It’s 11:55 pm. Your final paper is due at midnight. This assignment was given to you three weeks ago, yet you just felt the sudden urgency to get it done at the last minute. Now you are left with three options: Ask for an extension, submit it late, or turn in something you know is not a reflection of your best work. This familiar situation is a prime example of procrastination.

So why do students procrastinate? What does procrastination look like, and what feelings are associated with it? 

According to an article from Spunout, procrastination is the act of “putting off important tasks…in favor of less essential tasks,” despite understanding the negative consequences that may follow. Procrastination can happen when someone is trying to avoid a specific task or lacks the motivation or confidence to get that task done. Procrastination shows up in everyday life; however, it is particularly prevalent in school. 

Most students who were interviewed for this article admitted they procrastinate regularly. It can be one thing to leave work to the last minute occasionally, but in high school, more people would categorize themselves as procrastinators than not. Out of four interviews, only one said that they do not procrastinate, leaving the other three to share their experiences with procrastination. Senior Ali Pynchon says she is a “very big procrastinator,” something that shows when she is “writing essays.” Summer Elward says she found herself procrastinating instead of completing her “college work,” and similarly, Allie Stella puts off her schoolwork. 

Seniors receive heavy workloads on top of college applications, and despite having a good work ethic, procrastination can consume their lives. In order to understand how procrastination presents, I asked the students what procrastination looks like for them. What event or thing takes place when they are putting off their work?

To no one’s surprise, students find themselves on their phones instead of doing the task at hand. Both Ali Pynchon and Summer Elward admit that their phones are a distraction in their everyday lives, and Allie Stella says she finds “anything else to do” when she procrastinates doing her work. Whether it’s a physical object, socializing with friends, or staring off into space, students are met with many obstacles that contribute to their procrastination. But how does this make the students feel in the long run? Besides not completing their work until the last minute, how else does procrastination affect these students’ lives? 

Anxiety presents as a common theme with students who procrastinate. Ali Pynchon shares that her work becomes “far more stressful” when she leaves it to the last minute. Summer  Elward describes procrastination as a “weight on [her] shoulder,” holding her back from completing her tasks. 

So why do these students continue to make their lives more stressful? A simple question that does not come with a simple answer. Both Allie and Summer share that despite procrastinating, they always find a way to get their work done on time. Allie says that she knows she can “get it done,” which in turn releases some of those anxious feelings, allowing her to get back into this cycle knowing everything works out in the end. Similarly, Summer acknowledges that despite putting it off for so long, she still “found a way to get it done” with her college work. 

So, people procrastinate, but always get the work done, so they don’t feel the need to change their habits. As far as efficiency goes, this method is not the best, but if the work is done, then the work is done. The biggest downside to procrastinating is the anxiety and stress it brings on. If a procrastinator can overcome this bad habit, they will feel better and be more productive.