Procrastination is something that we have all dealt with at one time or another. It’s no coincidence that the blog site is always backed up closer to the due dates! People tend to think they have more time than they really do, and deadlines creep up on procrastinators like a thief in the night. Time and time again I’ve seen people cramming for a test or paper, and going crazy doing so. But is procrastination something people are conscious of?

Null Hypothesis: Procrastination is not something people are conscious of

Alternative Hypothesis: Procrastination is something people are conscious of

According to a recent study, procrastination is indeed a serious problem, but one that can also be avoided. Parent-child relationships as well as quality of home life can often play big roles in the development of procrastination. For example, the children of very controlling parents are more likely to become procrastinators when compared to children of less controlling parents. This is because they don’t manage themselves without their parents constantly pushing them to do so. The study also mentions that procrastination is linked to repeated lying, the fear of failure, and alcohol and drug consumption. It goes on to state the main reasons why people are procrastinators:

• The biggest reason is that some people actually like the thrill of last minute work. As I sit here during the last few hours of this blog period, I can’t wrap my head around who could possibly like that- but that’s for another time.
• The second biggest reason is that people are scared to fail. While this one seems obvious, it is a serious problem for some people. If you are scared to fail you are often scared to try; and if you are scared to try… that’s not good.
• The third biggest reason is for those who can’t make a decision. Some people get caught in their own mind and wind up going back and forth wasting time without even realizing it.

The article finishes by giving a last warning. It states that procrastination can even be the root of some health problems. The article then relates college-aged kids getting the flu and colds to procrastination.

A second article I read, by John Perry, sheds a completely different light on this whole question. This article had to do with “structured procrastination.” Perry’s writing seemingly tried to justify procrastination. He stated that some people like to knock out all the small tasks first, and leave the tough, time consuming ones for later. He does recognize that the mind of a procrastinator thinks differently, and he seems to take that into account while writing. However, I cannot agree that procrastination has any positive affect on a person.

In conclusion, I accept the alternative hypothesis. While these articles were very different in both style and substance, they each confirmed to me that procrastinators do indeed choose to be just that. I believe procrastination is a vicious cycle that is hard to get out of when somebody starts.