Procrastination is the avoidance of doing task which needs to be accomplished; it is the practice of doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones or carrying off less certain task to a later time. Sometimes procrastination takes place until the last minute before a deadline and can take hold of any aspect of life. Cleaning the stove, seeing a doctor or dentist, submitting a job report or academic assignment or approaching stressful issues. Procrastination can lead to feelings of guilt, depression and self-doubt.
Academic procrastination occurs when students repeatedly put off homework, assignment until the night before its due. Wanting to start studying, work hard while telling yourself that you will start sometime in the near future.
A majority of people are in need of help concerning procrastination. It is the majority of students’ especially in college that engage in procrastination and most of them consider being procrastinators.
Procrastination is shown to be a greater task that is perceived as unpleasant for which students believe they lack the skill for completing and accomplishing the task. It is proposed that there are three criterias for behaviour to be classified as academic procrastination. They are counterproductive, needless and delaying. Counterproductive tends to hinder the achievement of a goal, needless is unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing, delaying is tending to choose a complex but delayed task rather than an easy but hurry-up one.
In a 2007 study, it was concluded that procrastination is to voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay. It is argued that postponement and irrationality are the two key features of procrastination.
One may prefer to avoid negative emotions and delay stressful tasks and believe that one wants best under pressure which provides an additional incentive to the postponement of task. Some pleasure principles:
Affordability: too many options; knowing that there is ‘less risk’ in delaying for accomplishing the goal.
Genetics: studies have shown that procrastination is heritable and a product of evolution.
Thinking is hard: part of the brain responsible for rationality and decision making uses a lot of energy. The past that just wasnts to have a good time requires less energy.
We live in a fast paced world: procrastination can be a way of rebelling against the system and claiming control.
Internet everywhere: most of the time spent on the internet is spent procrastinating, losing time for productivity scrolling through social networks.
Procrastination can also be a positive aptitude depending on the individual and their control over themselves. However, as studies suggests many of the students indicate that they would like to reduce their procrastination when writing assignments/studying for exam and completing weekly assignments.
Four factors to stop procrastinating:
Confidence: focus on classifying and simplifying your task; ask yourself three questions:
Why am I doing this? What needs to be accomplished? What do I need to do to get there?
Incentives: find positive motivational influences to motivate yourself to do.
Time management: organise yourself and plan ahead to make use of precious time and progress.
Impulsivity: feeling insecure or indecisive hence making impulsive decisions. This can be coped with if you conduct a chain analysis which allows you to identify the impulsive behaviour, evaluate your thoughts and feelings, and consider the consequences.
Procrastination is prevalent in all our lives and in all aspects of functioning. It is not an easy thing to be dealt with, but not realising its relevance in our lives and the setback it creates will leave individuals in defeat. Procrastination existed, exists and will exist through our existence.
Ayimnüken
Modern College,
Kohima.
