Putting an End to Procrastination

By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association

February 2002

I can’t believe it is already due tomorrow! I’ll never get it done in time. It looks like another interminable evening . . .”

Sound familiar? Deadlines, of course, are a regular part of our routines at home and at work. How we address the onslaught of our daily obligations to a large extent defines our comfort zone as we attempt to satisfy the demands that we (and others) place upon ourselves. Our management of the pressure of deadlines also influences how stress impacts us.

Many students will tell us that they are habitual procrastinators. They admit that much of their schoolwork is completed in a frenzy of last-minute chaos, and that as a result, they frequently fail to do a quality job. Most will also reveal they have trouble “getting going,” and they lament that they are cursed with this personality trait. Sometimes, they speak of their procrastination woes as if they have been inflicted with an incurable condition over which they have no personal control.

The strategy
Of course, control is at the crux of this problem – control of time, control of competing desires, control of priorities. Learning how to exert control over our schedules is an essential study skill that can be developed as an integral aspect of classroom practices.

Step 1: Any effort to combat procrastination must begin with understanding why people put off tasks they need (or want) to do. Ask students to generate a list of reasons for procrastinating, and list these on the chalkboard or overhead transparency. Then present classic procrastinator profiles, and ask students to fit their various reasons with the corresponding profile:

• Avoiders – delay undertaking tasks that are unpleasant or because they really do not want to do them.
  
• Slow Starters – want to get going, but are confused or uncertain exactly how to do the task.
  
• Overwhelmed – see some tasks as being so extensive that they will never get them done.
  
• Perfectionists – worry about doing the task exactly right, and struggle with doing each step flawlessly.
  
• Alibi Makers – are not confident they can really do the task, so instead they allocate inadequate time to do it well; as a result they can always say, “I would have done a good job if I had more time.”
  

Step 2: Next introduce systems for organizing time. As adults, we have generally settled into successful daily routines; We know when and where we do our best work, and we benefit from the momentum of getting things done according to schedule. Students may follow a much more fluid daily routine outside of classes; helping them craft a workable daily schedule that accommodates both obligations and relaxation can provide a life-long tool for combating procrastination.

Encouraging (or requiring) students to keep a daily planner of assignments due or tests impending is one strategy that can reinforce the development of personal schedules. Adults juggle the myriad of responsibilities by writing them down on calendars or logging them into their pocket computers. Students will also find keeping a written record of tasks becomes a habit that reduces a tendency to overlook or postpone what needs to be done.

An additional scheduling strategy is the creation of lists. As students examine their planners, they need to prioritize activities. Recommend that they start with a list for the week. First, they should write down everything that they would like (or need) to accomplish during the week. Next, they reorder the list, from the highest priority to the lowest. This process guides their daily planning, which should always be predicated on fulfilling high-priority tasks first.

Each morning, then, they jot down a daily priority list, ordered according to the priorities established in the weekly list. The rule is to work down the list. Things that don’t get done that day should be low-priority items. As tasks are completed on the daily (and weekly) lists, check them off. There is a powerful psychological uplift associated with crossing off completed items on a “to do” list.

This system also helps overcome a common tactic of procrastinators: that of doing less consequential but easily accomplished tasks while ignoring more important but problematic activities. The procrastinator can thus hide behind a facade of productivity (“Boy, I sure got a lot done today!”) while in reality neglecting tasks that may matter most.

Step 3: A third strategy to diminish procrastination is to segment tasks into smaller and more easily accomplished increments. By systematically chipping away at a large undertaking, students discover that before they know it, they are over half done with a forbidding project.

Students tend to view an extensive task as a single, perhaps unmanageable entity rather than as a sequence of smaller duties that culminate into an end result. With larger tasks, such as an essay, project, major exam, or extended reading assignment, work with students to segment the task into a reasonable progression of daily objectives. These can be recorded in the planners or on the daily lists. Emphasize the psychological gains of feeling that you are making progress rather than the opposing outpourings of guilt and worry that with each day you are no closer to completing an increasingly ominous task.

Because students struggle with breaking down major tasks into step-by-step components, it is helpful to introduce more extensive tasks as a series of stages, with suggestions of a timeline for the completion of each step. With some students, it may be desirable to do an assessment of each stage, to encourage a systematic and ongoing work routine. By breaking tasks into smaller segments, it is also easier for students to identify confusions they may be encountering in the process, and for teachers to support those students who do not understand the task or who lack the confidence that they can be successful.

Posted February 8, 2002