What is procrastination?

“Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there could be negative consequences for doing so.” - Wikipedia

Lack of motivation is one of the biggest contributors to procrastination. We believe we have to feel inspired or motivated to work on a task. However, the ‘right time’ often never comes, so the task is left unfinished.

The present bias is a phenomenon observed in human behaviour that may result in procrastination. The present bias means that we tend to be more motivated by immediate gratification or rewards than we are by long-term rewards.

This is why it feels good in the moment to procrastinate. For example, the immediate reward of staying in bed and watching TV is more appealing than the long-term reward of publishing a blog post, which would take much longer to accomplish.

Statistics about procrastination

They found that early in the semester, procrastinators reported lower stress and less illness than non-procrastinators, but that late in the term, procrastinators reported higher stress and more illness.

80%-95% of college students procrastinate
50% chronically

People spent on average almost half (47%) of their time online procrastinating

95% of procrastinators wish to reduce it

Approx. 50% of people state that a boring task causes procrastination, or a task that has rewards far into the future.

How you can help yourself

"As students, you're always being pushed out of your depths—that's what learning is,"
-Timothy A. Pychyl, PhD.

To-do list

Make a to-do list with small, manageable steps. (Eg, instead of ‘tidy room’, do ‘clean floor’ and ‘clean desk’)

Recognize what sets it off

Pay attention to when you want to procrastinate, and try do just a few minutes of the task.

Eliminate distraction

You can do this by putting your phone in a hard to reach position, or by limiting notifications to social media etc.

Reward yourself!

It’s not easy. When you finish your to-do list, do something fun or rewarding to congratulate yourself.