Every single time that we students have an upcoming project, assignment, or test, we always have a choice whether or not to do it early or cram it in the end. Most of us would just procrastinate tasks that we think are easy (which is probably a bad idea). If you’re not familiar with what procrastination is, let us first refresh your mind. Procrastination (according to James Clear, an entrepreneur, author, and photographer) is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks. So you may say that this person is a procrastinator while this person is not, but in reality, all of us are. If you need proof look no further than the Ted Talk by Tim Urban called ‘Inside the mind of a master procrastinator’ (it’s really good to go check it out, I always watch it when I want to listen to a Ted Talk or just want to watch something educational) wherein he says that everyone is a procrastinator because there are tasks that don’t have a deadline so we push it aside and inside our minds, there is always that monkey inside us that diverts our focus from our task into things that we don’t need to do unless (as he described it in his talk) the panic monster would wake up our brain and remind us that we have a task that its deadline is already approaching.
Procrastination is a student’s enemy because it is in almost every single student’s nature especially during high school where most students do this. According to Oxford Learning, procrastination can have a negative effect on students’ schoolwork, grades, and even their overall health. Students who procrastinate experience higher levels of frustration, guilt, stress, and anxiety—in some cases, leading to serious issues like low self-esteem and depression. Although these experiences can be a bit daunting, in reality, we procrastinate some tasks that we don’t realize we are already delaying. Reasons for procrastination vary from person-to-person, either someone is disinterested in the task, fear of failure, or lack of focus. Although we really can’t stop procrastinating, we can avoid doing this. We can divide the tasks into little steps so that we avoid cramming our tasks. Time management is also one of the solutions people say when trying to avoid procrastinating.
You can also try to find a quiet/safe space that can boost focus and help to prevent delaying of doing your tasks. Find inspiration or motivation that can help you focus your attention on the task that is needed to be finished.
You can find a friend that also has a similar task so both of you can do the task together as well as help each other out in motivating each other in finishing the task. Procrastination has its pros and cons but in the end, all students have committed it. If we chose to discipline ourselves and find systems and methods that work for us, we may just be able to improve our grades and reduce stress in our lives by avoiding the dangers of procrastination. So, when you know you have something on your to-do list and you’re considering putting it off, think twice. Try a new way of focusing, break up the task, settle in, and get to work and change procrastination to productivity.
Resources Links
Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU
Oxford Learning: https://www.oxfordlearning.com/why-do-kids-procrastinate/#:~:text=Procrastination%20can%20have%20a%20negative,low%20self%2Desteem%20and%20depression.
Liannah is one of the blog writers for Just For You Tutoring. She is a senior in Milpitas high school in California. She likes Kpop but especially, Girls Generation, EXO, and Red Velvet. She enjoys writing, Youtube, vlogging, and makeup.