How to Turn Homework Procrastination Into Productivity
How can parents help their children turn homework procrastination into productivity? Everyone puts things off from time to time, but those who procrastinate chronically tend to avoid difficult tasks. There is a tendency to delay complicated tasks at school, home, work, and relationships, which can affect the quality of life and overall well-being.
Overcoming homework procrastination begins with the realization that it is happening.
Procrastination at school can negatively impact students, leading to poor school performance, lower grades, and higher school stress. It can also create a cycle of poor grades and low self-confidence that can be hard for students to break.
Beating the urge to procrastinate is possible.
Homework Procrastination Causes
Contrary to popular belief, a lack of self-control does not cause procrastination.
People procrastinate for different reasons. Sometimes it results from too much pressure at school, or it might be from growing up in a strict household. For example, expectations for high performance from parents can make students put off projects out of fear of failure.
Students may procrastinate to avoid stressful experiences. Some of the most common reasons for what causes procrastination include the following.
- Perfectionism
- Fear of failure
- Fear of criticism
- Avoidance
- Low self-esteem
- Trouble focusing
- Task aversion
- Resisting challenges
- Decision fatigue
- Difficulty defining goals
- Lack of energy
Find out why students procrastinate in this article: Why Do Students Procrastinate? Or Watch our latest YouTube video below.
Consequences of Procrastination
Students are more likely to put off a project if they don’t understand how to start.
Putting off work has a price. People who procrastinate are usually rushing their school work, which leads to sloppiness, missed details, and lower grades. These problems arise because procrastination usually takes up more than a third of students’ daily activities. Procrastination usually appears in behaviours such as napping, watching television, or playing video games when students should be working.
Other effects of procrastination include higher levels of stress, anxiety, and fatigue.
Keep reading: Getting homework help to overcome procrastination.
Turning Procrastination into Productivity
How can students overcome procrastination and transform procrastination into productivity? The first step is to acknowledge that procrastination is happening.
Getting started can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that motivation doesn’t come before action; action triggers motivation. In other words, getting started even when you don’t want to can jumpstart motivation. Let’s dig into some helpful tips to overcome procrastination!
- Start Small. Don’t tackle everything at once. Break projects into smaller tasks.
- Remove distractions. Create a dedicated space where work happens.
- Create an action plan based on relevant anti-procrastination techniques while accounting for goals and the nature of procrastination problems.
- Implement a plan. Figure out which techniques work best and how to implement them most effectively.
Looking for some more anti-procrastination techniques? Try breaking tasks into manageable steps. Making subtasks helps make a big task seem small by creating tasks to complete one by one. Once a task is broken down tasks into smaller bits, try to commit to the tiny first step, e.g. working for 5 mins, then taking a break and returning to it. Don’t forget to set a deadline for when it all needs to be completed.
Keep working at it! Overcoming the urge to procrastinate is not easy, but with dedication and practice, students can learn to dig into a task and keep at it, even when they feel like putting it off.
Need Help with Turning Homework Procrastination into Productivity?
Once you’ve identified your procrastination pattern, get resources to overcome it at Oxford Learning. Students can stop feeling bad about putting off school work and start getting it done with the help of our tutors at Oxford Learning centre.
Contact a location near you to get started today!
Related Homework Resources
