You may have a test to study for, a project to work on, or an assignment due tomorrow. Instead of just getting it done, you will find almost anything else to do instead. 

You scroll through your phone. You watch a movie. You play a game. You will do ANYTHING but what you know you should be doing. 

Why do students not do what they know they need to do?

“The reason I procrastinate is there is way too much technology in the world. My brain wants to do anything to get the dopamine high of watching a funny video or playing a fun game,” said Westley Layton, a senior at Tyrone High School.

The issue with procrastination for many students is that it snowballs into an even deeper problem. 

Psychologists say that students often procrastinate due to factors such as exhaustion and anxiety, which outweigh their self-control and motivation.

Procrastination can get the best of everyone and school can be stressful for any student. It doesn’t help that a test could be placed in front of that student any day, even in cases of pop quizzes where the student wasn’t prepared. 

Although students always procrastinate, there are many ways to reduce this such as taking small breaks, rewarding yourself, and cutting your workload to a manageable amount.

Understanding your workload may help with procrastination. Sometimes people don’t feel the need to cut out the workload because they rather get the work done fast rather than correctly.

Students often don’t realize they are procrastinating until it starts to raise their anxiety or cause a panic attack. Procrastination can also lead students to struggle with test anxiety and other testing issues.

The only way to stop it is by using tactics that can help reduce the unnecessary stress that is given by tests and assignments.

The way I personally help myself do things is by locking the door to my room and cleaning my room until I can’t do anything else. I then sit down and put on some background music so when my brain wonders it can focus on that sound.

“Whenever I’m overwhelmed I think about what’s most important to get done first. Then I realize that it was my score. What causes me to procrastinate is being overwhelmed. When I have too many things that I need to do I just decide to put them all off and pretend they don’t exist,” said one Tyrone student. 

There are many ways to start procrastinating. It may be from school, work, or even at home. The best way to prevent yourself from procrastinating is to try to take yourself away from distractions and have a positive “can do” attitude.