Research Argument

Paul LaPrade
RWS 1301
Athena Dueck
12/12/14

Procrastination is described as the action of delaying or postponing something, and given

that is a widely accepted definition, it doesnt make procrastination out to what it truly is. More
and more people are being effected by procrastination, thinking its not a big deal, and often
claiming that its a tool and that benefits them. Procrastination should not be romanticized
regardless of the situation. People argue that they work better under pressure, or that they like the
thrill of completing a task in the nick of time. However, procrastination has adverse effects not
only on your performance and final product, but on your mental health and well-being as well.
Though procrastination has been around since the beginning of time, it has not been an
interest of study until the past four decades or so. With procrastination on the rise among our
society it has piqued the interest of many psychologists, and scientists around the world.
Procrastinating is not only putting off work, or studying but it can be anything from watching TV
to avoid going to sleep, to getting your Christmas shopping done on Christmas Eve. Researchers
believe that because procrastination is growing, it is negatively affecting us in more ways than
more. With all the advancements in technology, procrastinating has never been easier. The
percentage of chronic procrastinators has risen over 20% over the past 30 years. Steel, one of the
leading researchers in the field says that not only does procrastinating have a negative effect on a
persons work, but it makes people gain weight, lose money, and overall be unhappy. Often
times people dont realize this until its too late, procrastination is associated with a feeling of
guilt, but even so, the majority of chronic procrastinators just brush that feeling off and continue
to avoid the task at hand.
Researchers have found that there is not just one kind of procrastination, but there are
many. Active procrastination, is when a person puts a task on the back burner because they have
other tasks to complete, but they just need more time. Active procrastination often occurs when

the person has too much on their plate and theyre prioritizing to successfully complete each one.
When actively procrastinating, if the person ends up not completing the task, they dont feel like
a failure because they were working towards it and just couldnt finish it. On the other hand,
theres passive procrastination which when a person doesnt finish the task, it feels like a failure.
A passive procrastinator puts things off because they cannot get motivated, or they are
overwhelmed by the task at hand. Whether it be low self-esteem, stubbornness, fear, or anger,
these things can trigger passive procrastination. This often leads to missing deadlines, or sloppy
work. Katrin Klingsieck of Paderborn University argues that there is a difference between
procrastinating, and strategic delay, however, strategic delay is in itself a form of procrastination.
When strategically delaying a task, a person outweighs the costs and benefits of making the
delay, but often times, procrastinators decide that delaying the task is a bigger benefit than doing
it, meaning they are willing to accept the consequences of guilt and anxiety.
Procrastination makes the subject rationalize and justify their behavior in order to try to
avoid the feelings of guilt. Often, these justifications are just excuses to help them cope with
their intentional delay. Some of the more popular justifications consist of the procrastinator
claiming they do not know how to do the task, or they lack the skills needed. Many times this
excuse is used because the procrastinator has not attempted a task similar to the one at hand, so
they decide to use the excuse that they dont know how. Lack of interest is another excuse
often given by chronic procrastinators. Given this allows the procrastinator to avoid the task, it
doesnt absolve them from doing it, it is natural for people to lack interest in a lot of things, but
by tackling the topic with a grain of salt, they can enjoy their good times without worry. I
dont feel like doing it or lack of motivation is a commonly used excuse to avoid an unpleasant
task. Many procrastinators feel as though something is wrong with them because they lack the

motivation to complete a task, however; to become motivated one must begin the task. Another
excuse is the fear of failure, the argument here is the procrastinator is fearful that upon putting in
a lot of effort, they will fail anyway, so in order to protect themselves from trying and failing,
they just do not do the task. To them, not doing it and failing is better than trying and failing.
Though fear of failure is often caused by being a perfectionist, there is also fear of success,
which is caused by not thinking youll be able to top it the next time. With this, the person will
constantly question what theyll have to do to and how much to be considered good enough.
Lastly, there is the rebellion factor that causes procrastination. You cant make me. Sometimes
students do this as a form of rebellion to either instructors, or parents. Regardless of the excuse
you use to justify your procrastinating habits, you are still avoiding the task, and still feeling the
cloud of guilt stopping you from enjoying your time.
Its hypothesized that procrastination is caused because of preexisting disorders in some
cases. When its linked to a preexisting psychological problem, it can be harder to fall out of the
habit. It can be something as simple as low self-esteem stopping someone from performing the
task at hand. Not only is it harder to fall out of the habit of putting things off when its a
psychological issue paired with procrastination, but the effects can be exponentially worse.
Instead of gaining five pounds because youre stressing about the assignments youve put off,
you can gain ten to fifteen because you started out with low self-esteem, which led to
procrastination, which in turn left you depressed. Procrastination can also leave you with lasting
psychological problems. A huge misconception about procrastination is that its nothing but a
habit, or it is even sometimes veiled as something that helps people do their work better.
Procrastination is not a habit, and it certainly does not help people get work done. When you

procrastinate, as stated previously, you run the risk of not only doing a sloppy job with the task,
but you run into mental, physical, and monetary turmoil.
Procrastination has a negative effect on those who partake in putting tasks off.
Procrastinating puts unneeded stress on your mind and body. Its not only unhealthy for you, but
for your relationships, too. Stress can compromise our immune systems, increasing our chance of
becoming ill and losing the ability to maintain focused on any task. If we consider these shortterm things, we can also look into the long term effects that procrastination has on us, not only
does it keep us from accomplishing the goals weve set out to achieve, but it continues to eat at
you until you change your procrastinating ways. Giving your body unwarranted and undue stress
is a big price to pay in place of getting your work done on time.
Joseph Ferrari likened chronic procrastination to that of clinical depression. He proceeded
to say, As I tell people, to tell the chronic procrastinator to just do it would be like saying to a
clinically depressed person, cheer up. Chronic procrastination is in some cases considered a
disorder. However, there are ways to stop yourself from being a chronic procrastinator, to being
someone who gets their tasks done by the set due date, and that enjoys their down time, not
having it clouded by guilt. In another text, a researcher claimed that theres a better chance of an
alcoholic sobering up, than there is for a chronic procrastinator to become responsible and begin
completing things on time.
There are many ways to overcome your chronic procrastination, for example, if you lack
the skill, the key is to visit a counselor, schedule a session with a tutor, if this is your problem,
dedication is key. If your problem is that you cant get interested in the task at hand, you just
have to take it with a grain of salt and keep in mind that the sooner you get it done, the sooner
you can enjoy your worry-free time. A way to overcome your lack of motivation is to adjust your

attitude, you cant be motivated if you dont want to be. Remember that nothing is wrong with
you if you find it hard to get motivated to complete a task, its only normal. In Burns (1989)
book, The Feeling Good Handbook, he writes that doing comes first, and then the motivation.
If youre afraid of failing, postponing and procrastinating the task is going to in turn make it
worse. Pulling an all-nighter, or writing a paper the night before is setting you up for failure. One
way to help with this is to maybe not put 110% into it, but to give it 95% but not to put it off
completely. When someone is procrastinating because theyre rebelling it is important to know
that rebellion is a re-action, not an action. So when rebelling, you are giving the party youre
rebelling against the upper hand. You should decide what you want in your life, you shouldnt
just react to someone elses decisions for your life.
Once an individual has kicked their chronic procrastinating, they begin living life. They
no longer worry about the assignment hanging over their head. They begin to feel more
accomplished with the work theyve completed on time. Youre able to relax and take your time
on projects. Once youve taken your schedule and put it back on track, youre more prone to
reach your end goal. When you complete things on time, and you dont procrastinate, you
succeed, achieve, earn respect, and you become happy in life.
With procrastination coming to the surface, many people see it for what it is. Theyre
beginning to see that its much more than a bad habit. They are beginning to realize that it
should not be made out to be something special like it was once upon a time. Procrastination has
all the negative effects of a psychological problem, as well as the long term effects of them.
Making note if youre a procrastinator, and of the kind you are is important to recovering form
chronic procrastination. Steel said that he doesnt believe procrastination can be completely
eliminated, but it can be reduced drastically. Procrastination is not only on the individual level

anymore, but it is now effecting our society as a whole. If we dont take action to resolve our
procrastinating, it can become so much worse.

Annotated Bibliography

Andreou, C., and M. D. White, eds. 2010. The thief of time: Philosophical essays on
procrastination. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
This text addresses that procrastination is a self-defeating tool that many people use.
There are various reasons that make this seem like a logical option to many people, however they
fail to see the repercussions. Procrastination is not a tool that people should be using, due to the
fact that, as previously stated, it is a self-defeating action. This tool is very unhealthy, it leads
to people not being able to achieve the goals theyve set for themselves.
Burka, J. B., and L. M. Yuen. 2008. Procrastination: Why you do it, what to do about it.
Reading, MA: Da Capo.
This book sets out to help readers cope with procrastination and help them find ways to
stop doing it, as well as inform us why we do it. It proceeds to use humor to help us in a sense
come to our own conclusion. It helps you to detect the main reason you, as a person,
procrastinate, and the best way for you to stop doing so.
Ferrari, J. R. 2010. Still procrastinating: The no-regrets guide to getting it done. Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley.
With this book, people come to find out, through 20 years of study, why people continue
to procrastinate. It then tells us that procrastination is not due to poor time management, but its
you subconsciously sabotaging yourself.

Ferrari, J. R., J. L. Johnson, and W. G. McCown. 1995. Procrastination and task

avoidance: Theory, research, and treatment. New York: Plenum.
Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory, research, and treatment is an in-depth look
into the study of psychology and where it comes from. It is suggested that procrastination is
either the product, or the cause of psychiatric syndromes, or disorders.
Fiore, N. 2007. The now habit: A strategic program for overcoming procrastination and
enjoying guilt-free play. New York: Tarcher/Penguin.
In this text, Fiore informs us that it is not just students who procrastinate, but a wide
variety of people. Anyone from entrepreneur or a C.E.O. to a small elementary school child can
be a procrastinator. However, it also discusses how we can persevere to be a more accomplished
individual without the hovering feeling that something needs to get done.
Schouwenburg, H. C., C. H. Lay, T. A. Pychyl, and J. R. Ferrari, eds. 2004. Counseling the
procrastinator in academic settings. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Procrastination has been a known phenomenon for quite some time, however people
hadnt studied it until recently. This text is intended to help people who procrastinate, it is
something that is very useful in overcoming the roadblock that is procrastination. Within are
personal experiences and studies to help the reader better relate and to better show that
procrastination results is poor, sloppy work.
Steel, P. 2012. The procrastination equation: How to stop putting things off and start
getting things done. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Besides the poor work and failures, this book tells us the negative affect procrastination
has on ones health and social life. Steel shows the reader that procrastination is not limited to
school and work, but is a part of everyones everyday lives. Not only does he show us what
makes us procrastinate, but he also shows us what motivates us.
Klingsieck, K. B. 2013. Procrastination: When good things dont come to those who wait.
European Psychologist 18.1: 2434.
This paper goes into detail as to what procrastination really is, and how is often defended
as something done with the intention to make ones work better, due to the sham that they work
better under pressure. It also goes into detail as to where we might be with procrastination in the
future.
Steel, P. 2007. The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of
quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin 133.1: 6594.
In this piece by Steel, it informs that the causes and effects of procrastination are
consistent. Furthermore that these same causes and effects are also in sync with the temporal
motivation theory. Despite the fact that there are many ways to avoid procrastination, it seems to
be a growing problem that is not getting resolved.
van Eerde, W. 2003. A meta-analytically derived nomological network of procrastination.
Personality and Individual Differences 35.6: 14011419.
Can personality effect a difference in your procrastination compared to others? This book
shows myriad cases in which it does. This also argues that a new way of studying procrastination
should be enforced due to the fact that moderators were not accounted for in many other studies.

Jaffe, Eric. April, 2013. Observer Vol.26, No.4. Why Wait? The Science Behind
Procrastination.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/april-13/whywait-the-science-behind-procrastination.html. April 15, 2014.
In this article Jaffe quotes Ferrari saying something along the lines that if someones got
a dozen things to do, a normal person would say that numbers 10 through 12 have to wait.
Whereas a procrastinator does one or two things, rewrites the list, shuffles them around, then
makes a copy of it. He compares procrastination to depression saying telling a procrastinator to
just do it is like telling a clinically depressed person to cheer up.
Burns, D. (1989) The Feeling Good Handbook. http://success.oregonstate.edu/six-reasonspeople-procrastinate. April 15, 2014.
When reading this it lists six reasons people procrastinate. Many procrastinators will read
this and find it relatable, the reasons consist of thinking you dont know it, and lack of will to
learn how, to thinking its boring and just not wanting to do it. Regardless of relatable these
reasons are, they are all easily avoided, or are easy to overcome.
Marano, Hara. August 23, 2003. Procrastination: Ten Things To Know.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200308/procrastination-ten-things-know. April
15, 2014.
Here we are informed that one is not born to be a procrastinator, it is a learned behavior.
When you begin to be a procrastinator, your reason can be different from someone elses. For
instance, it can be because youre seeking the thrill of getting something done the last minute, for

others its fear of failing even upon finishing the task at hand. Regardless of what type of
procrastinator you are, it can be fixed.
Ferrari, Joseph. April 5, 2010. Psychology of Procrastination: Why People Put Off
Important Tasks Until the Last Minute.
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/04/procrastination.aspx. April 15, 2014.
On this website Ferrari, Ph.D. answers a few of the American Psychological
Associations questions. In one of his answers he gives us the example that post offices stay open
later on April 15th to allow people to send in their tax forms, in a sense condoning our actions of
procrastination as the public. He then tells his readers to live their lives now, and to enjoy it
rather than living in fear of failure.
University of Calgary. 10 January 2007. We're Sorry This Is Late ... We Really Meant To
Post It Sooner: Research Into Procrastination Shows Surprising Findings.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070110090851.htm. April 15, 2014.
Having impulses and lack of self-control and will power are reasons why procrastination
is as big as it is today. If one is willing to develop better will power they have a better chance at
overcoming procrastination. If you dont, and youre part of the 15-20% of the chronic
procrastinator population, the effects of doing so can add up well beyond just poor work
performance.