Why is Procrastination Bad For Students?

Experts have uncovered why do students put off important tasks until the last time? Many people think that procrastination is the same thing as being lazy because these kinds of people don’t like the work or they don’t have a good work ethic.

Procrastination is basically a trap that many students fall into. In a study, the business professor Piers Steel “Estimates that 95% of us involved in procrastination”.

So you are in. Unlike others, it may be comforting to know that you are not alone.

Read more: Time Management: 6 Strategies to Be More Productive

What is procrastination?

Being a student putting off a project like an assignment, avoiding homework, absence in classes mainly happens due to procrastination issues. This is why it is really important to know what does procrastination means?

Procrastination is all about emotions sometimes makes the situation complex. Delaying or putting off a task or a decision is called procrastination. It is nothing new to people, especially to the students.

However, some experts say that irrational behavior or causing the delay of any actions without valid reason referred to as procrastination. In that case, procrastinators voluntarily choose a course of action that deep down the good result at the end.

According to Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University and The author of Still Procrastinating around 20% of American adults are chronic procrastinators”.

So in most cases, it is not a sign of a serious problem but definitely shows a common tendency that most people give in to at some point or another.

So the act of postponing something until the last minute or even past their deadlines creates the habits of procrastination.

Many researchers refer to it as a form of self-regulation failure which ultimately produces negative consequences.

Why students procrastinate?

The main barrier not to reach your goal is delaying the task. Procrastination does the dame and blocks you from getting up and making the right decisions. Research says that between 80 and 95% of graduate students procrastinate on a regular basis even 75% of college students are among them. Know why:

• Because they don’t see any relevance of their project work even they don’t understand what to do.
• Students overestimate how much time they have left to finish the task.
• Procrastination can lead to poor academic performance. It often causes a high level of stress and in the end poorer grades in the semester.
• The leading cause of procrastination is often perceived as the willpower of people. So the students have little intrinsic motivation that drives them to overcome the habit of putting down the work.
• Human being has so many limitations. All have to have died at some point in life. The time we spent on earth is limited. Students often don’t understand the value of time.
• Decision inferiority problem or conflict in mind causes procrastination. Many of us puzzled ourselves frequently whether we will do the work or not. This creates differences of opinion and controls our minds to refrain from the goal.

Top 6 Ways to Overcome Procrastination

The truth is all your opportunities seem to be at your fingertips but you cannot reach them. Because you waste your meaningful time that could be invested in an effective way.  However, if you really overcome this fierce enemy, you can follow these 7 ways to accomplish more and to utilize the potential time.

1. Make a list of actions

Creating a to-do list with things that you would like to accomplish can be a great choice to deal with procrastination. A To-do list will prevent you from forgetting about overwhelming tasks.

In this case, you should estimate how long each task requires to complete and set a prior reminder so that everything gets on the right track. Put a deadline of course next to each item.

There are plenty of digital apps or desktop programs among them Wunderlist, which is my favorite to keep track of all the tasks ahead of me.

2. Divide the work

The biggest enemy here for the students is big projects or assignments which can be overwhelming at the outset.

By dividing them and break them down into many smaller ones.  This way you can focus on a smaller goal and reward yourself along the way.

Breaking down the large tasks into smaller one really increase the confidence that you can do it now.

Must read: Effective Delegation: 6 Steps to Master the Art of Delegation

3. Make your schedules less rigid and restricting.

Gather some bits of knowledge on delegation and apply priorities when necessary. Basically, a rigid and inflexible schedule tempts you to procrastinate. On the other hand, it makes your daily plans more daunting.

Remember, Some days will be busier than others which is natural. But you should not have to be bound completing a list of hundred things.

Rigid and restricting does not mean you make more stress and panic. It is rather focusing on flexibility of your work.

4. You don’t need to be perfect

Procrastination habits get longer for those people with perfectionist tendencies. Why it is sometimes bad? Simply it increases the more waiting time until things are perfect in order to proceed.

So If you think that it is not going to be perfect, surely you are not goanna finishing your job.

What I believe focuses on being better than perfect. That means you must have to strive for excellence and at the same time focus on getting the job done on time.

5. Identify your power hour

There is a specific time that every people wants to spend on accomplishing any task. Whether it is study, gossiping, watching TV, or something else. So, what you need to do is to find your best time to work.

This may be your morning, evening, or afternoon period. Power hour really helps you to be more focused and functions much better than at any other time. Finish your biggest task at that particular time and relives your tension.

6. Don’t forget to reward yourself

To boost your motivation for accomplishing the next project, reward yourself even a small portion of the larger task you completed. Give yourself a bit of time to indulge in something enjoyable.

These may be spending relaxation time with friends and families, watching TVs, attending a sporting event, or treat yourself in a pleasant restaurant. It will work just a tonic for the next big move.