Managing Procrastination

The term "procrastination" is often a term associated with laziness.  This is a myth and for students with executive functioning challenges (e.g., ADHD), task initiation can be particularly frustrating and unfortunately, the belief that "I must be lazy" can lead to anxiety, poor self-esteem and guilt when more often it is a result of stress, feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, perfectionism, anxiety, or burnout. 

Often, procrastination is a behaviour we use to protect ourselves from negative emotions or experiences associated with the task we are trying to do. 

It is important to recognize that procrastination serves a purpose in the short term, but often causes more distress in the long term. 

Managing procrastination is ultimately about shifting from using avoidance as a coping strategy to other strategies that can make the negative emotion or experience associated with the task more tolerable. For more information about how procrastination works, explore the resources available through the Centre for Clinical Interventions.

You may want to engage in reflective activities to identify your procrastination habits and identify strategies you have found help to get started on your tasks.

Consider:

• What do you do when you procrastinate?  (e.g. watch television/YouTube?  Go out with friends? Talk on the phone?  Play video games?)
• Why are you procrastinating? (e.g. reading material is confusing, feeling overwhelmed, anxious, disinterested in the material, etc.)

A reflection tool to assess how much you may be procrastinating is "Assessing my Academic Progress". While the tool references UTSC resources, for the most part, resources are not specific to the campus or there is an equivalent resource on each campus (e.g., Accessibility Services, Health & Wellness, etc.).

Resources & Templates

The following resources may also assist you in managing procrastination

Managing Procrastination Worksheet

NOTE: Some students may need medication or counselling to help apply the learning strategies found on this website. If "procrastination" is causing you significant stress we encourage you to follow up with your health care provider.