By definition, procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something. According to a 2007 study conducted by University of Calgary psychologist, Piers Steel, PhD, approximately 80-95% of college students procrastinate. The same goes for the majority of high school students as well. Most students can likely agree that waiting until the last minute to complete their assignments is not the best idea. Why then, do almost all of them do it?

It is widely agreed upon that the most common reason for procrastination is simply laziness. However, procrastination researcher Timothy A. Pychyl, PhD, of Carleton University says it is a product of unidentified self-doubt. Pychyl says “As students, you’re always being pushed out of your depths – that’s what learning is.” It is difficult for a student to start an assignment when he/she either does not know where to begin or does not believe that they will succeed.

While many will argue that procrastination is a part of their routine and they work well under pressure, statistical data disproves this claim. Several studies in Steel’s study suggest waiting until the last minute is negatively related to GPA, final exam scores, and assignment grades.

After reviewing the data, the question still stands: How can procrastination be prevented? Time management is one of the most difficult skills to master, and the only way to improve is experience. Almost every student knows the stress and the pressure of waiting until the block before to complete an assignment. It is almost impossible to be productive and best perform under a large amount of stress.

Though it may not be the case for everyone, many have proven to have learned from waiting too long to complete a major assignment. A ten page paper seems a lot less daunting when time is managed correctly and only a page has to be written per day. It can be agreed that procrastination is not a great way to handle school work, and though we all know the solution it is something that we’re probably still all working towards.