Procrastination: If You Only Have a Minute, It Only Takes a Minute-Right?

By Mona Pelkey

I am guilty of procrastination as I sit here typing this article the day that it is due. Procrastination is a lapse of discipline that nearly all of us have been guilty of from time to time, and it is one of the hardest habits to break. What are some of the reasons we (and our students) put off working on assignments until the very last minute?

  1. Fear of failure. Not spending enough time on an assignment is a recipe for failure. However, it is a socially acceptable way to fail. No student likes to appear intellectually inadequate by expending a great deal of effort but still failing an assignment, but if that student was "too busy" to spend time on it, he has an "acceptable" excuse for his failure (or at least one that is less socially embarrassing.) This student may realize that he lacks the necessary skills for success, but is embarrassed to ask for help.
  2. Perfectionism. A student may want his work to be "perfect," but he knows that he must spend too much time in order to get the result he wants. Putting off the assignment forces the student to do the assignment in less time, and gives him an excuse for the less-than-perfect result. This tactic frees the student from the guilt he feels for turning in a less-than-perfect paper. Sometimes the student who calls himself "lazy" is really a perfectionist.
  3. Rebellion. The student does not want to do the assignment because he is rebelling against something or someone. Perhaps he dislikes the instructor, disagrees with the subject matter, or is rebelling against parents who have forced him to attend that particular college or follow a particular field of study.
  4. Boredom. Some assignments are just plain boring, and students are tempted to give them lowest priority.
  5. Time management issues. The student may be overscheduled, or have difficulty organizing and prioritizing key tasks.
  6. The thrill of operating in panic mode. Some students enjoy the adrenaline rush they experience as they work hurriedly.

Procrastination becomes problematic when it interferes with a student's achievement levels, the student is dissatisfied with his work and the resulting grades, or when the student becomes "stressed out." What can we as learning center professionals do to help students overcome the procrastination habit?

  1. Help the student explore his reasons for procrastination.
  2. Help students to acquire the skills necessary to complete assignments.
  3. Point out that perfectionism hurts rather than helps performance, especially when the purpose of completing an assignment is not to be perfect, but to develop critical thinking skills, practice problem solving, etc. Perfectionists often engage in "all or nothing" thinking, so it is important to point out that even though the student believes he might not be able to earn an A or a particular paper, working hard and earning a B or C is better than procrastinating and perhaps earning a D or F.
  4. Students who rebel only hurt themselves in the long run. It is important to talk with the procrastinator who may be rebelling and help him to find other, more productive ways to express his anger.
  5. Many tasks in life are boring, but necessary, and some tasks are so boring that they may seem monumental to a student. Strategies for dealing with boring assignments include breaking up the assignment into more manageable chunks, rewarding yourself upon task completion, viewing the assignment as a stepping stone toward the one's larger goals, and focusing on the academic rewards for completion, i.e. better grades.
  6. Most students are busy. Many do not organize their time well, and should learn to use a planner to schedule study time. Some students, however, are so overscheduled that they need to examine the number of activities they are participating in, set priorities, and perhaps drop one or more activities to focus on studies.
  7. Some students actually enjoy the rush of, well, working in a rush. Eventually this behavior takes it toll, however, and they may become "stressed out." Stressed-out students will need lots of help organizing themselves and learning to take better care of their bodies, including avoiding situations that cause unnecessary stress.

A number of websites describe even more reasons why people procrastinate, and provide useful information on how to treat this problem. Here are a few good ones to help you help your diehard procrastinators (or maybe yourself!):

http://www.k-state.edu/counseling/topics/career/procras.html

Kansas State University Counseling Service provides a list of "symptoms" that help the student to see how procrastination negatively impacts his life, and provides a detailed list of reasons why students choose to put things off.

http://ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/stressprocrast.shtml

State University of New York-Buffalo offers a list of strategies for students to use.

http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/procrastination.html

California Polytechnic Institute offers the "simple" and "complex" reasons for procrastination, and includes an exploratory activity for students intended to help them gain insight about their tendency to procrastinate. CalPoly also offers a list of impediments to overcoming procrastination, and suggestions for jumping these hurdles.

Editor's note: If you are aware of a really great web page that deals with procrastination issues, and you would like to share it with us, please log on to

www.learningassistance.com/forums

and post the link or URL. Thanks!

Questions or comments? Contact the author at edpelkey@juno.com.