Most students complain about procrastinating in college, especially when working on complex and repetitive assignments. One of the many causes of procrastination among tertiary education learners in today’s high learning is a lack of motivation. Students tend to lose interest in repetitive and complex assignments. Some blame excessive workload while others complain of common problems such as a writer’s block. Regardless of the cause, you may have to work on your procrastination problem early to avoid unforeseen consequences. This article is for you if you are struggling with procrastination.
Five Major Causes of Procrastination in College Students
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Perfectionism
One notable cause of procrastination in college students is perfectionism or the fear of failure. People who suffer from anxiety and mood related disorders are more likely to become perfectionists. With this condition, you may find yourself working on a task for an extended period regardless of its complexity. In such a situation, you tend to overthink and underestimate your ability. As a result, you waste time assessing and reassessing the instructions. You may also waste your time overanalyzing the requirements.
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Lack of motivation
Your tendency to procrastinate can also stem from reduced self-efficacy. When you lose your motivation to complete an assignment, you are more likely to push the work to a later date. You may also find yourself avoiding homework and related activities due to lack of interest in the subject. Uninterested persons are less and less likely to engage in an activity despite its significance.
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Poor time management
In most cases, the ability to manage time independently is the main cause of procrastination among students. You are more likely to postpone your assignment when facing challenges in time management. In such cases, you end up losing track of time or forget to work on an important task. You may also allocate more time on less critical duties.
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Writer’s block
Some students experience writer’s block in academic writing. This term describes a situation where a writer experiences an inability to conceptualize, entertain important thoughts, or put thoughts into writing. In such cases, you may have the interest and willingness to finish your assignment but cannot organize the information into a meaningful document.
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Lack of self-discipline
Although all reasons for procrastination are important, the lack of self-discipline is the one you should worry about the most. If you are not disciplined enough to understand the significance of a term paper, you risk failing in and after college. People who lack self-discipline find success elusive, especially when working without supervision.
Five Reasons to Stop Procrastinating in College
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Improve your grades
Procrastination in college students often translates to working on tight deadlines and under immense pressure. Procrastinators usually perform poorly due to late submissions and unavoidable mistakes. If you can avoid procrastination, you are more likely to spend more time on your papers and return better grades. Even contacting professional essay writing services such as CustomWritings will not save you from procrastination. You may find yourself submitting a perfectly done assignment late and fail.
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Improve time management
Procrastination often reflects your inability to manage time. Procrastinators waste their time worrying more than working. By avoiding translation, you can improve your time management skills and save you energy for more important tasks.
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Reduce stress
One of the most notable consequences is stress. Procrastinating in college increases your anxiety due to the pressure associated with working on tight deadlines. Reducing procrastination will help you avoid the stress associated with homework and other school-related tasks.
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Boost your career prospects
Procrastination among college students is one of the major causes of stagnating careers. As a student, you want to perfect your time management skills at school rather than after. You are in a better position to attract employers if you can prove your ability to work without supervision and still meet the deadline.
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Increase life satisfaction
Another reason to stop procrastinating in college is the associated improvement in life satisfaction. Your procrastination tendencies can reduce your ability to find happiness. Instead of wasting your time worrying over the looming deadline, you can finish your assignment early and spend more time having fun.
Simple Ways to Avoid Procrastination in College Students
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Plan: Be objective
Having a plan or a schedule for your important tasks can help you avoid procrastination in college. Ensure you allocate sufficient time to studying and working on assignments. Be objective about your plans and organize the tasks based on importance. Create a time table if possible and allocate time efficiently. Start with the most urgent tasks or high someone to do the complex segments of your assignments such as research and data analysis. Make your work easier by utilizing and incorporating technology in your planning. Instead of writing your work on a paper, consider using templates. Research your assignment online where you can use keywords and search spiders.
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Subdivide your task into smaller portions
When planning to finish an assignment early, subdivide it into smaller portions for maximum concentration. In statistics, this approach translates into data decomposition. Statisticians subdivide the work into workable proportions. This will help you work faster and spend less time worrying. Create a systematic assignment completion process where you work on assignments in stages. Based on your schedule, organize smaller tasks between breaks and work on bigger tasks during your free time. By subdividing your work, you give your mind some breathing space between tasks. Your body gets the time to re-energize, helping you conceptualize instructions with a fresh perspective each time.
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Set smart goals
One of the major causes of procrastination among college students is poor planning and time management. By setting achievable and realistic targets, you can avoid and eliminate procrastination completely. Your objectivity while planning your time and tasks can make a huge difference. Create measurable and timely goals to make your tasks workable.
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Block the distractors
Another major cause of procrastination is distraction. This problem is more prominent in college as writing essays requires focus. Without concentration, you are more likely to write papers with multiple grammatical mistakes and other types of errors. You may also experience challenges in creativity and sentence structures. Blocking distractions when writing your assignments can help you avoid procrastination. Identify a good, quiet, and clean working space to work on your important assignments. Avoid working with irresponsible peers.
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Practice time management
The only sure way of overcoming your procrastination problem is improving your time management skills. Practice time management using evidence-based techniques such as the Eisenhower matrix, Pomodoro, Pareto analysis, or Parkinson’s law. Allocate your time on tasks based on critical factors such as importance, urgency, and size. Delegate the less important task to create more time for the most critical ones. Seek help from professionals where necessary to make your work easier and save the time you might have wasted overthinking.
Takeaway
As a matter of fact, procrastination in college may be inevitable but anyone can overcome it. With a little planning and better time management, you can stop procrastinating with little effort. Students who plan and organize their tasks based on urgency and importance waste no time overthinking their assignments. You can become a pro learner by overcoming procrastination.
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