Why Students Procrastinate

According to Steel (2007), there appears to be a biological or genetic component with procrastinators.

Procrastination happens when: the event/due date is further away & when the activity is unpleasant . If students have a pleasant alternative, they are more likely to avoid the unpleasant task (Steel, 2007).

Procrastination and anxiety go hand in hand. The highly anxious tend to put off many large and small tasks. Also, if there is the potential for failure the more likely the student will experience anxiety in relation to the task (Steel, 2007).

Tiredness whether it is from depression or lack of sleep is one of the top three reasons given for procrastinating (Steel, 2007; Strongman and Burt, 2000).

Procrastinators tend to choose short-term benefits over long-term gains. What feels good now wins over how completing that assignment will benefit them down the road (Steel, 2007).

Too many other enticing things to do in your work environment make it easy to get distracted and off-task (Haycock, 1993).

Many students say that no matter how hard they try they still end up putting things off. This leads to students doing more work in the final hour than intended had they started the task sooner (Steel, 2001).

Procrastination leads to poor academic performance, feelings of shame and guilt, and negative health behaviors (Wohl, Pychyl, & Bennett, 2010).