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Olivia Freeland

Prof. Johnson

English 1201-523

26 April 2020

The Causes of Procrastination

Imagine that thing you’ve been putting off for days, weeks, or even months. That paper

you must write, that closet you need to clean out, that person you know you should call that you

just keep saying you will day after day. You want it done and you know you’ll be happy once

it’s done but you can’t bring yourself to do it. This postponement of important tasks is called

procrastination, and everyone has done it at some point in their lives. Whether it was one

laundry day that got pushed back or every single assignment that doesn’t get started until the day

it’s due, procrastination has affected everyone. Have you ever wondered what causes this “I’ll

do it tomorrow” attitude? Several factors contribute to the cause of procrastination, including

internet use, personal skills, learning styles, and loneliness.

Academic procrastination is the most common type of procrastination, and it is defined as

“the tendency to put off or delay tasks related to one’s studies so that they are either not fully

completed by their due dates or have to be rushed to be finished” (Orpen 73). According to a

survey among college students, 50 percent admitted to procrastinating on their assignments at

least half the time, and an additional 35 percent said they procrastinate on occasion (Orpen 73).

Academic procrastination has a direct negative impact on academic performance. As we

procrastinate more, our achievements in our studies decline rapidly (Asikhia 205). Putting off

academic assignments and leaving less time to complete them increases the likelihood that the

assignments will not be the best quality possible, therefore earning a lower grade than an
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assigment completed in a timely manner. In high school students, procrastination is also

connected with anxiety and low self-esteem. College students are also more likely to perform

worse on standardized tests and exams when they put off studying and completing their

assignments (Orpen 74).

One of the many causes of academic procrastination is problematic internet use.

Problematic internet use (PIU) is the excessive or uncontrolled desire to engage in computer use

or internet access (Andangsari 113). This can result in many issues pertaining to a person’s

mental and physical health as well as social wellbeing. People spend extended amounts of time

on the internet, which begins to interfere with their motivation toward their studies. PIU

negatively effects students’ GPA and leads to academic procrastination (Andangsari 114). Many

students feel extreme pressure resulting from academic studies and assignments and turning to

the internet is the easiest way to escape the stress they feel. Social media is the most addictive

form of internet use among teens and young adults. Nearly fifty percent of individuals who

struggle with problematic internet use also have issues concerning their jobs or their studies

because of their extended time spent on the internet or on social media (Andangsari 114). PIU

can also cause adolescence to skip school, which can lead to decreased academic performance

and procrastination.

Academic procrastination and PIU can be the result of loneliness. According to Esther

Widhi Andangsari, “loneliness is a response or the absence of interpersonal an unpleasant feeling

caused by the diminishing interpersonal relationship both quantitatively and qualitatively” (114).

Loneliness precedes problematic internet use. It magnifies psychological conditions that can

become a danger to the mental wellbeing of teens and young adults. As a result of this, many

young people that feel lonely will turn to the internet to escape what they are feeling.
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Unfortunately, however, this susceptibility contributes to the increase in PIU, which in turn

promotes academic procrastination (Andangsari 115).

Another potential determinant of procrastination is an individual’s approach to learning.

The level of procrastination depends on the individual’s mindset towards certain topics.

According to Christopher Orpen, there are two types of approaches taken in learning tasks,

surface-level and deep-level processing (74). Typically, the more motivated students engage in

deep-level processing. They seek to understand every aspect of what they are learning, and they

comprehend the importance. On the other hand, surface-level processors typically only

memorize important details and main ideas of the context. This explains why surface-level

processors are more likely to procrastinate and put off their tasks (Orpen 74). This type of

academic processing is easier to do quickly or while in a rush, so the students who think this way

will believe that they can put off their studies until the very last minute and still be able to get it

done. The unfortunate thing about procrastination is that people continue to do it because it

works.

Simpler explanations for why people procrastinate are that many individuals are quite

lazy and have poor time management skills. Students who are assigned work at the beginning of

the week that is due at the end often do not start the assignment until the night before it is due

(Zarick 214). Many claim that they work well under pressure or that they believe they have

more time and do not need to complete their work ahead of time. However, once they wait until

Thursday night to start the work due Friday, they realize they should not have waited until the

last minute. This lack of motivation and time management is present in many high school and

college students, and it often prevents them from reaching their full academic potential (Zarick

214).
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Procrastination is a bad habit that controls the lives of everyone. Whether you are a

frequent procrastinator or you’re only guilty of putting things off every now and then, this is

something that all people do. We have all felt the urge to put off completing tasks we know we

need to complete. It is important to understand what procrastination is and what causes it in

order to overcome it. Procrastination can be caused by problematic internet use, lack of time

management, loneliness, and varying learning styles.

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Works Cited

Asikhia, Olubusayo A. “Academic Procrastination in Mathematics: Causes, Dangers and

Implications of Counselling for Effective Learning.” International Education Studies,

vol. 3, no. 3, Aug. 2010, pp. 205–210. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1066019&site=eds-live.

Esther Widhi Andangsari, et al. “Loneliness and Problematic Internet Use (PIU) as Causes of

Academic Procrastination.” International Journal of Social Science Studies, no. 2, 2018,

p. 133. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx

Orpen, Christopher. “The Causes and Consequences of Academic Procrastination: A Research

Note.” Westminster Studies in Education, vol. 21, no. 1, July 1998, p. 73. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/0140672980210107.

Parsons, Carol Anne, and Daniel Soucie. “Perceptions of the Causes of Procrastination by Sport

Administrators.” Journal of Sport Management, vol. 2, no. 2, July 1988, pp. 129–139.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1123/jsm.2.2.129.

Zarick, LisaM., and Robert Stonebraker. “I’ll Do It Tomorrow.” College Teaching, vol. 57, no.

4, Fall 2009, pp. 211–215. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3200/CTCH.57.4.211-215.