From Missed Deadlines to Increased Stress; the Dangers of Procrastination
Procrastination is definitely something that everyone has experienced before. It’s a very easy alternative to do whatever it is you’re postponing, but the easy way isn’t always the right way. Procrastination is a bad habit that can lead to missed deadlines, missed opportunities, and stress.
Why do people procrastinate?
A study published in the Psychological Bulletin revealed that 80%-95% of students regularly procrastinated, especially when it came to schoolwork. Researchers have said that the reason for this is because many students have a tendency to overestimate how long they have before the deadline, underestimate how long a task takes to complete, and convince themselves that they need to be in the perfect conditions to do the task.
Another reason why people procrastinate is because they tend to think only of the short term effects rather than the long term effects. When presented with the options of either going on their phone or finishing an assignment, many people will do the former and say, “the assignment is future me’s problem.” This leads to future you being upset that you didn’t do it earlier, causing you to finish the task slower and way later than you could’ve.
Negative impacts of procrastination
In cases where a person procrastinates a lot, it could seriously impact their life and become a very serious issue. It could lead to not turning in assignments on time, an unhealthy lifestyle, and stress and anxiety due to waiting until the last minute to do everything.
Procrastination could also lead to low self-esteem in a person due to them criticizing themselves or others criticizing them for it.
How to overcome procrastination?
Here are some ways to overcome procrastination:
Avoid distractions. Try powering your phone off and finding an environment that’s quiet and has no distractions so you can focus.
Take baby steps. Break down what seems like a big task into many smaller tasks, which makes it seem more manageable to do.
Make a to-do list. This will help you keep track of everything you need to do and everything you’ve done so far.
Congratulate yourself. After completing a task, reward yourself by doing something that you find fun.
In summary...
Procrastination is an issue that could lead to serious negative impacts. However, it is an issue that can thankfully be resolved, as long as you try to fix it.
Written by: Shengze