If you have an assignment to write and you are putting it off till the last minute, you are not alone. Gitnux Market Data Report 2024 shows that 80-95% of college students procrastinate consistently.
When you have a habit of procrastinating your assignments, you get limited time to complete your assignments. It also results in poorly written assignments. Therefore, it’s important that you understand what procrastination is before learning to overcome the habit of procrastination.
What is Procrastination?
Procrastination is putting off your important tasks purposefully and repeatedly. It is not considered procrastination if you delay your task just once. Procrastination can take many forms.
Let’s look at it with the help of a few examples. You do not enjoy watering plants. But now when you have a physics assignment to submit in the upcoming week, you decide to not only water them but also spend some time transferring plants from their pots to the ground.
Or let’s say you are already falling behind your classmates on your English assignment but you decide to make all the pending schedules today. Yes, doing tasks that are not urgent only to postpone another more important task is a form of procrastination.
In this blog, we will discuss why students procrastinate writing assignments and how you can overcome the habit of procrastinating your assignments.
Why do Students Procrastinate?
If you often leave your important tasks for later while engaging in unimportant or less important tasks then you are a procrastinator. But worry not! Many people experience procrastination.
Here are some reasons as to why students procrastinate.
Workload
Workload is one of the factors of procrastination. When you are overwhelmed by the amount of work, you delay your tasks rather than doing them on time.
Self-Doubt
Do you feel as if your assignments are not up to the mark or that your classmates have done them better than you? When you feel this way, you delay doing your assignments. This shows that you have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is a result of doubting your own capabilities and comparing yourself with others.
Fear of Mistakes
Mistakes are a part of life. Everyone makes mistakes at some point. However, it is worrying when this fear of mistakes prevents you from doing your assignments. Fear of mistakes decreases your productivity level too. When you start doing your assignments, the fear of mistakes tempt you to spend additional time on even the simplest things, leading to low productivity and a waste of time.
Tips to Overcome the Habit of Procrastinating Assignments
Following are some easy tips that have helped hundreds of students overcome their habit of procrastinating assignments. All assignment writings uk have listed the following tips for all the students struggling with procrastinating their assignments.
Confront Your Procrastination
It is necessary that you understand your situation and admit that you have a habit of procrastinating your assignments. Once you realize that you always postpone doing your assignments, you will soon figure out how to overcome this habit.
Set Early Deadlines
One of the ways to overcome your habit of procrastinating your assignments is to set an early deadline. You can do this by setting your own deadlines for your assignments rather than considering the official due dates. This strategy makes you believe that you are running out of time resulting in the completion of assignments before the due dates.
Break Your Assignment Into Chunks
When you first start writing your assignment, you often feel burdened by the amount of work it requires. Therefore, it is always effective to break down your assignment into chunks. Once you break it into parts, you need to allocate time for the completion of each part. Breaking your assignment into parts will reduce the overwhelming feeling of workload and you will have a finished assignment within no time.
Reduce Distractions
Make sure when you sit for writing your assignment, you do not have your phone on you. Mobile phones are one of the biggest factors in procrastination. Gitnux Marketing Data Report 2024 shows that social media distracts about 86% of university students. Therefore, do not forget to eliminate all the things that cause distraction. Procrastinators often try to find reasons to stop doing their work. Therefore, make sure to remove anything that may lead to further procrastination.
Communicate With Your Classmates About Assignments
Working in groups helps students to complete their tasks effectively. Whenever you are assigned a task by your teacher, make sure to make a study group of about 3 to 4 people. You can negotiate with your friends about the study group and set some guidelines. An effective study group should not have more than 5 people.
Many procrastinators stop working when they encounter a problem with any aspect of the assignment. In order to overcome this issue, you can communicate with your group mates about the difficulties you face while writing your assignment. This will save you time and clarify your confusion.
Take Short Breaks
Although it may sound childish to you, taking short breaks in between your study sessions improves productivity. Procrastinators get overwhelmed by the workload quickly. Once they feel that the task is never-ending, it will create a fear of starting the task the next time. Therefore if you have a habit of procrastinating your assignments, you should try the Pomodoro Technique to manage your time.
Take Accountability
Were you unable to meet your assignment’s deadline because your sister disturbed you? If your answer to this question is yes then you also have a procrastinator’s mindset. You might be thinking what a procrastinator’s mindset is. It is very common for people who procrastinate their tasks to never take accountability for their shortcomings. They often blame it on others. Therefore, if you want to get rid of the habit of procrastination, start taking responsibility for your actions, and hold yourself accountable rather than blaming people.
Closing remarks
To sum up, it is completely normal to postpone your tasks or assignments sometimes. However, consistently delaying your important tasks leads to procrastination. The habit of procrastinating your assignments can severely impact your grades.
Students who procrastinate their assignments a lot experience anxiety, stress, and guilt. This not only impacts their academic performance but also their mental well-being. This blog discussed with you seven easy yet impactful tips that can help you overcome your habit of procrastinating your assignments. Try these out and you will see a huge difference in your performance.
