, then you will be less likely to procrastinate.

One of my favorite ways to make habits easier is to use The 2-Minute Rule , which states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” The idea is to make it as easy as possible to get started and then trust that momentum will carry you further into the task after you begin. Once you start doing something, it’s easier to continue doing it. The 2–Minute Rule overcomes procrastination and laziness by making it so easy to start taking action that you can’t say no.

Another great way to make tasks more achievable is to break them down. For example, consider the remarkable productivity of the famous writer Anthony Trollope. He published 47 novels, 18 works of non-fiction, 12 short stories, 2 plays, and an assortment of articles and letters. How did he do it? Instead of measuring his progress based on the completion of chapters or books, Trollope measured his progress in 15-minute increments. He set a goal of 250 words every 15 minutes and he continued this pattern for three hours each day. This approach allowed him to enjoy feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment every 15 minutes while continuing to work on the large task of writing a book.

Making your tasks more achievable is important for two reasons.

• Small measures of progress help to maintain momentum over the long-run, which means you’re more likely to finish large tasks.
• The faster you complete a productive task, the more quickly your day develops an attitude of productivity and effectiveness. 3

I have found this second point, the speed with which you complete your first task of the day, to be of particular importance for overcoming procrastination and maintaining a high productive output day after day.

Being Consistent: How to Kick the Procrastination Habit

Alright, we’ve covered a variety of strategies for beating procrastination on a daily basis. Now, let’s discuss some ways to make productivity a long-term habit and prevent procrastination from creeping back into our lives.

One reason it is so easy to slip back into procrastination time after time is because we don’t have a clear system for deciding what is important and what we should work on first. (This is yet another example of the system often being more important than the goal .)

One of the best productivity systems I have found is also one of the most simple. It’s called The Ivy Lee Method and it has six steps:

• At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks.
• Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.
• When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task.
• Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.
• Repeat this process every working day.

Here’s what makes it so effective:

It’s simple enough to actually work.  The primary critique of methods like this one is that they are too basic. They don’t account for all of the complexities and nuances of life. What happens if an emergency pops up? What about using the latest technology to our fullest advantage? In my experience, complexity is often a weakness because it makes it harder to  get back on track . Yes, emergencies and unexpected distractions will arise. Ignore them as much as possible, deal with them when you must, and get back to your prioritized to-do list as soon as possible. Use simple rules to guide complex behavior.

It forces you to make tough decisions.  I don’t believe there is anything magical about Lee’s number of six important tasks per day. It could just as easily be five tasks per day. However, I do think there is something magical about imposing limits upon yourself. I find that the single best thing to do when you have too many ideas (or when you’re overwhelmed by everything you need to get done) is to  prune your ideas  and trim away everything that isn’t absolutely necessary.  Constraints can make you better . Lee’s method is similar to  Warren Buffett’s 25-5 Rule , which requires you to focus on just five critical tasks and ignore everything else. Basically,  if you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything .

It removes the friction of starting.  The biggest hurdle to finishing most tasks is starting them. (Getting off the couch can be tough, but once you actually start running it is much easier to finish your workout.) Lee’s method forces you to decide on your first task the night before you go to work. This strategy has been incredibly useful for me: as a writer, I can waste three or four hours debating what I should write about on a given day. If I decide the night before, however, I can wake up and start writing immediately. It’s simple, but it works. In the beginning,  getting started  is just as important as succeeding at all.

It requires you to single-task.  Modern society loves multi-tasking.  The myth of multi-tasking  is that being busy is synonymous with being better. The exact opposite is true. Having fewer priorities leads to better work. Study world-class experts in nearly any field—athletes, artists, scientists, teachers, CEOs—and you’ll discover one characteristic runs through all of them: focus. The reason is simple. You can’t be great at one task if you’re constantly dividing your time ten different ways.  Mastery requires focus and consistency .

Regardless of what method you use, the bottom line is this: Do the most important thing first each day and let the momentum of the first task carry you into the next one.

Another way to overcome the trap of chronic procrastination is to use visual cues to trigger your habits and measure your progress .

A visual cue is something you can see (a visual reminder) that prompts you to take action. Here’s why they are important for beating procrastination:

Visual cues remind you to start a behavior. We often lie to ourselves about our ability to remember to perform a new habit. ( “I’m going to start eating healthier. For real this time.” ) A few days later, however, the motivation fades and the busyness of life begins to take over again. Hoping you will simply remember to do a new habit is usually a recipe for failure. This is why a visual stimulus can be so useful. It is much easier to stick with good habits when your environment nudges you in the right direction .

Visual cues display your progress on a behavior. Everyone knows consistency is an essential component of success, but few people actually measure how consistent they are in real life. Having a visual cue—like a calendar that tracks your progress—avoids that pitfall because it is a built-in measuring system. One look at your calendar and you immediately have a measure of your progress.

Visual cues can have an additive effect on motivation. As the visual evidence of your progress mounts, it is natural to become more motivated to continue the habit. The more visual progress you see, the more motivated you will become to finish the task. There are a variety of popular behavioral economics studies that refer to this as the Endowed Progress Effect . Seeing your previous progress is a great way to trigger your next productive action.

Two of my favorite strategies that use visual cues are The Paper Clip Strategy , which is helpful for beating procrastination day-after-day, and The Seinfeld Strategy , which is great for maintaining consistency over longer periods of time.

Where to Go From Here

I hope you found this short guide on procrastination useful. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to stop procrastinating and take action, then check out my full list of procrastination articles below.

All Procrastination Articles

• The Akrasia Effect: Why We Don’t Follow Through on What We Set Out to Do and What to Do About It
• The 15-Minute Routine Anthony Trollope Used to Write 40+ Books
• The Ivy Lee Method: The Daily Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity
• Two Harvard Professors Reveal One Reason Our Brains Love to Procrastinate
• How to Stop Procrastinating and Boost Your Willpower by Using “Temptation Bundling”
• Never Check Email Before Noon (And Other Thoughts on Doing Your Best Work)
• 3 Simple Ways to Make Exercise a Habit
• The Physics of Productivity: Newton’s Laws of Getting Stuff Done
• The Only Productivity Tip You’ll Ever Need
• How to Eliminate Procrastination (The Surprising Strategy One Man Used)
• The Power of Imperfect Starts
• What to Do When You Want to Build Better Habits But Can’t Get Started
• 5 Thoughts on Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt
• How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”
• You Get 25,000 Mornings as an Adult: Here are 8 Ways to Not Waste Them
• The Difference Between Being “Not Wrong” and Being Right
• How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the “2-Minute Rule”
• How to Start Working Out When You Don’t Know What You’re Doing
• 3 Time Management Tips That Actually Work
• The Magic of Committing to a Specific Goal
• Why Getting Started is More Important Than Succeeding
• Are You Living an Urgent Life or an Important Life?
• Successful People Start Before They Feel Ready

Best Articles on Related Topics

• Best articles on behavioral psychology
• Best articles on habits
• Best articles on motivation

Or,  browse my best articles .

Economists have a similar concept, which they call “hyperbolic discounting.”

I originally got this idea from Eliezer Yudkowsky, who wrote, “On a moment-to-moment basis, being in the middle of doing the work is usually less painful than being in the middle of procrastinating.”

Journalist Oliver Burkeman summarizes my thoughts by saying, “When I get straight down to something really important early in the morning, before checking email, before interruptions from others, it beneficially alters the feel of the whole day: once interruptions do arise, they’re never quite so problematic.”

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Helping Students Overcome Procrastination

Some students struggle to understand algebra. Others have trouble remembering history. Others excel when tasked with group projects but find it a challenge to study consistently. While each student’s skill sets and strengths are unique, there’s one obstacle nearly all of them face: the tendency to procrastinate. In fact, you might be surprised (and dismayed) to learn how widespread this phenomenon really is. 

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), anywhere from “80 percent to 95 percent of college students procrastinate, particularly when it comes to doing their coursework.” Even at its conservative end, this estimate range is shocking, representing at absolute minimum four out of every five students in college. 

At the opposite end of the APA’s range, that number rises to nine out of ten, affecting virtually all college students. Younger learners are also susceptible, with education company Magoosh reporting that 86 percent of high school students “procrastinate on assignments.” With so many students now learning remotely — and coping with more isolation and stress — these already alarming figures are likely to surge even higher. 

Fortunately, procrastination doesn’t have to become a habit. Though the challenges facing young learners are great — especially during COVID-19 — there are numerous strategies students can use to manage their time more effectively . With guidance and support from their teachers, as well as their families and loved ones, overcoming procrastination is possible for any student. Read on to learn more about the causes — and consequences — of student procrastination, along with eight strategies online teachers can use to help prevent it. 

Why Do Students Procrastinate? 

As the data presented above makes clear, procrastination in school is common, impacting the vast majority of the college and K-12 student populations. What factors are driving these startling trends, and why are so many students affected? It’s a complex issue, with research suggesting that the causes of procrastination among students are as varied and diverse as the students themselves. 

For instance, educators in the field of social psychology theorize that both “fear of failure” and “confusion about the first steps of an assignment” are two major drivers, suggesting that procrastination could be rooted in perfectionism, poor communication, or both. Contrary to the stereotypical image of procrastinators as lazy and unengaged, students procrastinate when putting off a meaningful task because they want to be in the right frame of mind to perform it well. 

Another popular theory is that procrastination is fueled by indecision, where the fear of making errors creates a stifling sense of paralysis. This may explain the link between academic procrastination and anxiety among students, which we’ll explore further in the next section. 

While perfectionism and fear of failure likely play major roles, other factors can also lead students to manage their time ineffectively. Depending on the student, other factors that may cause or contribute to procrastination include: 

• Disengagement from the course or assignment 
• Distractions and disruptions in the student’s learning environment, such as noise, clutter, video games, TV shows, or social media
• Fatigue or overwork 
• Fear or anxiety around disappointing others or being judged negatively (also known as “evaluation anxiety”) 
• Inadequate tools and resources, such as unclear instructions from teachers or having a spotty Wi-Fi connection at home 
• Poor mental health or untreated mood disorders, which the CDC reports are becoming more prevalent in children and teens due to COVID-19
• Underdeveloped time management or organizational skills 

What Are the Effects of Procrastination on Students’ Academic Performance? 

Procrastination can take many forms, depending on situational context. However, at its core, it is the act of delaying one’s tasks. For students, that usually means putting off homework, studying, essays, or projects, often until the last possible moment. This typically translates to late, rushed, missing, or incomplete work — in turn, translating to lower grades. 

Unfortunately, the effects of procrastination in school aren’t just limited to a student’s academic performance. When procrastination causes a student to receive poor grades or fail a course, he or she may become self-critical, demotivated, and disengaged. This can set the stage for poorer academic performance in the future, creating a vicious cycle from which it can seem difficult or impossible to escape. 

And it isn’t only future academic performance that may suffer: long after graduation day, job performance can also be negatively impacted. If procrastination has become an ingrained habit by the time the student enters the workforce, he or she is likely to bring the same time management struggles into the workplace, potentially leading to demotions, disciplinary actions, or even termination — not to mention burnt professional bridges.

In addition to negative academic and professional impacts, procrastination can also have unwanted emotional consequences. As Psychology Today explains , procrastinating “creates stress by increasing [the] time pressure to get work done,” in turn, potentially leading to “fatigue, discomfort, burnout, [and] even breakdown.” It’s well-known that stress can trigger dozens of emotional, mental, and physical ailments, with negative effects ranging from anxiety and depression to insomnia and headaches.

For children and adolescents, whose coping skills are likely to be less developed than adults’, this can be particularly debilitating. Lacking other positive coping skills, adolescents may turn to cigarettes, alcohol or drug abuse for comfort, or withdraw from their friends and loved ones. 

One German study from 2016, which analyzed more than 2,500 participants, even demonstrated that “procrastination was consistently associated with higher stress, more depression, anxiety, fatigue and reduced satisfaction across life domains, especially regarding work and income,” in addition to unemployment and lack of romantic partnerships. An Iranian study from 2011, which focused specifically on students , arrived at similar conclusions, with researchers noting, “Procrastination may produce important negative consequences such as anxiety and depression.” 

8 Ways Teachers Can Help Online Students Stop Procrastinating 

Even under normal conditions, procrastination poses a serious challenge for students. Under the added stress of COVID-19, which has pushed many classes online, the pressures on distance learners have grown even greater. Socially isolated, free from teacher supervision, and surrounded by distractions, online students are at high risk for procrastination — and all the negative effects that come with it. 

The good news is that there are steps online educators can take to mitigate these risks and keep online students motivated . To help your remote students avoid the temptation to procrastinate, consider exploring the following tips and strategies: 

• Be sure to provide clear instructions when assigning work, since confusion and ambiguity are major factors in causing procrastination.
• Clearly communicate your expectations to students’ parents or family members, who can help hold their children accountable at home. 
• Encourage distance learners to practice these time management strategies for students , which are useful for adult and K-12 students alike. 
• Emphasize to your students that you are available for video meetings or online chat sessions if they need help or have questions.  
• Implement an online reward system  so that students are disincentivized to put off their work until the last moment. 
• Make a conscious effort to help motivate your online students by offering swift, supportive, and detailed feedback .
• Set reasonable deadlines for projects and assignments, so that students have sufficient time to master the skills they’ll need for success.  
• Take steps to improve student engagement .  

Apply to National University’s Accredited Education Program and Get Certified to Teach Online 

Ready to take the first steps toward a fulfilling career in education? Inspire the leaders of tomorrow by applying to National University today. 

With fast-paced programs, various scholarships , and convenient online course options, NU offers a wide range of NCATE-accredited teacher credential and education programs for graduates , undergraduates , and transfer students , with some of the most popular choices including the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education (BAECE) and Master of Early Childhood Education (MECE). To learn more about applying, contact NU admissions . 

• https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2010/01/procrastination  
• https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6945a3.htm  
• https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-reasons-students-procrastinate-and-how-help-them-stop  
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/surviving-your-childs-adolescence/200906/procrastination-how-adolescents-encourage-stress  
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987  
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752450/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3939975/

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• Procrastination Essay

Essay on Procrastination

Have you ever postponed your homework until the last minute? Or maybe you studied for a test the day before? 

Maybe it's too late to write a story until the last hour? We are all guilty of delaying jobs and postponing important work until the latest date. This is actually procrastination. It is the act of deliberately delaying any task or activity. In this case, we will look at the causes and solutions to this problem.

About Procrastination

As we shall see in this article, this is not a coincidence. Almost everyone is guilty of it at some point in their lives. So we ask ourselves this question - why do people procrastinate or are so busy all the time? 

We live in the 21st century when time is of the essence. However, we are wasting our precious resources by wasting our time.

Saint Kabir had advised: what you have to do tomorrow, do today; what you have to do today, do it now. Procrastination is the habit of delaying a task or an activity until a later date. The habit of procrastinating the doing things is one of the worst habits of a person. People tend to be slothful to put off the finishing of a piece of work, implementation of a plan till another time. Life is not certain and it is possible that circumstances may change and one may not be able to do the work at all. It is good to procrastinate on things that are bad, but we are right and what we have decided to do, we must do in time.

Reasons for Procrastinating

One of the major reasons for procrastinating on a task is slothfulness. When a person is indulged in luxuries and slothfulness, it will blunt his edge of urge for action. When a person starts fearing the outcome of the task, he tends to procrastinate the task for a later date. Other factors for procrastinating work for a later date are low self-esteem, weak determination, less focus and distraction and also high impulsiveness. 

Procrastination is Harmful

Procrastination is harmful in various ways. It maintains tension in mind. It will relieve you of this tension if you do the work right now. Putting off work till another time more often may keep us deprived of the benefits, which might have accrued to us from its having been done. Opportunity knocks at the door once. Opportunity lost once is lost forever. There is no guarantee that the circumstances will remain the same. They may change and you may have to repent later on over the fact that you missed the opportunity. Sometimes it may prove tragic and change the good side of your career to a bad one. 

A successful man is one who strikes the iron while it is hot. When procrastination becomes a habit, all cheerfulness and carefree living go out of life and we live a life of perpetual tension, which indeed is not a life worth living at all. While procrastination is harmful to individuals, it may be more harmful to groups, communities and nations. 

We must ask ourselves whether we do actually realise the dangers emanating from procrastination and, therefore, shun it. We will perhaps find the answer in the affirmative as well as in the negative. We are still procrastinating steps for development in certain sectors of our life. For example, we have been sadly procrastinating in the educational sector. Even after more than five decades of economic planning, we find half of our population illiterate. We have taken steps to eradicate illiteracy, but our steps are not fast enough. 

We have been procrastinating developing certain geographical regions of the country with the result that there are evident regional imbalances in terms of development. We have not yet been able to connect every village of India with a link road. This was the task of utmost importance, a task that ought to have been given priority in any scheme of development. Our pace of development could have been faster if proper planning and implementation had been done at the right time. 

While procrastination is regarded as a bad habit, undue hurry or haste is equally a bad tendency. Promptness of action is advisable, but an impulsive decision is fraught with undesirable consequences. One must not delay or procrastinate in arriving at a decision in crucial matters, but unless a well-thought-out decision has been taken, it is more often than not risky to convert into action. Decisions taken in a hurry or haste without cool and calculated deliberation are likely to lead one into blind alleys or unfathomed troughs which it is difficult to get out from. The golden rule is first to get satisfied with the correct decision. Action should immediately follow the correct decision. Action should immediately follow the correct decision. Evil actions contemplated as a consequence of anger, revenge, greed, larceny, lust should be put off as indefinitely as possible till they die their natural death. 

How to Avoid Procrastinating?

There are a few tips to curb the habit of procrastination. 

Slothfulness: 

We must shake off slothfulness altogether. One must be up and doing. Avoid indulgence in luxuries because this makes one blunt. 

Value of Time: 

Understanding the value of time is very important. Nothing great can be expected from one who does not understand the value of a minute, for seconds and minutes make an hour, a day, a month, a year and the whole life itself. If the value of a minute is descended deep into our mind and heart, sloth will disappear. 

Idleness: 

Idleness is fatiguing. One must, therefore oneself engage in some useful work like some household chores other than one's main occupation. 

To ward off procrastination, one must plan one's work. Detailed planning is necessary. The entire gamut of work may be divided into fragments and time fixed for completing each fragment will facilitate satisfaction and invigorating. What we must have to do right from the time we get up from bed down to the time we go to bed must be clear to us and we must stick to it religiously.

Prioritization:

One may arrange the array of work in order of priorities. How many things are to be done and in what order of priority they must be taken — once this is planned in advance, then most of the battle is won and we can get out of the habit of procrastinating tasks.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Reasons for postponing a person may vary. It depends on the individual and the situation-to-situation. However, there are international reasons why people delay their activities and actions. 

One of the most important things is the fear of failure. When a person is slow to perform an important task or is not interested in completing it, the cause may be a deep fear of failure. It is human nature to avoid and fear failure. So by choosing not to complete the task, we can also avoid the consequences.

Another reason is a lack of focus and determination. Feelings of indifference and insecurity can often cause people to lose their will to do their jobs. 

This leads to self-control. Sometimes a lack of goals and objectives is also a reason for a person to lose focus. With no goal in mind, they end up wasting energy on other useless activities.

There are other reasons a person may tolerate it. At times, a person may be a perfectionist. This distracts them from other activities. And then there are other reasons like laziness, low energy levels, easy distractions, etc.

How Can You Stop Procrastination?

Although procrastination is a normal part of life for us, it can be extremely difficult to do so. Procrastination can ruin your life and cause you to lose control of your schedules and deadlines. So when procrastination fades, you need to be in control and in control.

One way to stop procrastinating is to turn a dreadful task into smaller steps. If a task or task is too difficult, we often put it off. But if the work is depleted, then we can deal with it one step at a time without frustration. You can also create a detailed timetable or timeline of some sort to help you with the steps.

Sometimes a change in the work environment can be beneficial. It can give you the energy you need to stop procrastinating and complete the task. If possible, get a friend or parent to check your progress. It helps keep motivation levels up and encourages you to complete the task on time.

The key is not to become too preoccupied with the mundane things of life. We are all victims of procrastination. As long as it doesn't interfere with your entire system, take a break and go back to work!

Short Essay on Procrastination

Procrastination is not a rare thing; nine out of ten people, mostly students, nowadays procrastinate their work until the very last moment and it is also realised that they often feel guilty due to continuous postposing of their important work. The reasons for procrastination vary from person to person and situation to situation.

However, some causes are universal and some may have a particular reason to delay their important actions or tasks. The fear of failure stands on the top and another reason why most people procrastinate is lack of motivation. 

Everyone needs motivation while starting a new task or action, but due to lack of motivation most, people procrastinate due to the hesitation of performing a new activity plus lack of motivation, while some procrastinate due to laziness, lack of interest and unwillingness to perform any work. 

However, the end product of procrastination is always negative, like people start feeling much guilty, less focused, worried about upcoming projects or actions etc. 

In conclusion, it should be stated that procrastination is rooted in many causes, such as numerous distractions, lack of motivation, fear of uncertainty and failure, and perfectionism. At the same time, the result stands the same with infinite consequences such as concern for career, studies, health, and personal qualities. Thus, procrastination prevents a person from rising through the ranks, succeeding in training, and developing a personality.

The major difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is that while the former put his decisions promptly into action and reaps the fruits, the latter procrastinates, thereby depriving himself of the fruit.

FAQs on Procrastination Essay

1. What is Procrastination really about?

Postponing or procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing activities until the last minute or beyond the deadline. Some researchers describe procrastination as "a form of self-indulgence that is characterised by unreasonable delays in performance despite negative consequences.

2. Why Are We Here?

We postpone activities that we find "difficult, unpleasant, contradictory or just boring or oppressive." If a task seems overwhelming or raises serious concerns, it is usually very easy to avoid it. Another reason people put things off, says Sirois, is lack of confidence.

3. What Are The 4 Types of Retreat?

They say that there are four main types of archetypes to avoid or procrastinate: the perpetrator, the negligent, the excessive, and the person who seeks new things.

4. Is procrastination a mental illness?

Some people spend a lot of time in the monastery until they can finish important daily tasks. They may have a strong desire to stop procrastination but may feel that they will not be able to do so. Delaying yourself is not a diagnosis of mental health. But yes, less control over your mind is a sign of mental illness.

Procrastination

How to cope with anxiety-induced procrastination.

Have you ever found yourself waiting until the last minute to take care of something super important? I know that I have. And more than likely, at least on one occasion or another, you have also found yourself burning the midnight oil well into the eleventh hour, scrambling feverishly to meet a deadline.

In this article, I’ll look into the relationship between anxiety and procrastination, and what you can do about it.

Table of Contents

Limited time, taking on more responsibilities, 1. triage your time, 2. break it down, 3. progress not perfection, 4. set boundaries, 5. schedule down time, final thoughts, how anxiety induces procrastination.

From waiting until the night before an important project is due to pulling an all-nighter before a major event, for one reason or another, we have all been guilty of procrastination. Nevertheless, I don’t believe that it’s an intentional act but rather the result of two main underlying factors.

There are only so many hours in the day to get things done. From growing your business to being there for a growing family, time is perhaps the most precious commodity that we all have to successfully learn how to trade.

This leads to procrastination revolves around issues with time management . Given the ever-present essence of time, if you are not managing your time wisely, you run the risk of simply running out of it!

It feels that the more life you live, the more responsibility you assume along the way. Just when you start to feel as though you finally have everything on your plate under control, you inadvertently end up with a whole new set of responsibilities to take care of.

This second factor that appears to directly contribute to procrastination is essentially a byproduct of the first one. Similar to using the internet at home, if there are too many users on your network, the signal will be poor, the images lagging, and the entire network could easily shut down at any moment, ultimately leaving you, along with everyone else in your household, stuck on the dark side of the information highway.

In other words, everyone has a limit . No matter how much you may think otherwise, there is only so much you can accomplish in a day. There is only so much weight you can carry by yourself while still having enough interpersonal strength to stand.

From my experience, just like the internet, you can only take on so much responsibility before you find yourself lagging behind and—if you’re not careful with your precious time—ultimately, break down. [1]

At the end of the day, it’s easy to see why so many people, myself included, have found themselves battling with anxiety-induced procrastination for so long. It’s that uneasy feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you have so much to do that you can’t even figure out how or where to get started doing any of it.

Just before you know it, along with a throbbing headache, an upset stomach, and perhaps even a stiff neck, you find yourself just about out of time to get anything done at all.

Have no fear! There is hope. Take it from me, as someone who has had to deal with his fair share of anxiety-induced procrastination.

Not only can you learn how to cope with it, but perhaps even more importantly, you can learn how to avoid procrastinating in the first place. You may just have to change the way that you look at time.

5 Ways to Cope With Anxiety-Induced Procrastination

Below are five simple strategies that can help you cope with anxiety-induced procrastination.

Take care of the most important things that you have to do first.

Just for a moment, imagine that you are an emergency room doctor and that you have multiple patients sitting in the waiting room of your hospital who are seeking medical attention. The most practical thing to do would be to try and take care of the most severe cases first, especially those with potentially life-threatening conditions.

I suggest that you apply the same consideration when trying to prioritize your responsibilities .

According to Abraham Maslow, the noted psychologist and author, there exists a hierarchy of needs within each one of us. To achieve self-actualization, which essentially refers to your true potential or ideal self, you must first feel as though your basic needs have been met. [2] I happen to agree with his hypothesis.

One of the best ways to cope with anxiety-induced procrastination is to make sure that you take care of your basic needs first, such as your physical health and personal safety. Then, once the foundation for your personal growth is secure, you can focus on the more aesthetic aspects of your life with a greater sense of security.

Rather than trying to tackle a large project all at once, try breaking it down into smaller, manageable, and targeted tasks . Then, once all of the individual tasks have been completed, you can combine all of them to form the finished product.

Whether you are planning to start your own business or are just trying to become more efficient in your current position at work, instead of trying to finish a massive project in a single sitting—or even worse, at the last minute—consider chipping away at specific parts of it each day. Not only will you gain momentum in whatever you are doing, but you will also gain perhaps greater self-esteem as you prove to yourself that you are making headway moving forward.

After years of careful and costly introspection, I finally realized that I was a perfectionist. It’s not that I thought that I was any better than anyone else but rather that I was hardly ever satisfied with anything at all. Nothing was ever good enough.

As a result, I found myself spending the majority of my precious time and energy trying to improve everything around me without ever actually trying to improve myself. Ultimately, I ended up plagued with a multitude of unfinished projects since I couldn’t finish any of them.

Looking back now through the hourglass of time, it’s clear that there is a direct correlation between constantly striving for perfection and anxiety-induced procrastination. Rather than ending up bogged down in unattainable expectations of self-inflicted perfection, continue to build upon the progress that you have made moving forward in whatever it is that you are doing.

Finish the task at hand, and then, time permitting, go back to make it as close to perfect as possible.

No matter how much you want to accomplish, sometimes you have to know when to say “when.” Rather than setting limits on what you can achieve, you may want to carefully consider setting limits on the amount of responsibility that you are willing to take on, especially as you become more proficient in whatever it is that you do in life.

Along with success comes the added burden of responsibility. I have met a lot of people over the years who have become very successful. Unfortunately, however, they were unable to truly enjoy the fruits of their labor because they felt as though they were responsible for everything and everyone around them.

If you find yourself taking on the weight of the world, at one point or another you will probably find yourself at the bottom of it. In other words, before you try to take care of anyone else, try taking care of yourself first!

Your brain is the most powerful organ in your body! It either regulates or controls everything that you think, do, and say. And just like any other powerful machine, if you use it too much or mistreat it, it can easily malfunction.

As a professional mental health interventionist, I have made a career out of always being willing, ready, and able to help anyone, anywhere battling severe symptoms of mental illness and underlying substance use disorders. As a result, I am usually always on the go, traveling from here to there, and then hopefully back again as soon as possible once my clients are safe and sound, receiving the care that they need.

At the same time, although my services are in high demand, especially now, I know that I have to somehow make some time for myself and my sense of wellness. In fact, studies have shown that taking breaks regularly can increase overall productivity by providing the mind with the time to re-energize and refocus. [3]

Although I may not be able to stop and smell the roses all of the time, I try to do so, whenever, wherever, and as long as I can.

Actions to Take

In conclusion, for one reason or another, we have all waited until the last minute to take care of something important. Unfortunately, as a result, we have had to inadvertently deal with all of the anxiety that came along with procrastinating.

Nevertheless, anxiety-induced procrastination is not a conscious act but rather the result of trying to keep up with all of our increasing responsibilities while, at the same time, having a fixed amount of time to work with.

Perhaps the best way to cope effectively with anxiety-induced procrastination is to take proactive—and even sometimes bold—measures to reduce as many anxiety-producing situations as possible in your life, well before you begin to feel any symptoms of anxiety in the first place.

As I stated before, just like gold, time is one of our most precious commodities. Therefore, being able to manage it wisely is an essential part of living a full, productive, and peaceful life.

Remember, Rome was not built in a day, and neither will your own empire. Life is a long and sometimes arduous journey.

Every so often, you have to make a pit stop along the way so that you can refuel, rest, and recalibrate your coordinates to make sure that you are still on the right track.

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Key Philosophy I: Fluid Progress, Like Water

Key Philosophy II: Pragmatic Priorities

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