Why Do People Procrastinate?

October 1st, 2008 by Jason Stollham
Jason Stollham

There are a wide number of reasons for procrastinating. If you have the habit of postponing your work on and often, thinking that you can do the task tomorrow, then you are actually procrastinating. There are several reasons for procrastinating.

  • Problem in concentrating: Sometimes people find it very difficult to concentrate on their work. They constantly delay their work (procrastination) which hampers their studies. Difficulty is concentration is one of the main reasons for procrastination.
  • You don’t know what is necessary: Sometimes, the student does not know what he should do and what he should not. There may be an overload of task and he may face problems in handling them. He will not know what to do and what not to.
  • Feeling burdened by the task: Overload of task is one of the reasons for procrastination. People are afraid of too much work. The work looks like a huge mountain which cannot be crossed. Therefore they start avoiding work by procrastination.
  • Concern about failure: A student may feel that he will not be able to meet the required standard and so avoids their work. For this, a student often suffers from hypertension and he starts delaying his work (procrastination).
  • Fear of success: This is extremely astonishing yet a true phenomenon. Some people are apprehensive about their success as they are for failure. They think that success does not come alone. It comes with an impending gloom. Some students are especially afraid of being separated from their parents, when they go out for college dormitories.
  • Perfectionism and unachievable standard: Often students want to make an outstanding result in their examinations. They want to outperform all other brilliant students and therefore start studying hard. But in course of their studies they realize that it is an impossible task to perform and therefore they give up/ surrender. This is one of the most common cases of procrastination.

What Is Procrastination?

October 1st, 2008 by Jason Stollham
Jason Stollham

Procrastination is avoiding a task which can be done now until tomorrow. When you go on postponing the work which needs to be done, then it is an act of procrastination. Procrastination is commonly responsible for poor performance in examination. If you go on procrastinating, then automatically you will not be able to complete your syllabus. This will have an impact on your result. This is the most negative effect of procrastination on a student.

 

Procrastination has an adverse effect on a person’s work, and it involves feelings like guilt, insufficiency, self-disgust, anxiety and depression. Often people try to do those things which seem interesting to them. This is done in order to avoid the necessary task which may be boring. This is procrastination and is extremely harmful since it kills a lot of time.

 

Procrastination is caused due to a variety of reasons. It results due to poor time management. This happens when you cannot calculate or guess your available time. Procrastination is caused due to lack of understanding. A student sometimes fails to understand his true aim, or what he is actually supposed to do. This lack of understanding is another reason behind procrastination.

 

Another reason is perhaps the overload of task allotted to a student in a given period of time. if the task seem impossible to accomplish, then the student will definitely run away from it. This is procrastination. He starts thinking that he will do the task later on even if he starts late. This ruins his entire routine and he is never able to accomplish what he wants.

 

Constant worrying about the overload is another reason behind procrastination. If you go on worrying about the work, then you shall never be able to complete the work in time. This is another reason for procrastination.

Reasons For Procrastination

September 29th, 2008 by Jason Stollham
Jason Stollham

Do you often postpone the task which you can do now? Do you make yourself think that you can do the task even if you start tomorrow? This is procrastination. There are various reasons for procrastination. They are the following:

  • Difficulty in concentrating: Sometimes students procrastinate because they find it difficult to concentrate. Although they know that they have to do a particular work, constant procrastination ruins their studies.

 

  • Not knowing what is necessary: A student of often fails to understand what is required. He does not know what to do and what not to. This may be due to overload of tasks.

 

  • Feeling snowed under by the task(s): When there is an overload of task, a student may feel weighed down under pressure. They often lose their enthusiasm to perform well. Therefore, students tend to procrastinate.

 

  • Concern about failing or not meeting the standards: often a student feels that he cannot meet the scheduled standard. This leads to hypertension and he is not able to concentrate on his work. He constantly delays what he can do now (procrastination).

 

  • Fear of success and its probable consequences: This is strange yet a very common reason for procrastination. Often success comes with an impending gloom. For example, a student can anticipate of being separated from parents when he goes to a distance boarding college. This may be traumatizing for him. This leads to procrastinate.

 

  • Perfectionism, which is related to unrealistic standards: If you study yet cannot meet the target then a time will come when you get bored and frustrated. This leads to delaying of studies due to hatred for the work with which you cannot achieve success.

 

  • Negative thinking and feelings: If you cannot get success for a long time, then you can start thinking that you are incapable. This is called negative thinking and it leads to procrastination.

 

How Can Students Avoid Procrastination?

September 29th, 2008 by Jason Stollham
Jason Stollham

Have you really suffered from your habit of postponing work until tomorrow (procrastination)? Are you really interested in getting rid of your habit of procrastinating? Here are few tips:

 

  • Better time management: Learn how to utilize your time. Time does not stand for anyone and if you go on wasting time, then success will never come to you. Therefore, realize your habit of procrastination and get rid of it soon!

 

  • Counseling; Sometimes a good counseling may help. You may not understand your emotional requirement for which you are procrastinating. Getting help from an elderly person or a counselor helps a lot in this regard. In the western countries, there are numerous counseling options. Choose from the one of your liking and get rid of your procrastinating habits.

 

  • Make yourself known to you; Take into account about the kind of person you are, your desires and your drawbacks. Your values and your personality have a large impact on what you do. Thus, make sure not to waste your time and do what is required. If you know your values, then you can utilize yourself in achieving something glorious.

 

  • Try to find out why you procrastinate: There are numerous reasons for procrastinating. Try and find out some reasons why you procrastinate. If you have an idea of your emotional world and its requirements, then getting rid of procrastinating habits will become easier.

 

  • Try to set targets and make realistic decisions: If you are sure that you know about your drawbacks (why you procrastinate), then the best thing which you can do is set new targets so as to achieve your goal. After setting the target, make sure to make realistic routines, so that while studying you don’t find an overload of work ruining your enthusiasm.

 

  • Break down your tasks into manageable fragments: if you break down your tasks into manageable units, then you can easily reach your target. Your work becomes easier and you can handle it with more efficiency. Therefore, make a realistic decision and divide your work into manageable units.