Why do students procrastinate?
Before you reach for a strategy, it's worth working out what's actually leading you to procrastinate. Different solutions work for different people, which is why it is worth having an internal dialogue with yourself, or with one of our Learning Advisers, as to why you are procrastinating. Three patterns are common among university students.
1 You feel overwhelmed. The task feels too big, too complex, or you don’t know where to start. This is the most common driver of procrastination at university, where assignments are often open-ended and the path isn't laid out for you. When a task is abstract and unclear in your head, your brain reads it as threatening and avoidance feels safer than facing it.
2 You feel disinterested. The task is boring, repetitive, or doesn't connect to anything you care about. This one is genuinely hard, not a matter of attitude: your brain isn't getting the reward signal it needs to stay engaged, so it drifts toward anything that offers a quick hit of dopamine – your phone, a snack, or a different task entirely.
3 You're hitting an emotional wall. Fear of failure, perfectionism, resentment, or frustration with the unit, the topic, or the marker. People who fall into this category won’t start a task until they feel emotionally ready to begin. However, chances are there will always be some feeling associated with an assignment. Remember, here the delay isn't about the task's size or your interest in the topic. It's about the feelings the task brings up.
Most procrastination is related to one of these three reasons. Once you know which one you're facing, you can pick a strategy that actually addresses it, which you will find in the next section.