Dealing with Procrastination

Procrastination and its Effects on Students

Procrastination is an unintended and recurring activity that most individuals find themselves entrapped in. The act itself is frequently practiced for any necessary ends other than just person prioritizing their activities irregularly. However, in most instances, a great amount of humans who like postponing their plans usually end up doing pointless activities in their places. The habit affects an individual’s overall performance at many levels and distracts their focus from other urgent issues. Students are especially most affected by procrastination and it often leads to negative grades, laziness, and mischiefs such as cheating at exams which are harmful to the development of a particular student. Despite the numerous hindrances that it brings about, this paper presents an insightful account on how avoiding the habit might be of benefit, especially for students. One fundamental benefit of avoiding procrastination for students is that it elevates the performance of the student at all levels. Studying requires an organized and well-planned strategy so as to fully comprehend and appreciate its importance. Avoiding procrastination offers students the opportunity to focus more on the main objectives of their purpose which is studying and focus on school work. Furthermore, it allows students to be more efficient with their time hence becoming even more productive. The paper also digs deep on the importance of avoiding the practice and how studying can be more effective when a student opts to focus more on activities that complement their learning practices.

Causes and Ways of Dealing with Procrastination

Procrastination refers to postponing tasks to another time. People tend to procrastinate tasks. Repetitive tasks prove monotonous over time. Therefore, most people tend to procrastinate repetitive tasks, not because they are lazy, but because of the nature of the job. According to Charlotte Lieberman, in her article Why You Procrastinate (It has nothing to do with Self-Control), procrastination is not laziness. Put more aptly, procrastination goes beyond voluntary delaying of tasks and extends to performing specific tasks against better judgment (Lieberman). This paper analyses reasons for procrastination based on personal experience further, recommending mechanisms of dealing with the problem.

Steering Clear of Procrastination

I have fallen victim to procrastination several times as a student. Tasks can be overwhelming, and the rigorous process of performing the tasks coupled with the stringent mental focus required may give birth to procrastination. Sophomore year has been a challenging experience. There have been numerous novel tasks to perform, which are very demanding. Assignments require meticulous research and engaging discussions with classmates and professionals in my area of expertise. The school term is lengthy, and at times I get a burnout. To fully recover from the exhaustion and the rigorous mental exercise, I find myself postponing tasks to another time.

However, it has to be noted that procrastination is mostly possible and convenient in tasks with extended deadlines. Requesting for deadline extension after a long time has been given to performing a task is laziness. Procrastination transmutes into apathy when tasks are performed after the deadline. Therefore, tasks are subconsciously postponed based on urgency, which reflects that prioritization of jobs is an issue of critical concern before considering procrastination. For example, I always pay my fee before the deadline, because there is a fine to pay after the period. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that critical tasks are procrastinated because the ramifications of such actions might prove dire.

Steering clear of procrastination is not possible; however, minimizing procrastination is possible. Moreover, procrastination is a mechanism of acquiring the right mind-set to deal with a particular task or situation. Lieberman states that procrastination is a way of coping with challenging emotions and negative emotions induced by specific tasks (Lieberman). It provides some momentary reprieve, which translates into a vicious cycle. In principle, people procrastinate to avoid negative feelings only to wind up feeling worse. It is important to note that procrastination is all about emotions and not productivity.

I have learned that the best way to minimize procrastination is through cultivating curiosity. This would assist in linking the tasks to the consequences of not performing as required. It is known that procrastination is a thief of time. Cultivating curiosity identifies the exact emotions which instigate procrastination. Moreover, huge tasks can be broken down into smaller tasks and accomplish each of the mini-tasks to achieve a larger objective. Satisfaction ought to be derived from performing duties as opposed to postponing the tasks.

Conclusion

Procrastination can translate into a habit that potentially relates to laziness. Most people postpone tasks because of emotions, such tasks evoke. Repetitive tasks, challenging assignments in class, and house chores are often procrastinated. Breaking procrastination as a habit requires a new mind-set (Lieberman). Breaking tasks into mini-tasks and focusing on the satisfaction derived from completing tasks before the deadline should be the motivating factors to do away with procrastination.

Works Cited