Why Do College Students Procrastinate?
Written by Amanda Jentsch, Culture Editorial Assistant
We’ve all been there: you’ve been working steadily for 45 minutes. You feel pretty good about what you’re doing. The day is young and full of possibilities for productivity. To treat yourself for such a good start, you scroll through Instagram or open up Youtube.
Five minutes later turns into an hour later, and your friends want to get lunch or hang out. Five hours later, the sky outside is darkening and you have yet to make any progress on whatever it was you were trying to get done.
Why do people procrastinate? More specifically, why do college students procrastinate?
Procrastination is defined as “the act or habit of putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention” (Merriam Webster, 2019). It often stems from perfectionism, as our society rewards doing things well, so if we don’t have the confidence to accomplish a task to the level that we expect of ourselves, or think that other people expect of us, we put it off and avoid the possible societal rejection (Psychology Today, 2019).
But like most things, that is probably putting it too simply: many believe that there are multiple types of procrastination—four, to be exact—each stemming from different reasons.
The first is anxious procrastination. This kind of procrastination results from piling too much on our plates and then fearing that we’ll fail to accomplish everything, letting people down in the process (Panay, 2019).
Another kind is fun procrastination. How can procrastination possibly be fun, you ask? This type usually stems from having so many other things that you would rather be doing—like going to the football game on a Saturday, going out, or even working on other work—that you work on those things instead (Panay, 2019). (I say this as I write this article instead of writing my English paper due Friday.)
The third type is “plenty of time” procrastination. That portfolio deadline isn’t for another two weeks, you say. I don’t need to start that paper, it isn’t due for another few days. I have time. Until you don’t, and it’s 11:30 PM and the paper is due at 11:59 PM and the self-loathing is blocking any flow of words out of your head and onto the computer screen in front of you (Panay, 2019).
The fourth and final type of procrastination is perfectionist procrastination. As described above, the fear of not doing something perfectly can stop many of us from doing it at all (Panay, 2019).
So maybe the question is not why do we procrastinate, but why do we constantly expect perfection?
Perfectionism has increased in its presence, especially with young people, over the last 30 years (Psychology Today, 2019). Its rise is linked with the rise of social media, where social comparisons are easily made, and it is simple to think that others do not struggle as much as you do. This perception of society’s expectations creates internal pressure, which results in anxiety and panic that we may not live up to those expectations, leading to our avoidance of it altogether.
Do you struggle with procrastination? And if so, which kind of procrastination is it? Don’t let what you may think society expects of you stop you from accomplishing something as big as your goals, or as small as the English paper due soon (brb).
Sources:
Panay, Mark. “4 Types of Procrastination and How to Beat Them.” Alpha Efficiency. 2019.
“Perfectionism.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers. 2019.
“Procrastination.” Dictionary.com. 2019.
“Procrastination.” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers. 2019.