Procrastination – the process of voluntarily delaying a task despite knowing that there will be negative consequences. We students are constantly stuck in the loop of procrastinating and we have no idea how to break and overcome this loop. So, why do we procrastinate even though we know that completing that task is important?

Avoiding a task or procrastinating is a way that the body protects us from the task that we view as fearful or threatening. When we realise that we have a task that is due, our brain responds in the same way as it would to any incoming threat leading to release of the hormone adrenaline which gives rise to a fear response. To avoid this panic and stress we put off or delay the task.

We are more likely to a procrastinate a task that evoke negative feelings such as incompetence and insecurity. The perception of the difficulty of the task increases as we put off the task. In an experiment, students were given reminders to study throughout their day. The cohort of students that studied after the reminder reported that it evoked positive feelings as the task was completed. However, the cohort that procrastinated reported that studying evoked negative feelings such as stressful.

It is a common misconception that all procrastinators are lazy. When one is feeling lazy, he/she does not want to do any task and is low on energy. In contrast, a procrastinator does a task to distract themselves. People often procrastinate because they fear failure and feel that their task won’t live up to their expectations. The effects of procrastinating such as anxiety, depression and feeling of shame are all associated with high stress levels.

How do we overcome procrastination? Researchers initially believed that following a strict schedule and practice time management would help to reduce procrastinating. However, researchers nowadays believe the complete opposite. People can follow the following tips to help reduce procrastination:

• Break the tasks into smaller elements
• Remove nearby distractions – put your phone on silent
• Most importantly – Forgive yourself for procrastinating

Source: TED-Ed: Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad