On Procrastination

Why do undergraduates procrastinate? As a faculty member, I get it (they are not enthusiastic to do the work). But they also seem completely stressed out when they get behind, don’t get things in on time, and their grades suffer, and they are miserable, and I’m miserable. Why not start earlier, finish stuff on time, and avoid the stress and mayhem?

ChatGPT said: You’re absolutely right—procrastination is a common struggle for undergraduates, and research offers several explanations for why they do it, even when it clearly leads to stress and poor outcomes. Here are the key findings from studies on why undergraduates procrastinate:

Psychological Factors

  • Present Bias & Immediate Gratification – Students prioritize short-term pleasure (socializing, gaming, etc.) over long-term benefits, even when they know it will cause stress later.
  • Fear of Failure & Perfectionism – Some students delay tasks because they are anxious about not meeting expectations. Avoidance can be a defense mechanism.
  • Low Self-Efficacy – If students doubt their ability to succeed, they may put off work to avoid confronting potential failure.
  • Task Aversion – When assignments seem boring, difficult, or unclear, students are more likely to delay starting them.

Cognitive & Organizational Challenges

  • Poor Time Management & Planning – Many students underestimate how long tasks will take or struggle to prioritize work effectively.
  • Lack of Self-Regulation – Some students have trouble setting goals, maintaining focus, and resisting distractions.

External & Environmental Influences

  • Workload & Overcommitment – Juggling multiple classes, jobs, and extracurriculars can lead to procrastination, as students feel overwhelmed.
  • Digital Distractions – Social media, streaming, and other online content provide easy escape routes from academic work.
  • Lack of Immediate Consequences – Deadlines often feel distant until they become urgent, making it easier to put things off.

Emotional & Motivational Factors

  • “I Work Better Under Pressure” Myth – Some students convince themselves that they perform best under last-minute pressure, even if evidence suggests otherwise.
  • Burnout & Mental Health Issues – Anxiety, depression, and exhaustion can sap motivation, making procrastination more likely.

So what can I do, as a caring faculty member, to help my beloved students overcome this scourge of procrastination?

ChatGPT: Here are some practical strategies that can help students overcome procrastination and develop better work habits:

1. Break Down Assignments into Smaller Tasks

  • Encourage students to chunk big assignments into smaller, manageable steps with their own mini-deadlines.
  • Example: Instead of “Write a research paper,” set deadlines for choosing a topic, gathering sources, writing an outline, drafting sections, and revising.
  • Some faculty create “scaffolded” assignments where parts are due before the final submission.

2. Use External Accountability

  • Require check-ins, drafts, or progress reports to ensure students don’t wait until the last minute.
  • Peer accountability: Having students share progress with a partner can add motivation.
  • Suggest using study groups or “body doubling” (working alongside someone to stay on task).

3. Teach Time Management Skills

  • Recommend techniques like:
    • Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes work / 5 minutes break)
    • Time Blocking (setting fixed times for different tasks)
    • 2-Minute Rule (if a task takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately)
  • Encourage backward planning—working from the deadline backward to allocate enough time for each stage of the assignment.

4. Address Emotional Barriers

  • Talk about perfectionism and fear of failure—some students need reassurance that starting imperfectly is better than not starting at all.
  • Encourage a “progress over perfection” mindset—done is better than perfect!

5. Create Artificial Urgency

  • Suggest students set their own deadlines earlier than the actual due date.
  • Faculty can set soft deadlines for feedback before the final due date.

6. Reduce Digital Distractions

  • Recommend apps like Forest, Freedom, or Cold Turkey to block distractions while working.
  • Suggest that students put their phone in another room or use “Do Not Disturb” mode.

7. Reinforce the Benefits of Starting Early

  • Show students evidence that those who start early perform better and feel less stressed.
  • If possible, offer incentives (small extra credit, public recognition, or improved feedback) for early submissions.
As a thoughtful instructor who realizes that everything is complicated, and students should always think before accepting received wisdom from facutly (or any authority), I’m wondering what are some philosophical reasons in favor of procrastination? I’m thinking of something like the ideas in the book How to be Idle.

ChatGPT said: There are actually some compelling philosophical defenses of procrastination—especially when viewed through the lens of idleness, creativity, and resistance to modern productivity culture. If you’re thinking along the lines of How to Be Idle, here are some perspectives that might justify procrastination:

1. Procrastination as a Rejection of Hustle Culture

  • Modern society glorifies constant productivity, but thinkers like Bertrand Russell (In Praise of Idleness) argue that leisure is essential for a good life.
  • Procrastination can be a way of resisting the pressure to always be “on”—a small act of rebellion against an overworked, efficiency-obsessed world.

2. Delaying Can Lead to Better Decisions

  • Some ideas take time to develop, and forcing immediate action might produce worse results than waiting until inspiration strikes.
  • Frank Partnoy (Wait: The Art and Science of Delay) argues that delaying decisions often leads to better judgment because we gather more information and let ideas mature.
  • Example: Some writers and artists find that putting off a project allows their subconscious to work through ideas before committing them to paper.

3. The Creative Benefits of Procrastination

  • Structured procrastination (John Perry’s idea) suggests that working on lower-priority tasks while avoiding a big task can still be productive.
  • Many famous creators were procrastinators:
    • Leonardo da Vinci took years to complete works because he kept refining ideas.
    • Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) was famous for pushing deadlines, but his procrastination led to bursts of creative genius.

4. The Pleasure of Doing Nothing

  • Tom Hodgkinson (How to Be Idle) champions laziness as a virtue, arguing that doing nothing can lead to deep thinking, happiness, and better living.
  • Procrastination, in this sense, isn’t avoidance—it’s a form of self-care that allows the mind to rest, reflect, and recharge.

5. The Task Might Not Need to Be Done at All

  • Some tasks become irrelevant if you wait long enough (what Hodgkinson calls “active idleness”).
  • Procrastination can be a way of filtering out unnecessary work—if something truly matters, it will still demand attention; if it doesn’t, it might solve itself or become obsolete.

6. The Existential Perspective

  • Albert Camus and existentialist thinkers question why we burden ourselves with meaningless tasks when life itself is absurd.
  • Procrastination could be seen as a refusal to engage with busywork that distracts from more meaningful pursuits (reflection, relationships, pleasure).

So… Should We Encourage Procrastination?

  • Maybe not entirely, but understanding its philosophical value can help students reframe their relationship with work.
  • The key might be thoughtful procrastination—choosing when to delay for good reasons (like creativity or decision-making) versus when it’s just avoidance.