“My mother always told me I wouldn’t amount to anything because I procrastinate. I said, ‘Just wait.”
― Judy Tenuta
“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin”—Victor Kiam
How am I impacted by procrastination?
Daily or regular procrastination can ultimately result in, as some of you may know, sub-quality work, missed deadlines, loss of sleep, increased stress, and lower final exam grades. OSU professor of Education Bruce Tuckman found, for example, that the grades students received in his study skills class could be correlated with the amount they procrastinated. “The most severe procrastinator earned an average grade in the class of 2.9 on a 4.0 scale. Moderate procrastinators had average grades of 3.4, while low procrastinators scored an average of 3.6”—“Procrastinators Get Poorer Grades in College Class, Study Finds.”
How do I determine my level of procrastination?
Though it may seem counter-intuitive, your tendency to procrastinate may increase before and during final exam week as deadlines and test dates approach and stress escalates. To determine if you are a “severe,” “moderate,” or “low” procrastinator, complete this 10 question test today—or, if you wait until tomorrow, you will already know:
“Procrastination Test—Abridged” (Psychology Today): https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/career/procrastination-test
How do I begin to overcome procrastination?
- Reflect on why you procrastinate—and dig beneath the surface: It’s not difficult to identify examples of procrastination, such as responding to text messages or attending a campus event when you should be studying. It’s much more challenging, however, to accept that behavioral patterns often result from habits of thought and negative beliefs about your abilities. Some students, for example, fear failure or the responsibilities that go with success, while others undermine study goals by embracing a commonly held belief that reinforces procrastination: “I work best under pressure.”
- Generate a time-management plan and use time-management strategies: This might include prioritizing tasks, generating daily and weekly to-do lists, breaking larger project into manageable parts, setting deadlines, and rewarding yourself after completing a task with 15 minutes of procrastination.
- Begin to develop an academic and personal study script: After completing steps one and two, you may have a better understanding of why you procrastinate and may also have begun to address this obstacle with a time-management plan. You may also see yourself as a more responsible, empowered student who has taken some ownership of his or procrastination and will, soon or later, develop habits of mind and a behavioral script for studying and achieving academic success.