Many students have fallen victim to procrastination at some point in their lives, causing them to push off their tasks until the last minute. Although some procrastinate to prolong their peaceful mental state, procrastination causes stress and anxiety for others.

Freshman Sophia Stearns believes procrastination stems from lack of motivation. When it comes to starting certain assignments, Stearns finds it hard to get her pencil on the paper, especially with work she dislikes.

“I procrastinate a good amount, and usually it’s on things that I just have no real motivation to do,” Stearns said. “I just don’t feel like doing it, and even if I’m worrying about it so much and I’m like, ‘You have to do it, Sophia. You have to do it,’ I just can’t bring myself to start it. I just need to get over that mental barrier and push myself to do it”

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many students’ working habits, and like Stearns, due to a less busy schedule, signs of procrastination started forming.

“Procrastination, it’s always been there, but it wasn’t prominent. But during Covid, it definitely got me into the habit of procrastinating over every little thing, so that’s when it really kickstarted,” Stearns said. “There were no consequences. It definitely loosened my schedule.”

Senior Noam Joseph has mixed feelings on procrastination. He believes that it can be either a good or bad thing depending on what people prioritize at the moment.

“On one hand, if you want to have some time to yourself to enjoy and do whatever you want, then procrastination isn’t so bad as long as you plan out your day or weekend accordingly to leave time allotted for what you want to do,” Joseph said. “On the other hand, if you want to finish up things very quickly then spend some time for yourself, then you should not procrastinate and do the more important things first. It’s all priorities.”

Joseph does not believe there is a cure for procrastination, but, rather, improvement in work ethic lies with the efforts of the individual.

“I just think that if someone wants to change this about themselves, they need to put in the work to change their lifestyle completely,” Joseph said.
Some find that procrastination is not an unbeatable habit. Freshman Julia Daroczi overcame her procrastinating habits gradually with the right mindset as she noted that procrastination is not so much of a habit but a mindset.

“It doesn’t change the amount of work you have to do; it just changes when you actually do it,” Daroczi said. “So whether you do it now or later, you still have to do the same amount of work.”

Daroczi has found ways to tackle her procrastination by focusing on motivating herself to get tasks done.

“I tell myself not to think about it until that moment, and when the time comes, I have to do it. I cannot lay it off until later. No exceptions,” Daroczi said. “I also have to finish my work well in advance so I’m not stressed about it at the last minute.”

Although some find it difficult getting out of the frame of mind of pushing off work until the last second, Stearns motivates herself through procrastination.

“The biggest motivator you will have at the end of the day is yourself. You’re the only one who has experienced what you’ve gone through, so you are the only one who can get yourself out of these habits.” Stearns said. “You are ultimately your biggest motivator.”

To tackle procrastination, some students find that it is best to address their motivation first. Junior Rida Faraz’s solution to working around procrastination is productive procrastination.

“If I’m not super motivated to begin working on a larger assignment, I get started by doing something more interesting to me while still being productive,” Faraz said.

With this mindset, Faraz is able to build up incentive to take on other work and avoid wasting time. Faraz encourages others to fix this work habit early.

“If you work to break your habit early, starting by setting small goals for yourself,” Faraz said. “You will eventually see a huge improvement in many aspects of your life.”