Procrastination In College Students

College students who procrastinate in their academic life are more likely to have an appropriate diet, sleep, and work routine. Procrastination is termed as the act of delaying or postponing any activity. College students need to create a balance between their day-to-day lives; they need to manage their activities in such a way that they are able to work, study, and give time to their families all at the same time. Any delaying behavior in their activities can cause them harm and can unbalance their routine. Procrastination can lead to many problems in student life. It may include not meeting the deadline of coursework, not being able to make proper time to prepare themselves for the exams, etc.

College students get the worst hit ever by this behavior because they have to focus on too many things all at the same time; they have many different activities to focus on instead of studying (Polaki et al., 2015). These extra activities can cause students to study when they have time, which is very short in student life. There is a proper time for all activities, whether it’s for relaxing, playing, enjoying life, or studying. If the students keep on investing their time in studying and making assignments, then college life will be a bit frustrating and stressful.

Procrastination occurs when people put their extra activities as a top priority instead of doing something worthwhile. For example, when people invest their time in clubbing, playing, and visiting friends instead of doing their assignments, this phenomenon is referred to as procrastination. There are several steps that help students have a successful life, such as meeting all the deadlines and investing time in all the activities properly. Now, there are several steps for students to make their lives successful, and students may fall within these steps. The first one is “Perfectionist Procrastination” students who usually get their project done before the deadline, but in the want of making their project perfect, they turn it into a late one. Another type of student is “Relax; it can wait for procrastinator.” such students think they have enough time to do their assignment or to get some other activity done; in this regard, these students misjudge the importance of time and end up being late. Another type of students are “Fantasizer Procrastinator”, these are the students who thinks how their project fits into the big picture. Such students always end up not meeting the project deadline or late because of their unrealistic thoughts and ambitious dreams of attaining the project goals but end up being late. Another type of student is the “Last minute Procrastinator”; such students are the ones who need the pressure of the last moment to meet the deadline. In order to motivate themselves, they use the pressure of the last day, which is spent by others giving their project final touches. These students always wait until the last moment to begin their project. Another type of student is the “Fear of success procrastinator”; these are the students who do not complete their project because they fear the consequences that arise after the completion of the project. These students have a fear of the future; they keep on focusing on the impact occurring after the completion of the project and are unable to put their efforts into the project. Generally, these students are the senior ones, the ones who are in their final semesters. They find it hard to cope with the future and thus fail to meet the deadline. Another type of student is the “Overambitious Procrastinator”; these are the students who take on too many tasks and projects at the same time by being overconfident. In this regard they fail to complete even one project on time, these are the students who live their life in ambiguity and are over confident about their skills and capabilities that they fail to meet the deadline of even any of them. Another type of student is the “Disorganized Procrastinator.” these students lack any structure for getting their project done; such students are highly disorganized and lack commitment to meet the deadline of their project. Procrastination is a serious problem that, when not addressed properly, may cause students to fail to achieve their basic educational goal by just procrastinating and not being able to achieve it.

The procrastination problem starts when the student waits until the last moment to complete the project, which can sometimes be very hazardous to their future life and can cost them their career. These behaviors from students have been found because students think they will be able to complete their project before the deadline as they were able to do it in the past; this is the basic misconception that makes them miss the deadline. This abnormal behavior may let them pass in the subject but may cause them harm in the long term.

The basic idea that may help in avoiding procrastination is to set up a well-structured and planned schedule that helps you invest time in each and every activity accordingly (Sæle et al., 2017). The schedule should include what activities you need to perform at what time and how you can achieve your goal at the end of the day. The time range should include activities like studying, reading, etc. Moreover, these time ranges should also have slots for extracurricular activities like playing, traveling, using social media, etc.

Works Cited

Polaki, Maria, et al. “Academic procrastination and its consequences for daily school preparation and anxiety: A diary study among elementary school students.” Scientific Annals-School of Psychology AUTh 11 (2015): 23-60.

Sæle, Rannveig Grøm, et al. “Relationships between learning approach, procrastination and academic achievement amongst first-year university students.” Higher Education 74.5 (2017): 757-774.