Some would say that procrastination is one of the biggest time management concerns, because it’s difficult to catch up once you’ve fallen behind. Do you have a problem with procrastination?

Procrastination Checklist

Do any of the following descriptions apply to you?

• My paper is due in two days and I haven’t really started writing it yet.
• I’ve had to pull an all-nighter to get an assignment done on time.
• I’ve turned in an assignment late or asked for an extension when I really didn’t have a good excuse not to get it done on time.
• I’ve worked right up to the minute an assignment was due.
• I’ve underestimated how long a reading assignment would take and didn’t finish it in time for class.
• I’ve relied on the Internet for information (like a summary of a concept or a book) because I didn’t finish the reading on time.

If these sound like issues you’ve struggled with in the past, you might want to consider whether you have the tendency to procrastinate and how you want to deal with it in your future classes. You’re already spending a lot of time, energy, and money on the classes you’re taking—don’t let all of that go to waste!

To succeed at time management, you must understand some of the hurdles that may stand in your way, including procrastination.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

There are several reasons we procrastinate, and a few of them may be surprising. On the surface, we often tell ourselves it is because the task is something we do not want to do, or we make excuses that there are other things more important to do first. In some cases, this may be true, but there can be other contributors to procrastination that have their roots in our physical well-being or our own psychological motivations.

• Lack of Energy: Sometimes procrastination stems from simply not having the energy to tackle a task, whether due to discomfort, illness, poor sleep, or an unhealthy diet. This lack of energy can create a cycle of procrastination and stress over unfinished tasks. To break the cycle, identify the root cause and take steps to restore your energy.
• Inability to Focus: A lack of focus often leads to procrastination and can result from mental fatigue, disorganization, or distractions. This issue may extend beyond task avoidance, impacting other areas of life. Address recurring focus challenges by identifying their causes and implementing strategies to improve mental clarity.
• Fear of Failure: Procrastination can also arise from an underlying fear of failure, where avoiding a task feels safer than risking perceived incompetence. This self-sabotage often involves rationalizing failure as a lack of time rather than ability. Overcoming this requires recognizing the fear and addressing the discomfort around potential outcomes. It is important to note that a fear of failure may not have anything to do with the actual ability of the person suffering from the fear. They could be quite capable of doing the task and performing well, but it is the fear that holds them back.

Strategies to Combat Procrastination

So, now that you know why we procrastinate, its time to look at some strategies you can use to overcome procrastination.  Here are suggestions to use to help you avoid procrastination:

1. Keep your studying “bite sized”: When confronted with 150 pages of reading or 50 problems to solve, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed. Try breaking it down: What if you decide that you will read for 45 minutes or that you will solve 10 problems? That sounds much more manageable.
2. Limit distractions: Turn off your phone, close your chat windows, and block distracting websites. The best advice we’ve ever heard is to treat your studying as if you’re in a movie theater—just turn your phone off.
3. Set up a reward system: If you read for 40 minutes, you can check your phone for five minutes. But keep in mind that reward-based systems only work if you stick to it.
4. Choose a study spot: Study in a place reserved for studying ONLY. Your bedroom may have too many distractions (or temptations, such as taking a nap), so it may be best to avoid it when you’re working on school assignments.
5. Use checklists: Make your incremental accomplishments visible. Some people take great satisfaction and motivation from checking items off a to-do list. Be very specific when creating this list, and clearly describe each task one step at a time.
6. Be accountable—tell someone else: A strong motivational tool is to hold ourselves accountable is by telling someone else we are going to do something and when we are going to do it. This tool may not seem like it would be very effective, but on a psychological level we feel more compelled to do something if we tell someone else.