The Problem of Procrastination and How to Puzzle it Out
A major problem that many students have struggled with in school and at home is procrastination. Procrastination is defined as the act of postponing or delaying an event, assignment, task, etc. Often, these responsibilities include tasks that are not necessarily the most entertaining.
For instance, some people may tend to put off doing house chores, cleaning bedrooms, and doing assignments for homework. In addition, some examples of how procrastination can be caused are lack of motivation, lack of energy, fear of failure, or lack of focus. Because of this tendency to delay assignments, students are normally awake late at night trying to finish them. People who struggle with procrastination usually finish the assignments, but it takes much longer than it should because they surround themselves with distractions to avoid doing that particular homework. However, students with this problem should know that they are not alone. Many students all over the world struggle with procrastination.
Studies show that 85% to 95% of students have had experiences associated with the issue. Moreover, procrastination is a problem because it can cause students to become stressed and overwhelmed with unfinished tasks. It can also result in students becoming exhausted due to late nights of trying to complete assignments. Therefore, I believe that this is a serious problem and should be solved in order to help students succeed in their school careers. To try and combat this issue for students, I have thought of some solutions to avoid procrastination.
The first piece of advice I would give students to try to stop procrastinating would be to first accept that they have the problem. This would allow the solving process to be slightly easier. One technique to avoid procrastination could be to make a list of all the tasks that need to be completed. The list could be organized however the student wanted. For instance, they could organize it by increasing difficulty or by amount of time the assignment would take. Another way to resist procrastination would be to make sure that there are no distractions near the workspace that could take one’s focus away from the task.
Some distractions could include a phone, a television, certain people, or games. Moreover, another easy technique for students would be to give themselves a reasonable time limit when doing a particular assignment to help them finish within that time slot. However, I would tell the students to make sure that they are still doing their best work and not rushing to finish. They could always add a few more minutes to the time if necessary. The final way to avoid procrastination would be to come up with a reward for finishing a task. For example, a student could tell herself that if she finishes her English homework now, she can watch an episode of her favorite Netflix show later. In summary, all of the techniques previously mentioned can be used to help students to avoid procrastination. In conclusion, the solutions to procrastination will better the current issue by making students’ school lives easier. Making a to-do list would help with organization and would be a source of encouragement to keep working. Also, scratching off an assignment could give students a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that could motivate them to keep finishing their assignments.
Eliminating distractions in the workplace would allow the students to focus only on the assignment and finish it quicker than they would if they had a phone or television nearby. Moreover, having a time limit for tasks would teach the students better time management skills. It would also motivate them to organize their thoughts and finish each assignment within the time slot they give themselves. Lastly, students would be encouraged to finish homework if they came up with a reward for finishing a task. Giving themselves a reward could help students associate work with satisfaction, and they could begin to think of tasks in a positive aspect rather than in a negative way.
All in all, the problem of procrastination can be solved through lists, eliminating distractions, time management, and rewards because they motivate students to do their best in their school work.
