The Procrastination Effect
Alyssa Kiss, M.A.
Procrastination is a common issue that all of us deal with throughout our lives. It is human nature to push things off that are unpleasant, boring, or mundane. This problem can be especially difficult for middle and high school students to navigate. Working with this population significantly, I am no stranger to my students telling me that they struggle to feel motivated or to get energy to complete assignments. They also are quick to tell me that procrastination works for them, or that they don’t see an issue with completing homework in the 5 minutes before the bell. If this sounds like your child, I am here to provide some helpful information and tips to reduce the impact of procrastination.
Procrastination is when we put off completing tasks or assignments that we know are necessary in favor of something else. There are many different ways that procrastination can show up for different people and most people experience feelings of guilt, shame, or even self-hatred when they are avoiding or putting off something they need to do. This can cause lots of issues, especially in students, where symptoms of anxiety or depression can begin.
Understanding your child’s experience of procrastination and empathizing with them is a helpful first step in addressing the behavior. Typically, procrastination serves as a way to receive instant gratification from a pleasurable task. This quickly ends when the panic sets in of not having enough time and a person rushes to complete the task. While this may “work” with school assignments, it can lead to a much more stressful experience. Additionally, procrastination causes more difficulties completing goals that don’t have a deadline such as exercising or learning a new skill.
When it comes to procrastination, there are a few tips that can be helpful for your child.
- Take their phone/tablet away and reduce the time in general they spend on it. This cannot be emphasized enough. It is one of the most helpful ways to reduce distraction and help support your child’s brain to manage delayed gratification
- Encourage or teach your child to do the hardest task first to help make sure they have enough energy stored up to complete it
- Reward your child for getting the task done with a snack, candy, or break
- Help your child find an accountability friend in class who can check in about certain assignments
- Have established breaks that are timed and stick to them. When the timer goes off, the break ends
- Capitalize on times of the day where your child feels more alert so they can rest when they don’t
This is a difficult and multifaceted problem. Ultimately, brainstorm with your child to figure out what solutions might work best for them. Additionally, continue to explore the different ways that social media, certain common tv shows, and video games impact children’s ability to focus and engage in tasks. Finally, remember that this is a human thing and your child is dealing with a problem that all people have to learn to navigate.