We all know the feeling: we are staring at a blank word document preparing to type another English paper, but we just need to grab a quick drink first. Before we know it, that “drink” has turned into a Grey’s Anatomy marathon Doesn’t this sound familiar? This is a college student’s worst enemy: it’s called procrastination. While some may try to deny it, procrastination happens to the best of us It is a very tough habit to break because these days, the Internet allows students to escape homework frustrations with simply a click of a mouse. A 2007 analysis by psychologist Piers Steel, PhD, “reports that 80 percent to 95 percent of college students procrastinate, particularly when it comes to doing their coursework”(qtd in Novotney). I am living proof of this unsurprising statistic, as I would rather scroll through Instagram or update my Facebook instead of typing this paper. Procrastination is seen at schools, in the workforce, and even in relationships.
Whether fear of failure, low motivation levels, or lack of focus, procrastination has many causes and effects that can impact a variety of generations, especially college students. First, one of the main causes of procrastination is a deep-rooted fear of failure. This is because if one fears the consequences of failing, then they will most likely decline to take any action, therefore procrastinating I’ve heard it said that one is guaranteed not to fail if they don’t attempt something. On the other hand, one could argue that not attempting is essentially the same as failing, Nevertheless, procrastination consoles the fear of failure It acts as a protector against the possibility of real failure in contrast with the more subjective form of failure. Many people believe that success is required for self-worth and for making life mean something. With failure in their peripheral vision, people turn to procrastination because they are afraid to face their fear.
In “Methods of Procrastination and Their Relation to Self—Control and Self—Reinforcement” by Joseph R. Ferrari and Robert A. Emmons, they state that “…procrastination is a tendency to delay task performance avoiding aversive tasks, performance failure, or threats to self-esteem”. Not only do they relate fear of failure to procrastination, they also mention self-esteem as a key factor to procrastination. If one has a hard time believing in their potential to reach goals, then procrastination is an easy solution. One must realize that failure is not fatal. Mistakes happen. If one tries and fails, at least they have the opportunity to learn from their potential mistakes. Secondly, I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve grumbled the words ‘I just don’t feel like doing it’ Alack of motivation is a common cause of procrastination Some procrastinators, like myself, feel guilty or that something is wrong with them for not being motivated to begin a task. oftentimes, just taking the first step, no matter how small, can serve as a motivator for future actions.
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This decrease in motivation is often due to unhealthy lifestyles, lack of sleep, or burnout from one’s day-to-day activities I have many friends who devote countless hours a week to their sport, and by the end of the day, or week, they’ve lost all physical and mental energy to do their homework. It is so much easier to just turn off the lights, curl up in bed, and sleep away their responsibilities. This is procrastination at its finest, As seen in Dr. Hitashi Lomash’s article, “Role of Motivation in Academic Procrastination,” it says that “many tertiary students intend to complete their academic tasks within the time frame, but they lack the motivation to get started. Due to their self—defeating behavior, academic procrastinators often experience dire consequences, including low self-esteem, depression, and academic failure”. We can see a pattern begin to develop: most causes of procrastination lead to a decrease of self-esteem It becomes a snowball effect when procrastination hits. One thing leads to another and it affects not only academic status, but emotional and personal status as well.
On the other hand, another cause of procrastination and a reason for a decrease in energy, is taking the time for an attitude check. One must ask himself, ‘is my attitude preventing me from being motivated?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ then it’s time for an attitude adjustment. Perhaps, one must re- evaluate their purpose for being at school and proceed to set new goals for himself. No matter what the cause is for lack of motivation, it triggers procrastination Lastly, the final and most frequent cause of procrastination is, simply, the lack of focus. As a busy college student with a strong dose of extracurricular activities and credit hours, I find it very hard to quiet my mind long enough to begin my classwork for the day. I am constantly thinking about what is on my ‘to-do‘ list. Therefore, my mind is running in circles, and, in return, I am easily forgetfuli During the process of being absentminded, homework begins to pile up and starts to accumulate.
This leads to stress, and a lot of it Students of all ages suffer from ADD and ADHD. in fact, according to a Neurotherapeutic article entitled “What Do We Really Know about ADHD in College Students?” “it is estimated that approximately 25 % of college students,,,are diagnosed with ADHD” (Green & Rabiner) ADHD is common and it does, indeed, cause lack of focus and procrastination. Procrastinators are, in general, neurologically disorganized in their thinking, which makes them easily forgetful and less likely to be proactive planner. Someone with a lack of focus goes through life feeling directionless. They feel as if they don’t have a purpose in life Especially if one doesn’t have set goals, it is almost certain that they will be lacking in focus. Without a target to work towards, one can easily become a procrastinator, A lack of focus causes procrastination because it prevents one from having an “endpoint” to guide them toward productivity.
As I mentioned before, the main effect of procrastination is stress As stress levels increase, anxiety levels increase. It has been argued that some students, surprisingly, work more efficiently under stress, For others, stress causes them to shut down and procrastinate even further. Another effect of procrastination is the possibility of missing out on opportunities. When important deadlines are forgotten about, it is possible that crucial chances pass by, Time is precious and essential. Procrastination results in precious time wasted, time that could have been used for productive work. A final effect is that procrastination becomes a habit over time.
When one leaves assignments until the last minute, more assignments are layered on top of each other and it becomes nearly impossible to manage. This unhealthy rhythm of procrastination turns into second nature, and as one furthers their education, they fail to learn discipline, their work suffers, and they get extremely stressed out, In conclusion, procrastination clearly brings more harm than good. Procrastination is possible to prevent when the student, or procrastinator, puts in the effort to overcome their habit of procrastination. For example, a student can get a Student Success Leader (SSL), which is an accommodation provided by Columbia College.
They can help the student stay focused completely on their school work by creating schedules and weekly “check-up” meetings, Similar to an SSL, one should have an accountability partner, especially if they are prone to procrastinating, That way, they can stay on track with school work and their responsibilities. Also, a change in environment for one’s place of study or work can decrease their chances of procrastination, Getting enough sleep at night is crucial for productive work because it lessens the Chance of temptation to sleep rather than completing homework, On the other hand, procrastination can be prevented by directing one‘s mental attitude towards work in a positive direction.
The common phrases “fake it till ya make it” or “mind over matter” can be used as self-encouragement to motivate one to complete their pending tasks. Procrastination is caused by an individual’s mental state and can usually be prevented after one learns to mature and control their emotions, while not letting it affect their school or daily work, Procrastinators face higher levels of stress than non»procrasLinators. This is caused by fear of failure, a decrease in motivation, and lack of focus in the individual, Procrastination is difficult, but not impossible, to avoid. The cause of procrastination varies from person to person, nevertheless, it is truly the mortal enemy of production.
