Although school has just begun, students are experiencing the stress from piles of homework, tests and quizzes. Procrastination is a common, yet daunting, struggle for many students, affecting their schoolwork and mental health. Laura Doto, a U-High learning coordinator, frequently works with students struggling with procrastination. Ms. Doto’s responses have been lightly edited for clarity, style and length.
What are some common myths or misunderstandings about procrastination?
That it’s a bad habit. Sometimes it’s not a bad habit at all. It’s just that you don’t have a good habit to counteract the tendency to procrastinate. That’s usually the biggest one, and that only students do it or only kids do it. That’s not true either. We all do it. I think attending to it is like recognizing, “Oh gosh, I’m putting that off,” and then exploring, “Why am I putting this off?” Whether it’s a reflection tool or it’s having a conversation with somebody just depends on your personality.
What are the best strategies for a student to use when they find themselves procrastinating?
One of the biggest strategies that I use repeatedly with students of all ages is a start task: identifying something that you can do in five minutes or less, or in 30 seconds or less. The less specific you are in your task plan, the less likely your brain is ready to dig in. So, you can identify a really specific start task that bypasses the sentiment of procrastination.
What is a good balance between relaxation and work in order to maintain a student’s mental health?
That’s the other reason people procrastinate, right? Their brain really needs to rest, and recognizing that the brain needs to rest or the body needs to rest, setting a timer is really helpful. Another thing that can be really helpful, relative to using a timer, is if you’re switching gears, you actually set up your next task before you take a break. So when you sit down, it’s already there in front of you.
How should teachers approach students who are dealing with unmanaged procrastination?
Sometimes just helping a student to get started, instead of talking about what to do, to actually sit down with the student and help them get there. When a student comes in with multiple missing assignments, I’ll say, “OK, let’s start with one.” And that’s, like, the first thing we’ll do is get something done so that you’ve established a little bit of traction. Because we can all talk a good game, but it’s the action that matters.
How can parents best support their children who struggle with chronic procrastination without adding to their stress?
Very much the same way that teachers can do it: How can I help? Instead of you should be doing this, it’s like, “How can I help you get to what I know you think is important?” or “How can I help you engage with this, even though it looks not so interesting?” But “How can I help” is always a good method for parents, because most kids have the answers.
Are procrastination and anxiety, about tests, homework projects, etc, correlated? Does one affect the other, and if so, what can students do to overcome it?
I think not feeling ready is probably the most common, and being in touch with why am I not feeling ready is the solution. Is it because I haven’t thought through enough? Is it because I haven’t read the instructions in a while and I’ve blown it all out of proportion? Is it because I need to have a conversation to clarify what I’m doing, like all of that, yeah, but it’s all getting in touch with the why.
What are the resources that students have access to if they need help with procrastination?
School counselors are always helpful. Teachers directly, as I said before, like, ‘‘I’m really struggling and I can’t figure out how to get started, or I’m not getting started, let me go talk to my English teacher, my history teacher, my school counselor, my adviser.”
