Study Skills - Understanding Why You Procrastinate

By Lachlan Haynes


What do the following words mean to you: "I'll do it tomorrow"? If you are a procrastinator they will mean a great deal. If you are not they may mean nothing. So which are you? Are you the type of person that allows due dates to creep up and tap you on the shoulder? Or do you get your work done nice and early to eliminate all worry and panic? (Congratulations if you do!)

The fascinating and somewhat disturbing news is that when it comes to procrastinating you are not alone. One of the biggest reasons people do not achieve their goals (and then feel unhappy about it) is because they are chronic procrastinators. It has been reported that 94% of people are putting something off and it is making them feel unhappy - that's right 94%! If you're a procrastinator you are truly not alone. In fact, you're totally normal! However the good news ends there. Students that procrastinate are more likely to achieve lower subject grades, lower exam scores and lower overall grades. Worse still, procrastination is strongly linked to poor health and less money. That's right, procrastinators have less money. Amazing isn't it? But we're not trying to make you feel bad because you might be poor and unhealthy. We're just trying to help you early in your life by making you aware of it now.

Do You See The Problem?

Tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes and you just keep thinking, "Well maybe tomorrow I will do the work!" One day makes no difference anyway does it? Each day you face the same dilemma and each day you make a decision that tomorrow is the best option.

We're not here to tell you that these excuses are necessarily complete untruths but if these phrases are familiar to you then you might just be a serial procrastinator. You probably tend to spend a lot of time convincing yourself of these lies and ultimately you will most likely believe them to be totally true. The major problem with this approach is that it will ultimately bring no long-term satisfaction to you at all. In the short term you are off the hook but the list of tasks you need to complete gets very long and you start feeling very unhappy. Sound familiar? If you do tell yourself these things, stop it immediately! You are just lying to yourself. Stop the lies and accept the truth. Find the real reason for your procrastination.

Get Out Of Your Own Way

First of all, don't beat yourself up, you're human after all. We're flawed. That's life. If we weren't you wouldn't be reading this. Everything will be OK! We promise. In fact, most people are just like you - so you are actually 'normal' (if there is such a thing). So please drop any guilt you may feel about it right now because it really won't help you - it will only make you feel sorry for yourself. And feeling sorry for yourself is not the way to deal with procrastination.

When you next notice that you are procrastinating ask yourself the following questions: 1. Am I bored, or do I really want some drama and excitement in my life? 2. If so, what can I do about it? Can I do something differently to create excitement? 3. What about procrastination is desirable to me? 4. Is there any way I can create the same desirable outcome without procrastinating? The more you challenge yourself the sooner you will be able to overcome procrastination get to work!




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