Procrastination is a student’s worst enemy.

According to the University of Illinois

Urbana Champaign (2015), A major cause of procrastination is poor time management.
Student life requires to responsibly do given tasks in a specific amount of time.
Responsibilities of students include homework, exams, readings and independent living.
Procrastination affects the productivity of one’s self. Delaying tasks that need to be
accomplished negatively affect a student’s productivity. For instance, a student delaying
to do their homework will waste time until he or she misses the deadline. Procrastination
is a poor habit. Always procrastinating will develop behavioral patterns that will be done
automatically. An effective way to overcome procrastination is to understand the causes
and effects and effective planning through time management.

There are many different causes why students procrastinate. Oregon State University
(2011) stated that one of the simple reasons for procrastination is the fear of failure.
Students aim for unrealistic standards and they feel intimidated by all the effort it takes
to get the best grades. Also, students become sensitive of what others think of them
because others will know if they fail or not. Another reason is the lack of self-awareness.
Some students are not aware that they are procrastinating, thus it becomes a habit
even without them knowing. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman’s (as cited in Novotney,2010)
study showed that teaching students about achievement, motivation, information
processing and reasons for procrastination ended up with a higher grade point average
after taking the course. Lastly, a cause of procrastination is the inability to handle tasks
(University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 2015). Not knowing which task to handle first
or lack of skills will lead to avoiding tasks. Many individuals procrastinate based from
their thinking and the actions they do, gaining self-awareness will help with overcoming
procrastination.

Procrastination can lead to negative effects on a student. One effect is higher levels
of stress and illness on a student. Florida State University psychologists Tice and
Baumeister’s (as cited in Novotney, 2010) study shows that procrastinators had less
stress and illnesses than non-procrastinators at the beginning of the term but as time
passed by, they had higher stress and illnesses than non-procrastinators. Another
effect of a procrastinating student is the loss of gaining temporary benefits. Since
procrastinators tend to do work later, the time lost decreased the quality of their work
and end up with low grades. (Jaffe, 2013). Lastly, procrastination can become a poor
habit (California Polytechnic State University, n.d.). Constantly procrastinating will
become habitual in the long term effect. More procrastination, more negative emotions
will hinder when doing a task. As a result, procrastinating students suffer more than
non-procrastinators based on the many effects of procrastination.

One must plan effectively through time management in order to overcome

procrastination, there are many techniques to learn from time management. According
to University of Oregon (n.d.), the first technique is to isolate oneself from distractions.
Distractions may come from social media, television, video games and much more.
Staying in a room without all these distractions can help. Avoiding distractions by is a
must because it may stop oneself from doing their important tasks. The next technique
is to organize necessary tasks first to balance time through setting deadlines (San
Francisco State University, n.d.). One should always recognize their obligations and
 follow. An example is school work because learning is essential and reflects in one’s
life. Another technique is to create a schedule and a to do list (University of Oregon,
n.d). By doing these, one can set their deadlines and when they should finish it to break
the work because tasks can be overwhelming. Following a schedule will help one’s self
to be more organized. Next, reward oneself after load work (San Francisco State
University, n.d.). This will help motivate oneself to finish tasks ahead of time. After an
overwhelming task, there should always be time to relax and relieve oneself from stress.
Lastly, one should list goals in order to become motivated to do tasks. Becoming aware
of one’s goals will help by motivation. These techniques will help oneself in improving
their time management and to avoid procrastinating.

In conclusion, a student can overcome procrastination by becoming aware of its

causes and effects and develop their time management skills. Knowing the causes and
effects of procrastination will broaden one’s understanding to become more aware.
Gaining self-awareness will develop oneself to become sensitive of their wrongdoings.
Time management is an efficient way to totally avoid procrastination. It helps oneself to
organize their time wisely to do tasks productively. Although procrastination is a
student’s worst enemy, it can still be defeated.

References:

California Polytechnic State University (n.d.). Procrastination. Retrieved from

http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/procrastination.html

Jaffe, E. (2013). Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/2013/april-13/why-
wait-the-science-behind-procrastination.html

Novotney, A. (2010). Procrastination or ‘intentional delay’?. Retrieved from

http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2010/01/procrastination.aspx

Oregon State University. (2011). 6 Reasons People Procrastinate. Retrieved from

http://success.oregonstate.edu/learning/6-reasons-people-procrastinate

San Francisco State University. (n.d).Time Management: Procrastination. Retrieved

from http://psyservs.sfsu.edu/Wellness_Tips/Procrastination

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. (2015). Overcoming Procrastination. Retrieved

from https://counselingcenter.illinois.edu/brochures/overcoming-procrastination

University of Oregon. (n.d). Procrastination/Time Management. Retrieved from

http://counseling.uoregon.edu/Topics-Resources/Student-Self-
Help/Procrastination-Time-Management