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Procrastination is something I've struggled with since before I can remember. It's affected me in almost every aspect of my life, but it has especially affected my experience throughout my academic career. It started with turning things in just a little before the deadline. Then it progressed into turning assignments in right at the last possible minute. Sometimes, my procrastination is so bad now that I have to ask for extensions to turn in work that was due weeks ago. Every time I let my procrastination take over, my motivation, self-worth, and health go down the drain. Yet, I still repeat the cycle. That's how I knew procrastination was a big problem for me. Through some self-reflection, I realized that most of the time, I avoid assignments because I'm scared. Scared I won't meet the expectations of others and more importantly, myself. Knowing this has given me a place to start working on myself.

If you think you're someone who also struggles with chronic procrastination, stick around and maybe some of the information here will help. :)

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In this Medium article, the author discusses more about the science behind procrastination. They start by ensuring readers that procrastination is a very common struggle. They share a quote from 800 B.C. where the Greek poet Hesiod warned people not to “put your work off till tomorrow and the day after” to show how procrastination is something people have struggled with since the beginning of time. Next, the author gets into the science, explaining how procrastination is a battle between your limbic system and prefrontal cortex. They then continue to explain procrastination and share studies that support different scientific ideas about it. Finally, the author wraps it up by suggesting some helpful strategies for procrastinators to try.

If you're someone who enjoys understanding the science behind things, this article explains some of the science in a simple, easy-to-comprehend way. Not only can it be fun to learn the science behind procrastination, but it can also help you better understand and accept yourself.

Source:

Ishaaq. “The Science behind Procrastination, Diving Deep into Our Worst Habit.” ILLUMINATION, 13 July 2023, medium.com/illumination/the-science-behind-procrastination-diving-deep-into-our-worst-habit-7af897e97062.

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The Science Behind Procrastination, Diving Deep into Our Worst Habit

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I don’t think there’s a single person on this Earth who hasn’t procrastinated before in their life. Whether it’s related to school or work…

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Where You Are on the "Procrastination Scale" Quiz 

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Where You Are on the "Procrastination Scale" Quiz 

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This is a little 10-question quiz that can help you calculate how much you struggle with procrastination and in what ways. Before you start the quiz there is a description that gives some examples of what procrastination looks like. They reaffirm test-takers that procrastinating is something a lot of people do before then explaining how the test will work.

The procrastination test contains two question types: scenarios and self-assessment. For the scenario questions you should answer according to how you would most likely behave in a similar situation and for the self-assessment questions, you should choose the degree to which the statement applies to you. After you finish the test, you will get a little analysis as to how much of a procrastinator you are.
This is just the shorter version, but there is also a longer version that may be more helpful because it will give you more detailed results.

If you're someone who doesn't know if or how procrastination affects you then this quiz can help.

Source:

“Procrastination Test - Abridged.” Www.psychologytoday.com, www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/procrastination-test-abridged.

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This video discusses the cycle of procrastination and what you can do to stop it. First, the video illustrates what it's like to procrastinate before then defining what procrastination is. The narrator explains why people procrastinate and how their brain rationalizes their behavior while doing it. Then they talk about the correlation between negative emotions and procrastination. They explain that people who aren't as good at managing their emotions are more likely to procrastinate. Finally, they bring up that even though in the past people thought procrastinators just needed to have better discipline and time management, now we know that those things can actually just make it worse. Instead, we should focus on addressing our emotions.

Procrastinators should watch this video because it will help them understand that procrastinating is deeper than just being lazy. It's about your emotions.

Source:

TED-Ed. “Why You Procrastinate Even When It Feels Bad.” Www.youtube.com, 27 Oct. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWTNMzK9vG4.

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Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad

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Here at FRCC, we have access to Academic Success Centers. These success centers are where YOU can get support with your academic struggles. There are academic resources available at all of the in-person campuses and for online learners. Here they offer academic help for understanding challenging concepts so you can learn, meet deadlines, and feel successful. Whether you need help writing an essay, understanding math, or developing study skills, there are resources available to help. Knowing that you have support, can help minimize the stress students feel when faced with a challenging assignment or task. The lower the stress the less likely students will be to procrastinate.

Link to Succes Center Information:

Front Range Community College - Academic Success Centers

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Front Range Community College - Academic Success Centers

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Get academic help writing papers, understanding math concepts and developing study, test-taking, and time-management skills

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This Harvard Business Review article is all about how to overcome procrastination. Webb first goes over how our brains are basically programmed to procrastinate. "That’s because it’s easier for our brains to process concrete rather than abstract things, and the immediate hassle is very tangible compared with those unknowable, uncertain future benefits." (Webb). She goes on to give examples of how to be more proactive. One big thing Webb focuses on is making the benefits of actions bigger and the costs smaller. She believes that if we can help our brains rearrange the cost-benefit analysis of tasks, then we can minimize the urge to procrastinate.

If students can work on maximizing the benefits of a task and minimizing the costs, whether physically or just in their minds, then they can have more control over there procrastination tendencies.

Source:

Webb, Caroline. “How to Beat Procrastination.” Harvard Business Review, 27 Sept. 2017, hbr.org/2016/07/how-to-beat-procrastination.

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This Science News article goes over how procrastination may negatively impact your health. Rosen dives into a study involving thousands of university students where scientists linked procrastination to a "panoply of poor outcomes including depression, anxiety, and even disabling arm pain." She explains how it's like the chicken and the egg situation. It's hard to say whether procrastination causes poor health or if it's the other way around. The study was also only observational so they can't for sure say that procrastination causes poor health. However, she reminds us that procrastination was still strongly correlated in the study with health issues and negative outcomes. She shares an idea from one of the researchers, Sirois. The idea was that, while procrastination may not be the main factor that causes poor health it could be the little thing that tips your health in the negative direction.

Knowing this, students can use this knowledge to motivate them to want to do something about their procrastination. However, it's important students don't believe that procrastination is actually going to kill them. In Kelly McGonigal's TED Talk, "How to make stress your friend," people who truly believed stress was bad for them were more likely to die prematurely. So, don't get caught up on the idea that procrastination could be bad for you. Instead, just focus on minimizing it in your life and increasing other habits in your life that you know are healthy for you.

Source:

Rosen, Meghan. “Procrastination May Harm Your Health. Here’s What You Can Do.” ScienceNews, 25 Jan. 2023, www.sciencenews.org/article/procrastination-harm-fix-resolution.

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Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ

Citations

F. Johansson et al. Associations between procrastination and subsequent health outcomes among university students in Sweden. JAMA Network Open. Published online January 4, 2023. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49346.

H.S. Rad et al. Mindfulness intervention for academic procrastination: A randomized control trial. Learning and Individual Differences. Vol. 101, January 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102244.

P. Steel et al. Self-regulation of slippery deadlines: The role of procrastination in work performance. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 12, January 6, 2022, p. 783789. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.783789.

G. Cui et al. Longitudinal relationships among problematic mobile phone use, bedtime procrastination, sleep quality and depressive symptoms in Chinese college students: a cross-lagged panel analysis. BMC Psychiatry. Vol. 21, September 10, 2021, p. 449. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03451-4.

L. Martinčeková and R.D. Enright. The effects of self-forgiveness and shame-proneness on procrastination: exploring the mediating role of affect. Current Psychology. Vol. 39, April 2020, p. 428. doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-9926-3.

A. Rozental et al. Targeting procrastination using psychological treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 9, August 30, 2018, p. 1588. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01588.

F.M. Sirois. Is procrastination a vulnerability factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease? Testing an extension of the procrastination-health model. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Vol. 38, June 2015, p. 578. doi: 10.1007/s10865-015-9629-2.

J.R. Ferrari. Procrastination as self-regulation failure of performance: effects of cognitive load, self-awareness, and time limits on 'working best under pressure.' European Journal of Personality. Vol. 15, September/October 2001, p. 391. doi: 10.1002/per.413.

Meghan Rosen is a staff writer who reports on the life sciences for Science News. She earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology with an emphasis in biotechnology from the University of California, Davis, and later graduated from the science communication program at UC Santa Cruz.

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Procrastination may harm your health. Here's what you can do

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Scientists have tied procrastination to mental and physical health problems. But don't panic if you haven't started your New Year's resolutions yet.