Procrastination

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Procrastination: its nature and causes

Procrastination: it is certainly an epidemic. 80-95 percent of all students put off tasks in a manner that leads to lower grades or even failures.1 The other 5-20 percent are probably too ashamed to admit that they are procrastinating. On average, students in Dutch higher education override their nominal study term with 50 percent. This means that it takes six years for the average student to finish a four year's bachelor degree. Less than 20 percent of all students finish their degree within the stated term. Only a fraction of this delay can be attributed to extracurricular activities or specific personal circumstances such as pregnancy or care for a family member. By far the biggest factor leading to graduation delay is procrastination.

So an epidemic it is. But is it a disease?

In my job as a study counselor for Studiemeesters, I have had students come to me, saying: I have procrastination, as if not studying for exams is a grave affliction of the mind and body. It is undeniably true that procrastination has serious effects on mind and body. Procrastinators sleep too little. They abuse substances in order to concentrate or to stay awake. They report high levels of stress, anxiety, and even clinical depression.

So what is procrastination? Procrastination is the act of wilfully prioritizing a less important task over an important one. Since delayed tasks will only accumulate and expand towards any deadline, procrastination is remarkably counterproductive. This behaviour is both irrational and harmful: students waste so much time NOT doing anything that they underperform that they sometimes drop out of the course, even though they have both the desire and the capability to finish. This leads to great loss for the dropout: dropouts make less money, they have lower self-esteem and they are blocked from following a post-graduate degree course such as an MBA later in life. This also means a loss for society, since our service-oriented economy needs highly skilled, qualified labourers. And of course, it is a great loss to the school: dropouts usually cost more money than they bring in, they are bad for student and teacher morale, they will not become the excellent ambassadors every school hopes their graduates to be, and they occupy the space that could have been used by a student who failed to get in. So why do people procrastinate, if procrastination can only end in tears? There are several simple answers to that question: fear, flawed routines, overthinking the task at hand, not knowing when to start, or, simply: life getting in the way. The simple answer, therefore, to the question what we, educational professionals, can do to combat procrastination, would be: Nothing. It's a fact of life! Let nature run its course: students who are too stupid or lazy to do their one task should be weeded
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Reference material upon request

out early on, so that the ambitious, smart students can stay. It is like Darwin's theory of evolution: only the people with the optimal fit to the requirements of the educational program survive!

This may sound logical in itself, and plenty of Dutch educational professionals take on a laissez-faire attitude when it comes to motivating students. However, the results are, as we saw, disastrous. The major reason for this is that procrastination is neither a genetic trait nor an active choice. It is part of human nature; not a disease, but an unfortunate outcome of the way we are wired and the circumstances in which we try to function. The evidence is clear: procrastination is hardly a problem in universities that have students working in labs, and it is almost universal in universities that allow students to not show their faces for half a year and then finish a report. It is almost absent in non-Western exchange students just coming in, but by the end of their school careers, the very same non-Western students have adapted to being as able a procrastinator as any Dutch student. So it is the circumstances that influence our behaviour and our actions, or: our lack of action.

We humans cannot change the way we are wired, but we can very well change the circumstances students work in. The solutions to procrastination are surprisingly simple. But we will come to that later.

Since we all suffer from it, let me give you two examples of why I put things off.

I dislike ironing. Why? Because it is repetitive, but it still requires your full attention for safety reasons. Also, I find it pointless: we have a two-year-old son, and all he has to do is give me a big sloppy hug and everything I wear looks like I slept in it. I also put off writing speeches for weddings of family members. I put this off for an entirely different reason: I fear that I will mess up the perfect moment by delivering the lurid joke speech when everyone is crying after the emotional speech by mom or the other way around. I get scared, I freeze and I sit and stare at a blank piece of paper, envisioning the horrified looks on the couple's faces.

Apparently, some tasks I put off because I fear them, and other tasks because I find them pointless. These are two types of tasks people put off. Let us put these in perspective.

Procrastination archetypes
First, we are going to break down the phenomenon by archetyping several ways of procrastination. Combining literature on the subject and our own experience at Studiemeesters, we have simplified the different attitudes that lead to procrastination. Procrastination is a human trait and is very much bound to the specific task and the relative attitude one has with that task, to the history one has with that task, and to the anticipation of how working on this task will be. Overall, students will show a dominant behaviour style towards academic assignments. However, bear in mind that a person who is one type of procrastinator for one subject may be a different type of procrastinator when it comes to another subject.

These are the four archetypes of procrastination behaviour:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Task-perfectionism Self-perfectionism Anxiety / depression Overconfidence.

Task perfectionism

Self perfectionism

Anxiety / depression

Overconfidence

I cannot stress enough that these are not personal characteristics but rather attitudes that result from the dynamic between an individual and environmental factors. I will discuss all four types.

1. Task-perfectionism (Active, Low self-esteem) Task-perfectionism means that the student has an unrealistic idea of how the task should be performed. Such students will be actively trying to acquire knowledge, but they lack self-esteem.

How to recognize this student: A student who is a task-perfectionist is always there and always on time; never asks anything in class; never volunteers to answer a question; will respond evasively when asked a question.

Typical expressions of this student: There is only one way to perform this task well, and all alternative approaches are flawed. If this task is not performed perfectly, it would be an enormous disaster. I will never be good enough for this specific task. I have diagnosed myself with dyslexia / dyscalculia / I'm just not made for this specific task. The lecturer will laugh if he sees this. I would rather fail than undergo his scrutiny. I want to work hard, but I would rather do nothing than fail when putting effort into it.

Do: Keep a positive attitude towards the student this student needs your support and your trust. Praise the student, even when that is hard this student needs to know that you see progress in his work. Ask the student to compare his own task with that of his peers putting things in perspective will help.

Don't: Be strict with the student this will only be abrasive to his already fragile self-confidence. React too rigidly when the student has a good reason for missing a deadline usually, this student wants to work hard to get it done. Assert intellectual dominance over this student this will only make him feel small.

2. Self-perfectionism (Active, high self-esteem) Self-perfectionism is rather similar, but has one major difference: the way the student positions himself in relation to his peers. The self-perfectionist has equally unreasonable expectations of his performance, but thinks that his peers structurally underperform. The task perfectionist will generally call himself stupid compared to peers; the self-perfectionist will say he is smarter than the rest. This student is actively trying to acquire knowledge, and has high self-esteem.

Typical behavior: Self-perfectionists will never ask for your help; When speaking to them, you will notice that a lot of backtracking and regret speaks from their language: could have, should have, etc. Typical expressions: I know I should do a better job because I know I can. The teacher thinks Im so smart - and I need to live up to that expectation. Any tiny mistake is a disaster and will make me the laughing stock of the teachers room. Performing subpar is simply unacceptable. I can't hand it in, because I know there are mistakes in my work. To pass my exam, I need to be in perfect command of the subject hence, the task of studying for an exam is so daunting that I don't even know where to start.

Do: Keep a positive attitude this student needs to know that you support him. Tell the student to hand it in if you do not, the student will keep working on it. Tell the student that perfection is not expected perfection is something they may strive for, but right now is a good time to learn from their mistakes. Show them your own mistakes and how you resolved them. Tell the student that this is only an exam / a paper it's not the only chance in history to find a solution for world hunger, but only an exam or paper, and one can usually emend a paper after feedback or retake an exam when one fails. Ask student for hard deadlines allow the student to set his own deadlines so he can learn from them.

Don't: Ask the student to perform in a group of peers they will cause conflict because they feel they can't show their performance. Be too jovial with the student in an attempt to win his confidence students who are selfperfectionists need a bit of a power distance, or else they will think they will personally hurt you when they hand in something they feel might be subpar. Give too much decision power to the student about contents this student will build you the Brooklyn Bridge if you do not restrict him. 6

3. Anxiety / depression (Passive, Low self-esteem) Now this is a tough one. Overall, this student will not say anything: he stays away, acts impassive, and will not respond easily. This student is not actively trying to acquire knowledge and has low self-esteem.

How to recognize this student: This student typically will not turn up for class; will not seek help; will avoid you and your colleagues at all cost; fears you immensely; looks unimpressed (but is highly stressed); may neglect his own mental and physical needs.

Do: Win the students confidence it will be hard to do so, but it is vital that this student trusts you. Ask the student to perform in a group with peers any social interaction will be very beneficial for this student. Make sure that the group accepts this student! Ask the student to give mini-presentations of progress made allow them to show you what they work on and praise their progress. Empower the student to make his own decisions give this student trust and confidence in finding his own interests. Push them towards developing their own interests. Ask the student to seek medical attention this is very important. Clinical depression is a serious condition that may result in life-threatening situations and should therefore be treated by medical professionals.

Dont: Assert intellectual dominance over the student this student will only pull away from you. Be very strict with the student this student will start to avoid you. Get angry at the student this student will not respond to you. Fail to recognize when the student needs medical attention this is potentially lifethreatening.

4. Overconfidence (Passive, High self-esteem) In many ways a classic procrastinator, this person will probably be the most familiar to you. He will not sit down to do his task until it is almost too late. This student is not trying to actively acquire knowledge, but he has high self-esteem.

How to recognize this student: Overconfident student typically will skip classes happily: has an optimistic vibe; will speak up in class (when present); will pull all-nighters; will be a party animal or a gamer.

This person will say things like: I perform best under pressure. I can read a book in a week if that means I have two weeks for myself now. The teacher will never find out I winged it. If I can reach a barely passing grade with reading someone else's summary, I will. I was going to work on it, but my roommates asked me to come to the bar. Due tomorrow? Do tomorrow! You know who will deal with studying? Future me! Do: Be VERY strict with the student let them know you expect the very best every week. Do not tolerate any excuses. They will make up excuses. Even valid excuses should not be a reason to hand in anything late. Ask them to give proof of performance every week they will work through nights to get there, but at least they will start in time for the final exam. Assert intellectual dominance over student if they feel they can outsmart you they will lose respect for your boundaries.

Don't: Praise student even when underperforming only praise excellent work. Be understanding of the student set boundaries and make them very hard. Tell the student it is only an exam / a paper this student already underestimates the task.

Need more help? Do not hesitate to contact us for advice or with requests for support.

You can contact Studiemeesters at: www.studiemeesters.nl office@studiemeesters.nl 020- 737 1945

This lecture was developed by Kinge Siljee, founder of Studiemeesters, a relatively new organisation bundling the forces of several higher educational professionals in order to help students, lecturers and universities achieve better academic results.

Studiemeesters combines knowledge on cognition, attitude and behaviour in order to create intervention plans for individual students, lecturers, mentors or entire schools, using methods proven by scientific research and instruments developed and tested uniquely for Studiemeesters. Studiemeesters also has extensive experience with individual students, helping them with subjects related to accounting, math or law. We have tutored over 100 students through their theses or internship reports. Studiemeesters boasts knowledge of all subjects taught in Dutch universities, from quantum mechanics to labour law, from Spanish grammar to medieval Latin.

We have a study room, where students can work on their academic tasks in a comfortable, friendly environment, under supervision of a study motivation specialist en waar we bijles geven?!

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