Joshua Li / Staff reporter
“I’ll finish it up earlier next time.”
We have all said that at one point, haven’t we? Why do we keep procrastinating in our work? After every vow to ourselves, it seems like an impossible habit to break.
For instance, an exam scheduled in two weeks may give a different feeling than an exam that is assigned for tomorrow. And while two weeks may sound a lot better, the truth is there isn’t much of a difference.
According to a study called “The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure,” in 2007 done by Piers Steel, a professor at the University of Calgary, 80-95 percent of students succumb to their unhealthy habits of procrastination. “Procrastination is prevalent and pernicious form of self-regulatory failure.” Steel noted in his study.
“My phone keeps me away from being productive,” said Dominic Runghen, grade 11. “Most of my time is spent on my phone because it’s just too addicting and keeps me from doing my homework,” Runghen added.
Students are often stressed because they end up spending most of their given time elsewhere, leaving them to finish their work right before its due. This causes emotions such as fear, distress, and guilt in students, which lead to mental health issues. “It’s self-harm,” Steel said.
“Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem,” said Tim Pychyl, professor of psychology and member of the Procrastination Research group at Carleton University in Ottawa in a study named “Consequences for future self.”
In study from 2013 called “Procrastination and the Priority of Short-Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self,” Pychyl found and recognized procrastination as “The primacy of short-term mood repair,” meaning that procrastination is more about managing negative moods over completing the necessary task.
Though the goal of procrastination is to avoid negative emotions, we end up feeling worse. However, we do know that procrastination is caused by emotions, not by productivity.
So how do we stop procrastination?
Well, according to a 2010 study called “I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination,” researchers at the Department of Psychology at Carleton University discovered that students who forgave themselves for procrastination saw less procrastination in other exams or essays. They concluded that self-forgiveness allowed “the individual move past their maladaptive behavior and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts.”
Another way we can combat procrastination is through self-compassion. According to a study in 2012 called “Exploring the role of self-compassion,” Fuschia M. Sirois, Bishop’s university professor found that “lower levels of self-compassion may explain stress experienced by procrastinators and interventions that promote self-compassion could be beneficial,” meaning that with self-compassion, you may see less procrastination in your daily tasks, and better academic performance.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
Sources:
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.133.1.65
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/91793/1/Compass%20Paper%20revision%20FINAL.pdf
https://law.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/Pretend-Paper.pdf
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2013.763404#.U8WXw41dWnC