In a world full of endless assignments and homework, everyone procrastinates, it’s inevitable. I’m probably procrastinating writing this article right now.

But don’t worry, we aren’t alone, almost 75% of students procrastinate regularly and half of students think this is a consistent problem. In an academic study published in Individual Differences Research, 20-25% of adults are chronic procrastinators. The question is, why do our brains function in a way that makes us leave everything to the last minute? And more importantly, how do we step out of this endless cycle?  

Why Do We Procrastinate? 

One of the biggest reasons we procrastinate, according to health and wellness website, VeryWell Health, is because we wait for a notion of self-motivation to inspire ourselves to get started. It’s our conscience telling us to be in the ideal state of mind to start working on our tasks, especially the ones that carry the most burdens.  As sad as it is, the reality is the right time we’re waiting for never truly comes. We keep pushing the task until it either never gets completed or we stress ourselves out to finish. But this isn’t the only thing that makes us procrastinate. 

Many common behavioral patterns can be seen in procrastination. Whether you overestimate how motivated you will be later or underestimate how long a task will take and how much time you have left, it all leads to procrastination.  While this is a common occurrence, procrastination can also stem from other common root behaviors.  

Deeper Level Causes

Procrastinating because you feel hopeless, helpless, or a lack of energy might mean that it’s a result of either short-term or chronic depression. For example, procrastination is common in those who struggle with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD.)

OCD is linked with maladaptive perfectionism, or in other words perfectionism that gets in the way and sets unrealistic expectations, leading you to overreact when you don’t reach those standards.

Another underlying cause may be ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) when external distractions and internal thoughts make it harder to start a task, especially when those tasks aren’t interesting.

Though these neurodivergent markers are best diagnosed by a professional. Recognizing that practically everyone procrastinates from time to time should be your measuring stick for whether there are deeper level causes at work.

Types of Procrastination

In a nutshell, there are two types of procrastination: passive and active. Passive procrastinators will delay the workload because they have trouble making and acting on decisions, while active procrastinators will purposefully delay the task because they assume that working under pressure will motivate them to do the work.

Which type of procrastinator would you fall under?

It can also be based on different behavioral styles. For example, the aforementioned perfectionist is put off-task because of a fear that they won’t do it correctly. The dreamer puts off tasks because they aren’t good at paying attention to detail. The crisis-maker puts off tasks because they like to work under pressure, and then the overdoer takes on too much and struggles to end up balancing all that workload. 

Tips for Procrastination

What can we do to fix our tendency to procrastinate? According to a survey conducted by The Bite, almost 40% of students procrastinate on school work and other daily tasks here at AISB due to a lack of motivation. The most popular tasks for students to avoid are essays or writing assignments as they take longer and require deeper thinking, similar to teachers who responded that grading long forms of writing causes them to procrastinate. 

As a teacher – grading IA’s and any long-form writing. I feel the amount of time I take to do this is not reflected as beneficial to the majority of students.

DP Teacher

Students say that they usually overcome procrastination by getting rid of their phones and avoiding any possible distractions. Others prefer starting early and creating a schedule beforehand so they know exactly what to do. 

I often use the five minute method to avoid procrastination. This means that when I get home, I take five minutes to create a schedule so that I can map in terms of time all of the assignments that I have to do that day.

AISB Secondary Student

AISB students commonly report that they usually reward themselves after doing a certain task that they dread. Whether you reward yourself with scrolling on social media, eating a snack, or spending time with your friends setting a goal to get there faster is what pushes you to do your work.

One of the best ways to make this reward occur faster is through a strategy called temptation bundling. It’s a concept that came out of behavioral economics research performed by Katy Milkman at The University of Pennsylvania. The idea behind it is that you bundle a behavior that is good for you in the future (like studying or ironing your T-shirts) with a behavior that feels good in the moment.

For example, only watch your favorite TV show while you do the dishes, or only go to your favorite cafe with your best friend if you go there to study together. 

Another great strategy is the Ivy Lee Method, it follows six steps. Firstly, at the end of the school day you get home and write the six most important things that need to be done by tomorrow. Then, prioritize those six items according to how important they are. This means that by tomorrow you will only concentrate on the first task. When the first task is done, you move on to the second, then the third. 

These strategies are simple, requires no need for multi-tasking, and force you to make decisions; if you don’t commit to anything then you won’t do anything. 

But the key that ties this all together to make this a habit is consistency. You will only stop procrastinating if you turn this into an everyday occurrence. The biggest reason we fall back into the cycle is because we don’t have a clear schedule or system.