Procrastination Theory

1.1 Procrastination

Procrastination is a universal phenomenon that affects many areas of people lives. The word procrastination has many definitions: Procrastination is the act of needlessly delaying tasks to the point of discomfort (Solomon & Rothblum 1984). Procrastination is to intentionally defer or delay work that must be done (Schouwenburg 1995, Schraw, Wadkins & Olafson 2007). Procrastination is the intentional behaviour delay where individuals put off tasks that they intend to complete (Lay 1994). Procrastination has been defined as the lack of self-regulated performance and the response to delay what is required to reach a goal (Ellis & Knaus 1997). Each of these definitions agree that procrastination is a behavioural tendency with negative consequences (Dewitte &

Procrastination may be responsible for late assignments, cramming revision for tests and social anxiety, all of which can often result in a poorer performance than the person is actually capable of achieving (Lee 2005; Lay & Schouwenburg 1993). So what is the reason for procrastination? Well, there are many explanations. Some researchers see procrastination as a personality trait (Lay 1986).The interest of procrastination is usually revolved around students and academia. Research has shown the importance of understanding procrastination in an academic setting, for instance academic procrastination is experienced by approximately 80%-95% of college students (Ellis & Knaus 1977). Studies show that at least 50% of undergraduate students frequently procrastinate (Hedin 2012). And 65% of students want to stop procrastinating (Solomon & Rothblum 1984). Even though many researchers focus on the destructive impacts that procrastination can have on a person’s life, for some procrastination is not always a negative behaviour. Research shows that individuals who procrastinate try to justify their behaviour and fall back on phrases such as, “I do my best work under pressure”