A Last Minute Article on Procrastination

Lauryn Holmes

Procrastination: the Achilles heel of many students and the reason I’m writing this article at 3 am. While I could have saved myself the stress of frantically thinking up a good intro and rushing this assignment, I consciously chose to put off work in favor of watching another episode of How I Met Your Mother. Why did I make this decision? Because I convinced myself that I deserved some time off, and I could always do my work later. Research into the human mind indicates that certain body systems dictate human habits towards procrastination, and why humans shy away from doing tasks on time.

A study done by Anne-Laure Le Cunff of Ness Labs showed that there are two bodily functions that control human productivity. The limbic system and prefrontal cortex of the brain are responsible for decision making and planning, and largely control what we recognize as “work ethic.” The prefrontal cortex of the brain determines your productivity and will often tell you to complete a difficult task as soon as you can. However, when encountered with a difficult task, the limbic system will alert an individual to do something else; to do something that will make us feel better than tackling that difficult task. As many of us students know, the limbic system usually wins out, and you end up doing whatever you can to put off that difficult task.

While it feels good in the moment, procrastination is actually detrimental to an individual’s attention span and quality of work. In an experiment, Eric Jaffe tested a group of students and their ability to solve a math puzzle. In the first test, Jaffe told the students that the puzzle was meant to test their intellectual abilities, and found that procrastinator students would put off solving the puzzle. In the second test, Jaffe told the students that the puzzle was just for fun. After finding out that the puzzle was for fun, those who procrastinated in the first test performed at the same level as the non-procrastinator students. Jaffe concluded that procrastinators engage in self-sabotaging behavior and will purposely lower the quality of their efforts when faced with a difficult task.

While I understand how easy it is to fall into a cycle of procrastination, procrastination is unhealthy for an individual’s mental health. In his same study, Jaffe reasons that procrastination does not only have to do with time-management skills, but also with personal emotions. Those who put off more difficult tasks were happier with doing easy tasks, but also showed a greater amount of guilt and anxiety. In the long term, these increased feelings of guilt and anxiety can lead to the development or aggravation of mental illnesses.

So what can you do to prevent procrastination? Of course, there’s always the route of mental fortitude, but this method is harder, especially now that many of us are working remotely. Instead, you can work with peers or friends (even remotely!) to help keep yourself productive, block your time so that you don’t burn yourself out, or reward yourself for working on this difficult task. Procrastination is a hard habit to break, but be patient with yourself! Start small and build up your work-ethic until you feel that you’re working at a pace you’re happy with.

1 : Eric Jaffe - Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination?
2 : Anne-Laure Le Cunff - Why we wait: the neuroscience of procrastination
3 : Khan Academy - The Limbic System Definition
4 : Matthew Dahlitz - Prefrontal Cortex Definition