Putting Things Off (Procrastinating): What Causes Us to Procrastinate?

Before looking at possible remedies, we offer some explanations about what may have led you into this habit. Understanding some of the causes of the trouble may help you avoid blaming yourself and calling yourself lazy. Instead it can help you look at constructive solutions.

Over-Aversion to Discomfort

Being a student is certainly not all easy and enjoyable. Much of the work needs effort to get started and can be demoralisingly difficult to complete. In addition the lack of structure places a considerable demand on the student. The reason that a degree is a highly respected qualification is because of the volume of hard work which goes into getting one. It is normal to find the work uncomfortable - and if you can face up to this discomfort, you can expect to get the knack of dealing with it surprisingly soon and so cease to notice it so much. If however you have got into the habit of putting off work whenever it feel too challenging, you never get good at doing uncomfortable things. It is as though you are never breaking through the pain barrier to the comfort beyond.

Lack of Self-Confidence

Facing up to a complex essay or to a pile of demanding revision is never easy. It is made more difficult if you see the natural problems that arise as a sign that you are not very good student rather than just as a sign that the work is hard. If you tend to blame yourself when problems arise, you then may not feel able to ask for help and to overcome the difficulties. This makes the problems worse. Perfectly able students can convince themselves that they are impostors who do not deserve to be at university at all when in fact they are capable of a high level of achievement.

Getting Overwhelmed

If we sit down to write an essay and find there is a lot to research, it is natural to feel a bit swamped. There are practical ways of solving this. If however you tend to lose direction, maybe reading books haphazardly without having a clear idea of how they can help you, you may get more and more overwhelmed until you put off starting the work altogether. Similarly if you have got all your work in a muddle, you may not know how to start getting it back in order.

Under-Developed Study Skills

Study-skills are the tools a student uses - the ability to scan books and articles fast; to summarize succinctly; to evaluate arguments quickly. If your skills are rusty or have not been sharpened, you will be like a carpenter working with blunt tools - everything will be much harder work. This problem may be made worse if English is not your first language. If you don't recognize this as a simple study skills problem and take steps to remedy it, you may become demoralised and unable to face working.

Unrealistic Expectations

Some people decide they should never get less than full marks and that any grade below a first is a mark of personal failure. Unfortunately most of us are not capable of such sustained excellent performance and will soon grind to a halt if we put this pressure upon ourselves. Unrealistic ideals can lead us to shy away from producing work that reflects our true ability. By leaving everything to the last moment we can keep alive the hope that we really could get a first in everything if we just got started.

Resentment

Possibly you are not impressed by the University of Sheffield in general. Maybe some aspect of your course has proved to be a disappointment. Perhaps the course you are on was not your first choice and you resent that you could not do what you really wanted. You might have felt pushed into going to University against your will by parents or teachers. In situations where we feel wronged or let down or coerced but we cannot clearly see who is to blame, it is natural for us to express our resentment by not doing the work which is asked of us. It is a sophisticated form of sulking.

Habituation and Lifestyle

If you have become totally used to putting things off and to getting extensions, it can be immensely difficult to take the first step towards breaking the habit. The situation can be made worse if you have got in the habit of sleeping in very late, or of using drink and soft drugs to distract you.

Depression

Inability to concentrate and lack of motivation can be a symptom of depression. If you have other symptoms, like sleeping problems, lack of energy and appetite, weepiness, etc., you may wish to see our page on Depression.