My title probably gives it away. I am one of the biggest procrastinators of all time. I wait until the last minute on almost everything; just like this assignment. It is Thursday, September 15th, and this assignment is due to tomorrow by 12:00pm. I have always wondered why I procrastinate. No one in my family is like me. My sister was always ahead of her school work and never had to cram. My mom and dad are both the same way. So where do I get it from? Not just me, but why does anyone become a procrastinator? So I decided to do some research.
All information comes from this article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fearless-you/201506/9-reasons-you-procrastinate-and-9-ways-stop Author: Pamela D. Garcy
This articles includes 9 reasons why you procrastinate and 9 ways to stop. In this blog, I am only going to focus on a few of the reasons why, but I may touch on the ways to stop in another blog. Anyway, according to Psychology Today, procrastination can become a habit that you picked up from someone else. This article uses the words ” role model ” but essentially, they are saying you can get it from anyone that you are around a lot such as a family member. However, I come from a family where procrastination does not exist so I have ruled out this explanation for myself. Another possible reason is that you may severely underestimate how much time it will take you to complete the task (Garcy). Now I have definitely done this before. I think that I can work a lot faster than I actually can. In high school, that was not much of a problem because I never had to turn something in by a certain time. Everything was handed in during class. So if I underestimated how long an assignment would take me, it would only usually only mean that I would stay up very late completing the assignment but it would get done and i’d turn it in the next day. However, now everything is turned in online and by a certain time. So if I wait until the last minute (which I usually do) and also underestimate how long it will take me, I could end missing the deadline all together and getting a zero. So this is one of the causes of my procrastination and it is definitely a problem that I need to fix. This next reason is the last one that I am going to look at and is honestly one of the biggest reasons for my procrastination. Psychology Today states that one could procrastinate because you have bias against a certain kind of task or assignment. For example, I always do my econ homework way before it is due. it’s all online, multiple choice questions that are not very difficult so I always get that out of the early. However, when it comes to writing assignments, such as one like this, I push it off until the last possible second because I hate writing. So this reason is probably one of the biggest causes for my procrastination.
I have a very big procrastination problem. I have always wondered what causes it and I am starting to find out exactly what it is. If you do not usually procrastinate, I strongly advise against it.
I am most definitely a victim of procrastination and out of the reasons you listed it is most likely due to me misjudging the amount of time it takes to complete an assignment. I definitely tend to think I can work a lot faster than I really can, and thus results in me staying up late completing assignments the night before. So far in college I’ve done well as a freshman with managing my time and staying on top of my deadlines, until I left all of my comments for the day before they’re due. Here’s an article explaining more reasons why humans http://psychdigest.com/just-do-it-why-people-procrastinate/
I can definitely relate to this post. More often than not I find myself procrastinating even though I know I shouldn’t. It is something that I am trying to change now, but it is still not an easy task. I think you are right when you said that procrastination in high school is way different then procrastination in college. There are a lot higher stakes in college versus high school. However, each individual functions differently. I know there are people that can function better in more stressful situations versus in a relaxed and calm atmosphere. Perhaps you might have a tendency of excelling more when you are under pressure in regards to time. This leads me to raise the question could procrastination possibly be healthy and more beneficial to those that feel more comfortable procrastinating?
This article caught my attention because I am procrastinating as we speak. However I am proficient at putting stuff off until the last minute, since i get an enormous amount of motivation, which forces me to finish my work. I found an article, written by a San Diego professor that talks about how it is usually better to put decisions off until the last minute. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-procrastination-is-good-for-you-2102008/?no-ist
That definition is hilarious, and sadly true in the minds of many (myself included.) I’ve personally wondered myself why I procrastinate, and while I’m similar to you (insofar as I do multiple choice and other similar assignments immediately but leave writing until the last minute) I feel like there has to be more than just preference for type of work. Perhaps it might be a different thing linking procrastination and writing assignments such as these, like the ability to focus in general, or creativity. Assignments like these require a lot more creativity than question answering, so its a lot harder to focus on, since there isn’t really a direction to focus on. Also, a different reason (not understanding the time it would take) seems a little off, as once you’ve made the mistake once its doubtful you’ll not know how long it would take a second time. Maybe its not that we don’t know how long it will take, but that’s just an excuse to do something else, even though you know you should be working on the assignment. Well, what do I know, I still haven’t fixed my procrastination problem.
Sup Anthony, I 100% agree with you and I’m just as much as a procrastinator as you are. That is the reason why i am commenting on this post right now actually. However, procrastination does run in my family, along with ADD which is a major cause for this problem. A lot of times it is because of the reasons you stated like underestimating my time but a lot of times i find myself dosing off and finding something else to do like text or eat. These things interest us so much more, which is why we tend to procrastinate school assignments for so long. Heres an interesting read on procrastination and ADHD:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201001/procrastination-and-adult-adhd
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201001/procrastination-and-adult-adhd
I can totally relate to this article and your problem with procrastinating. I am a sophomore now, but when I came into college I always found myself putting off assignments until the last minute. I am typically an organized person but did not understand how far behind I would fall pushing things off, even for what seemed to be a short time. After getting my first semester out of the way I realized I would jump to do assignments way in advance such as math and econ even when i had an extra few days before they were due. However, for English I would stay up all night writing every paper just hours before it needed to be turned in. Even now I never really registered that this problem was probably due to a bias but just more of me simply procrastinating. But this helps confirm why I only procrastinate in certain subjects and not with my school work as a whole. This blog made me want to research more potential ways that can explain why people procrastinate. This article explains more reasons and also provides further details for some of the reasons mentioned in the article you found.
As I read your post I find myself in a very similar situation. Procrastination is one of the things I try to avoid most, however I always find myself waiting until the last minute for large assignments such as these blog posts. I have realized that time management is one of the most important things in college. It keeps your schedule open and allows you to be ahead of the game. I found this awesome article that gives ten tips on how to manage time. Hopefully you and I can both take something away from it!
Personally I procrastinated a lot in high school, I would always do things late at night and cram for all my tests right before I took it. In college, I feel like there is a sense of importance to get everything done on time, so when my schedule is packed with a million other things to do, I tend to do my work whenever I can find time to do it. However, I also find myself becoming too busy, because I tend to set things aside and do something else instead. Here is an article explaining this mindset.