Introduction
With summer exam season swiftly approaching, it’s crucial that we take back control of our emotions and rid ourselves of any bad habits that have developed during the year, one of them being procrastination.
What is Procrastination?
Procrastination is the habit of unnecessarily delaying an important task, usually by focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead, despite knowing that there could be negative consequences for doing so.
A Common Problem for Students
This is a common struggle for most students and a significant hindrance. It typically means most students are falling behind on their schoolwork and concentrating on irrelevant, unimportant tasks instead.
Why Do Students Procrastinate?
- Fear of Failure: A common cause of procrastination is students fearing that they won’t complete the task successfully or that they’ll end up failing altogether, so they avoid the task entirely.
- Perfectionism: The strive for perfectionism and producing flawless work makes homework and exam preparation appear as such daunting, off-putting tasks. Therefore, students end up delaying it.
- Lack of Motivation: Revision and schoolwork are typically not tasks most students find interesting. The minimal enthusiasm means that students are not motivated to complete the assignment promptly.
- Poor Time Management: A common problem students suffer from is not organizing their time properly. They tend to prioritize other commitments that aren’t important over their schoolwork, leading to last-minute rushes.
- Misjudgment of Time: Leading on from poor time management, students overestimate themselves, thinking they have more time than they do to complete an assignment or prepare for an exam. They then realize the deadline is soon approaching and rush through it instead.
- Distractions: Students often struggle to disassociate themselves from things that will distract them. Social media, friends, or other activities can lead to procrastination.
- Lack of Emotional Control: Stress, anxiety, doubts, and depression are all common struggles for most students and significant factors in procrastination. Exam season, revision, and schoolwork can seem overwhelming, especially when the task is large and complex. Unpleasant emotions associated with academic work cause procrastination to avoid dealing with such feelings.
Ways to Overcome Procrastination
If you are feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work you have to complete or learn, staring at it is not going to make a difference. The solution is to break the tasks down into more manageable steps and focus your attention on one step at a time. Then, there is less pressure on you, allowing you to be relaxed and in the best state to retain information rather than cram it.
If the problem is that you’re simply bored and disinterested, the solution is to make a start by setting aside 10 minutes to start one of the tasks. The hardest part is initiation and starting; the easiest part is to keep going. If you need a break, set a 10-minute break and return to work.
Another emotion that prevents someone from completing work is anxiety. To tackle this, practice breathing exercises and dedicate time to work on a task. This will ensure the task will get done, but just not right now. When you’ve ticked off something you’ve set out to do, you’ll feel relief and be proud of yourself.
Self-doubt is another emotion that needs to be eradicated. Remind yourself that action builds confidence. Enjoy the process of learning and embrace making mistakes, as lessons come from it. Finally, stay strong in your belief that you will improve as you keep working on the tasks.
Your study space and environment have a big impact on your overall work rate. If you are trying to complete an assignment but you’re with a group of friends in a loud social place, it’s unlikely you are going to get any productive work done. It’s important that you have a dedicated, quiet study space, free of anything that will distract you, to allow yourself to get into that study mode.
The biggest distraction most students face is our phone. We pick them up, telling ourselves that we will only take a quick 5-minute break, and by the time we check the time, a whole hour has gone by. When studying, turn off phones and all other electronic devices and put them out of reach. Out of sight, out of mind.
Conclusion
Procrastination is a habitual issue and a very common struggle among young students. But it can be overcome by regulating your emotions, breaking down tasks, and removing all distractions.
