As a high school or uni student, you might sometimes find yourself putting off study to do other tasks even when an important assessment deadline or exam is looming over you.

This can look like doom-scrolling, texting friends, or checking emails for the seventh time. You might even turn to tasks you usually avoid, such as cleaning, to put off study.

After procrastinating, you may feel more negative, guilty, or stressed because you know the task you put off is important.

So why do we still do it? And how can we overcome it?

What is procrastination?

Procrastination is an unnecessary delay in starting or finishing a task. It’s voluntary, but quite unhelpful. Any short-term feelings of relief that come when avoiding the task often have longer term costs for your learning and sense of self.

Procrastination is extremely common. In a US study, published last month, researchers asked more than 65,000 college students about 18 common lifestyle and health issues. This included finances, family, career, procrastination, ADHD, insomnia, anxiety, stress and depression.

Procrastination and stress were the two most prevalent issues in students’ lives, with each experienced by more than seven in ten students. Procrastination was also the lifestyle factor most likely to harm students’ academic performance and cause them further distress.

Why do we procrastinate?

Procrastination is not simply a question of your willpower.........

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