Why Is Procrastination so Bad in College if There’s so Much Free Time?

Whereas in high school it may have felt like every moment was planned for you, in college there is a lot of more freedom. With all that time, you can afford to put things off a little, right? Wrong! A big part of learning how to adult is responsibly managing your time so there’s room for both work and play. Here are some consequences of procrastination:

Increased Stress

With studying, waiting until the last minute not only leaves you with less time to practice the material, but it also increases your stress level.

• Stress makes it harder to concentrate and encode what you need to learn.

• Stress also makes it more likely that you’re going to continue to procrastinate.

• Stress increases chances that your learning will go in one ear and out the other.

• So if the material on that test is important later in the semester, or for a class next semester, you likely won’t remember it after the test.

• Also, it’s more effective – and less daunting – to study for short periods of time over several days than it is to study during one long and exhausting session.

Lower-quality writing

With writing, waiting until the last minute practically ensures an inferior final product.

• If you put off an assignment until the last minute, you’ll likely be in a rush. This makes it more likely that you’ll make mistakes.

• If you plan ahead, you can bounce your thesis and other ideas off of classmates or your professor. This can help you home in on a strong idea for the paper.

• Starting earlier also gives you the opportunity to submit a draft before the final due date

• Finally, an earlier start makes it easier to proofread and fine-tune your ideas.

Uncomfortable situations

Work isn’t the only thing we can procrastinate on! With conflicts and other uncomfortable social situations, ignoring the issue leaves others waiting for your response and can make things worse rather than better.

• We usually hesitate to respond to tricky texts or e-mails because we’re worried about another person’s reaction.

• But by ignoring the issue, we make it more likely that the other person will be more frustrated, disappointed, or left feeling unheard and unimportant.

• If we don’t know what to say or we’re hesitating to commit to something, that’s okay!  Saying that to the other person lets them know they’re still on our minds.

• Admitting that a situation is hard for us can also open up the discussion, and the other person may have ideas they can add to help problem solve.