Our interlocutor on this topic is Jasmina, who owns the platform STUDY intended specifically for students, which says that the largest number of students report with this problem.
What exactly is procastination, how it affects students and how to overcome it can be read in the following text.
What does procrastination mean?
"In the simplest terms, putting off something that is in our interest to do today until tomorrow or another day. Procrastination is an avoidance behavior that has result in sabotaging one's own goals or solving problems. A person chronically delays or avoids a behavior in order to avoid the unpleasantness associated with that behavior. " says Jasmina.
When they talk about procrastination, students most often come with a problem that they describe as follows:
"It often happens that I start preparing for the exam two weeks before the exam itself, thinking that I have enough time to prepare the literature, read and study thoroughly. However, I do all that right before the exam itself because it's a week and a half away I think I have enough time for all that.” (Milica, 22)
"My problem is pre-exam obligations. Too many assignments, seminars and presentations to do. I don't want so many obligations before the exam period, somehow I don't consider them important. This usually ends up paying someone to do it for me, the problem is I don't always have the money when I need it because there are too many. Help.” (Srdjan, 21)
All of us have procastinated at some point in our lives, for example when we submitted a seminar paper on the day of the agreed deadline, prepared for the exam and actively studied on the day of the exam itself. Procastination is a big problem if it is long-lasting and if it refers to several spheres of life.
What is at the root of the tendency to procastination?
In the background of postponing unpleasant obligations is the person's belief that he is better to avoid than to find yourself with unpleasant obligations and the illusion that the unpleasantness that is postponed today will be less unpleasant tomorrow. The truth is actually the opposite, any delay leads to increased inconvenience. People who procrastinate excessively and chronically tend to experience guilt, self-blame and anxiety on the occasion of his postponement. These feelings further reinforce the unpleasantness associated with the activities they are delaying, leading to the reinforcement of avoidant behavior.
Causes of procastination
One of the most common causes of procrastination is low frustration tolerance. People with low frustration tolerance have a hidden irrational philosophy that everything they do in life must be easy, pleasant and interesting for them and if it is not then it is horrible, awful and unbearable.
In addition to low frustration tolerance, the basis of procrastination can be various causes, some of the typical ones are: perfectionism, fear of failure, self-doubt, lack of reward or recognition, coercion, having to, passive aggressiveness, fear of criticism, procrastination due to feelings of guilt, etc.
How to overcome procrastination?
"Procrastination is a kind of habit and is related to self-discipline. Being a student is hard to be self-disciplined when there are so many interesting things to do than doing university duties. It is certainly not easy for young people to maintain focus and be self-disciplined, there are too many external challenges that lure students and distract them from them. However, it is not impossible to overcome either, it just takes a little desire and perseverance.” Jasmina adds.
Procrastination is a bad habit, and as we know, habits are hard to change. In order to change something about yourself, you first need to accept this fact and then follow these four steps:
- Awareness - that you are actually procrastinating
- Goal-directed behavior - the desire to do a task that you have been putting off
- Commitment – putting up with short-term inconveniences (discomfort) for the sake of long-term benefits
- Persistence – in sticking to new problem solving strategies
You already possess the mentioned qualities, you just need to apply them in the fields where you procrastinate in order to live a more efficient and satisfying life instead of one based on postponing obligations, avoidance and self-deception.
What is common to all persons who postpone obligations they did emotional problems.
They are most easily solved through the ABC model through the following example:
A (triggering event): preparing the exam
Ka (the critical aspect, that is, the thing about which you are most upset): the possibility of not being motivated
Would be (irrational belief): I have to be motivated to prepare for the exam. If I wasn't motivated I couldn't stand preparing for the exam.
C (consequences): nervousness (anxiety), expresses irritability, unproductive thinking about the exam, delay in preparing for the exam.
In this example, you can see how our beliefs (Bi) regarding the activating event (A) lead to negative consequences (anxiety), dysfunctional behavior, and that the critical point is the change of irrational beliefs that maintain procrastination into rational ones.
If you want to learn how to adequately organize your time and deal with procrastination, visit study.rs and reserve your place at the seminar on Mastering Your Time.
