Unrealistic Goals: The Real Problem between College Students and Procrastination
Not only do I have issues with procrastination personally, but I also believe that many other students struggle with the same problem because we set unrealistic goals for ourselves that ultimately create stress throughout our daily lives.
One of my classmates, Felipe, said that he pushes his homework off until the night before because he gets, “distracted from the things that surround his work space.” Every individual faces procrastination differently, and we all have different strategies to get our tasks completed. This past week, I had a fourteen-hundred word Philosophy essay due, and I did not begin to work on it until the night before it was due because I had so much other schoolwork to focus on . I knew about this essay for over three weeks, and I had a sticky-note reminder on my desk that even stated, “Start Philosophy 110 Essay”. It was not the task that was too hard to handle, but I honestly believed that I pushed it off for so long because I thought it would be fairly easy to earn a passing grade on the essay even if I started on it the night before. When you set unrealistic goals, it is almost impossible to achieve them due to the fact that
Procrastination is not something us college students are proud of, but it is something that we have definitely mastered in this day and age. In the student surveys that we filled out in class, over 90% of college kids said that they either procrastinate “sometimes” (50.23%), or “frequently” (40.85%). For students like Felipe, distractions such as electronics can be heavily abused whereas they could be spending more valuable time studying for exams or getting ahead on assignments. Another statistic from the surveys was that 40.19% of students said that they only work on homework for less than 10 hours a week outside of the classroom. Almost half of the students within the survey are not meeting study expectations which means that they are setting unrealistic goals for themselves by trying to earn good grades with poor study habits. Not only do I believe that college students inherit procrastination, but I also believe that it leads us to become more lazy as human beings overtime because these habits in school transfer over to our daily routines.
Even though the issue of procrastination exists throughout most college students, many still are not aware of why they continue to push assignments off until the end. Due to the fact that me and many other of my friends have this problem, we were in search of a solution to stop procrastinating.
Personally, I used to think that it was just a mindset of, “Well, I can just get that done later. It won’t take much time.” until I read Doctor Elizabeth Lombardo’s article 11 Ways to Overcome Procrastination. I firmly believe now that procrastination is caused from unfeasible strategies to complete schoolwork, and then overwhelming stress follows.
Not only do college students use excuses to push off assignments until the last minute, but they also set unrealistic goals in doing so. The most common mistake I see other college students make is trying to finish an entire assignment the night before it is due. One problem this induces is “increased stress” within the individual because the task is constantly wandering in the back of their mind. The other problem that this causes is “poorer performance” because the student is rushed at the last minute, and they are not able to get across all of the ideas they may have wanted to include.
In Doctor Lombardo’s main point of her article, she states that, “ …it seems that task aversion is to blame — that is, when people view a task in an unpleasant manner, they are more likely to put it off.” People procrastinate because they see projects as a negative burden, but they do not realize that it is the emotions and excuses holding them back; therefore, they continue to have lazy habits which only makes the problem worse.
Using excuses and trying to avoid the task presented ultimately comes from being overwhelmed by the workload. Each of us college students are trying to handle four or five classes per semester, and it can get very stressful at times especially when classes overlap with each other.
After researching 11 Ways to Overcome Procrastination, and analyzing my daily habits, I realized that I need to eliminate wasting time in order to get important projects done more efficiently. I become overwhelmed due to the fact that I push off assignments until the last minute, and then I am forced to turn in low-quality work in order to get the assignment in on time. If I am able to set aside my Iphone and PlayStation, I will most likely be able to implement more focus and intent into my schoolwork.
Throughout the next two weeks, I plan to sit down for thirty minutes as soon as I wake up to organize and structure my day out. Also, I plan to change the environment where I study, and where I do my homework so that I am able to remain focused for longer periods of time instead of working sporadically throughout the week on projects. Not only do I believe that these new strategies will help me climb out of procrastination habits, but I also believe that I will be less distracted from disturbances. Also, I think that organizing and planning your days out are crucial to decreasing stress and reducing the feeling of being overwhelmed as well as keeping priorities scheduled for certain times.
Throughout this Engagement Project, I quickly realized how much you can limit your procrastination by the setting of your work space, and the time of day you are trying to complete your work. Not only was I less distracted from others, but I was also able to imagine what homework I would work on, and when I would be completing it by so that I could move onto assignments for my next class.
Overall, I learned that procrastination that can easily be reduced through structured planning and active engagement in the assignments you are given for each class. If you are able to apply yourself to three or four hours per day to schoolwork, there will be less stress, and less slacking off within your daily habits.
