Procrastination
Procrastination: What’s really going on
Contrary to popular belief, procrastination is not typically grounded in laziness or lack of motivation. Instead, it often occurs when people care a lot about a particular outcome and are afraid of failing.
According to the self-worth theory of achievement motivation (Covington, 1984; Voge, 2007), students tend to have a subconscious belief that their performance at school is indicative of their ability, and their academic ability is indicative of their worth as a person or student. For example, if you don’t do as well as you hoped academically, it could threaten your belief that you're worthy of being at Stanford. Procrastination then becomes a self-protective mechanism. If you procrastinate and the outcome isn't what you hoped, you can blame the fact that you procrastinated and didn't really try your hardest anyway.
Other (potentially co-occurring) reasons that procrastination can happen include:
- Lack of interest in the task
- Perfectionist tendencies
- Lack of a clear goal or endpoint for the task
- Feeling like the task outcome doesn’t matter
- Feeling “stuck” on how to approach the task
- Thinking things will get done more easily or quickly when you feel “ready”
So how do you combat procrastination?
Recognize and understand it
The first step is to identify the “why” behind your procrastination. What story are you telling yourself about why you should put off the task? What fears, if any, are behind your reasons for waiting to start?
Challenge your thinking
Ask yourself: What is a more realistic counter-thought? What reasons do you have to approach the task? What could be an immediate benefit of starting now?
Identify your first action step
If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “I’ll do that task when I feel ready,” the truth is that motivation often stems from action—not the other way around. You just need to get yourself started! If the work feels overwhelming, break it up into tiny, manageable steps, and identify the first small step you can take that feels doable.
Tip: As you work to understand and manage your procrastination tendencies, take a look at our examples in the “Challenging your inner procrastinator” tracker below, and try filling out your own. For more information on reframing thoughts that aren’t serving you, check out our Challenging Unhelpful Thinking in College and Grad School handouts.
Additional strategies for managing procrastination
- Use the five-minute rule. If it’s hard to identify a small first step, commit to starting the task for just five minutes.
- Ask for help. If the goals or next steps for the task feel unclear, find someone who can help you gain clarity or come up with an action plan.
- Identify a “reward” you can look forward to after completing the task (e.g., a phone call with a friend, walking to your favorite spot on campus, or a movie night).
- Build in accountability. Set a sub-deadline for yourself and share it with someone else, or plan a work session with a friend.
- Identify your ideal work location. Where do you focus best? Be honest about which environments are conducive to doing your best work, and make sure to limit distractions.
- Create a later list: Jot down any to-do items you think of in the moment to return to at the end of your work session—so you aren’t tempted to start doing another task instead ( i.e., “productive procrastination”).
- See our handout on task initiation for other ideas to help you get started!
Challenging your inner procrastinator
Automatic Thought | Counter-Thought | Action Step |
|---|---|---|
“I’ll do it when I feel like it” | “Whenever I get started, it doesn’t end up being as bad as I think” | Set a five-minute timer just to open up the assignment and jot down notes |
“I work more efficiently when I have less time” | “I know I can work efficiently ahead of time if I have accountability” | Text my classmate to make a plan to go to CTL Study Hall together |
“I need lots of uninterrupted time to get work done” | “I can do quality work even in small, uninterrupted chunks” | Set a concrete task for myself to do in the 20-minute break I have between classes |
“I have all day to do that” | “I’ll do the hard stuff in the morning, when my brain is most able to focus” | Set a reminder for 9 a.m. to spend 30 minutes on my paper outline before class |
Works cited:
Covington, M. V. (1984). The self-worth theory of achievement motivation: Findings and implications. The Elementary School Journal, 85(1), 5-20.
Voge, D. (2007). Classroom resources for addressing procrastination. Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, 23(2), 88-96.
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Procrastination
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