Strategies to Beat Procrastination
Are you a procrastinator? YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
One 2007 study found that a shocking 80 to 95% of college students procrastinated on a regular basis, particularly when it came to completing assignments and coursework. Is it really that shocking, though?
In addition to the reasons why we procrastinate, we often come up with a number of excuses or rationalizations to justify our behavior. According to Tuckman, Abry, and Smith, there are 15 key reasons why people procrastinate:
- Not knowing what needs to be done
- Not knowing how to do something
- Not wanting to do something
- Not caring if it gets done or not
- Not caring when something gets done
- Not feeling in the mood to do it
- Being in the habit of waiting until the last minute
- Believing that you work better under pressure
- Thinking that you can finish it at the last minute
- Lacking the initiative to get started
- Forgetting
- Blaming sickness or poor health
- Waiting for the right moment
- Needing time to think about the task
- Delaying one task in favor of working on another
Sources:
Steel, P. (2007). The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65-94.
Tuckman, B.W., Abry, D.A, & Smith, D.R. (2008). Learning and Motivation Strategies: Your Guide to Success (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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