Dealing with Procrastination
What Is It
Procrastination is defined as continually and habitually postponing tasks until a later point in time. At the 
university level, you are the one who has to decide what, when, and how much time you're going to spend studying, reading, and doing assignments. With so much freedom, many new students fall into the habit of procrastinating—with all the responsibilities in our lives it can become easy to put off class work. Students who habitually procrastinate—for valid or invalid reasons—find that school is more stressful, their work is of poorer quality, they're less likely to do well on exams, and they don't gain as much insight from their academic career. Here are some suggestions from other PSU students on how to deal with procrastination.
How to Avoid It
- Break down large projects into smaller tasks.
- Prioritize tasks.
- Schedule exactly when you will start and finish your projects.
- Seek assistance immediately if you are confused or need help.
- Start as soon as you have the assignment.
Who Does It
Most students have periods in which they procrastinate. However, if it becomes habitual, it's a rhythm that can make your experience miserable. No matter what your life circumstances, you ultimately have the responsibility to plan your course work and seek help if things become overwhelming. A good way to get started addressing this issue is to take a moment and try to understand some of the reasons why you tend to procrastinate.
Strategies for Success
Break Down Large Projects into Smaller Tasks
When a task feels so overwhelming you don't know where to begin, break it down into smaller parts. Once you’ve broken the task down, set definite times and dates to complete each part. Then you'll be able to work your way through each of the tasks. This strategy makes working on large assignments much more manageable.
Learn to Prioritize Tasks
Some students complain, “I have so many things to do. I don’t know where to start!” In these days of high stress and “never enough time,” it's important to learn to prioritize the tasks you need to accomplish. While it
may feel like everything has to be done right now, that is rarely the case. We especially feel the press of tasks when there are one or two things that we really don’t want to do. Take a minute and write down a list of all the tasks to be accomplished. Next prioritize your list of tasks. The ones at the top of your list might include projects that are due within a few days or that require a lot of work throughout the term, such as a final paper. If there are certain things that you must “be fresh” or have “extra energy” to do, make sure those also are closer to the beginning of your list. When you do decide to start a task, follow through and do your best work.
Schedule Exactly When You Will Start and Finish the Task.
Another trap some students fall into is telling themselves, “I don’t need to do this assignment now. I’ve got plenty of time to get that done before it's due.” There's only plenty of time to accomplish a task if you use the time. To simply put off the task because there's plenty of time could be dangerous, especially if it's a task you're dreading. When you're given an assignment, schedule exactly when you'll start and finish the task. If there's plenty of time, why not get it done with time to spare?
Seek Assistance Immediately if You're Confused or Need Help
If you're confused as to how to do a task or don't know where to begin, seek assistance immediately. Contact your professor or mentor, and ask for clarification. If you understand the assignment but have concerns about whether you have the level of skill necessary to successfully complete the assignment, be honest and ask your professor or mentor where you should go to get help. If you don’t have the skills or understanding today, and you don’t do anything about getting them, you won’t have the skills tomorrow AND you'll have one less day to do the job.
When we talked with more experienced PSU students about how they dealt with issues of procrastination, several mentioned that sometimes students need a different kind of help to deal with procrastination. You might be thinking, “I’m so worried the professor will mark me down on this assignment I can’t even get started.” A big part of this issue has to do with where your fears are coming from. If it's because you're unsure of exactly what the professor wants for the assignment then the best thing you can do is to immediately contact the professor—by e-mail, phone, or in person during office hours—and keep asking questions until you're clear about details of that assignment.
However, if the issue is that you have a fear of being evaluated, that can be a complicated thing to sort out. This fear may have developed from negative school or family experiences where you felt you were judged unfairly or where expectations were more than you could meet. You may need to talk with someone to sort out your fears. This is where the counselors at the Student Health and Counseling Center might be able to help. You can contact SHAC for an appointment at shac.pdx.edu/caps/individual.
Start as Soon as You Have the Assignment
Some students say, “I don’t feel like doing that assignment now, maybe I’ll be more motivated later.” There seems to be a myth that all conditions must be “perfect” and that you have to be “motivated” to complete a task. This is simply not true. There are a number of tasks required of students or professionals that may initially seem boring or tiresome. If you're going to be successful, those tasks must still be done. Instead of waiting and hoping motivation will arrive in time, simply push yourself into starting and then completing the task. Just get it done. The longer one waits the uglier or more overwhelming the thought of taking on the task can become. Accept that the task may be boring and move through it. You might be pleasantly surprised to find out it was much more interesting than you anticipated. Either way, you will have finished the task.
Coming Soon