Problems and Solutions of Procrastination Regarding Time Management and Academic Success

Introduction

Introduction: Time Management is an important skill to have in life. It is a method of arranging tasks by giving each task a specific amount of time. People practice this method to keep up with their everyday life. Without time management, there would be no organization of tasks in one’s life and people will eventually find that their tasks had accumulated. Presently, students became one of the people most in need of time management for numerous reasons, one of which is academic success. Academic success is the most important part of a student’s life because it supports the student both mentally and psychologically. Thesis statement: However, academic success is not easy to achieve because it is almost inevitable that a student will face problems concerning time management on his journey to academic success. Procrastination is a great example of one of those problems. Therefore, this report will discuss one of the causes of procrastination and its consequences, in addition to the solution and the consequence of the solution.

Procrastination

The Comfort Zone

Topic sentence: One of the major causes of procrastination is the fear of leaving the comfort zone. The comfort zone is defined as a state of doing unimportant tasks that are usually enjoyable but are not essential. To begin with, people like staying in the comfort zone, because it helps them escape the pressure and stress of real-life tasks. For instance, if a student had to choose between playing video-games or studying for a quiz, they would choose the former. Evidence & citing: According to Princeton University (2012), students tend to procrastinate when they feel pressured about their academic success. In addition, a lot of people are unaware of the chances they are missing due to their fear of leaving their comfort zones. To illustrate, people who like staying in their comfort zones are often less successful in life, in contrast to successful people who often rarely stay in their comfort zones. Commentary: Lastly, staying in comfort zones gives procrastinators the excuse of not having enough time. For example, when a student has a major exam there is a chance that they will put off studying for the exam until there is no enough time to study. Therefore, procrastination is considered as a great example of poor time management.

Topic sentence: Procrastination has a lot of consequences that can severely damage a student’s life both mentally and academically. Evidence & citing: To begin with, procrastinating students are usually more anxious and stressed compared to the other students. For example, those students, i.e., procrastinating students, have a lot of tasks that have been accumulated; this accumulation of tasks has made them feel stressed and anxious and thus, lose focus on their tasks. This example is supported by Vitasaria (2010), who pointed out that due to the increasing anxiety levels and the pressure felt, students tend to perform badly with their assignments. Commentary: Furthermore, the accumulation of tasks will lead students to the other consequence, which is academic failure. Academic failure is one of the common effects of poor time management. To illustrate, academic failure can be obtained when students procrastinate their homework, assignments, projects and other tasks. For example, when students have numerous assignments that are due in a month, they will put off doing them (i.e., the assignments) until there is not enough time to finish them. Clearly, the consequences of procrastination are detrimental, however, there are solutions to procrastination as well.

Stability and commitment

Sticking to a Plan

Topic sentence: One of the solutions to procrastination is sticking to a plan. Sticking to a plan requires patience and commitment. Evidence & citing: To begin with, to stick to a plan a student must have specific goals and a specific strategy to achieve these goals. To explain this, student need to set a plan which has different kinds of goals that can be organized by importance; according to Cornell University (2015), arranging your schedule by importance is one of the guidelines to time management and each plan must have a backup plan in case of an emergency. However, students should not give up the original plan at any problem they face, on the contrary, they should have the stability and commitment to stick to the original plan until they are 100% sure that it will fail. Commentary: For example, if a student decided that they want to get an A+ on their Physics course, however, they got a C+ on their first major exam, they should not give up easily and should stick to the original plan, i.e., obtaining an A+, until they are certain that it will fail; then they turn to the backup plan, which is to get a B+. Evidently, sticking to a plan will eventually lead to some positive consequences.

Topic sentence: Sticking to a plan has many positive consequences. Evidence & citing: Firstly, sticking to a plan saves a lot of time and is considered as a great example of good time management. Secondly, sticking to a plan helps students obtain the grades they hope for and therefore achieve academic success. Thirdly, when students stick to a plan, they feel confident, relieved and motivated about their future. Even though Lawler stated that the most quintessential factor of a well-structured work system is motivation, this also applies for college students as to when they stick to a plan it helps them to be motivated. Commentary: To explain these 3 points, if a student sets a long-term plan to get a 3.75/4 G.P.A, they would divide their time in a good manner, this will help them achieve their short-term plans which will lead them to achieve the long-term plan and lastly, obtain satisfaction and confidence in themselves. Therefore, sticking to a plan is a great example of good time management and it is also a method of achieving academic success.

Conclusion

Conclusion paragraph: In conclusion, it is clear that procrastination is one of the major problems students face today. It can be caused by numerous reasons, such as staying in the comfort zone. In addition, procrastination has a lot of consequences, two of which are anxiety and academic failure. However, there are solutions to procrastination. Sticking to a plan is considered as a quintessential solution to procrastination. Furthermore, there are many consequences of sticking to a plan, such as saving time, achieving academic success, confidence and motivation. Lastly, it would be a great idea if students organized their time in a well-planned manner in order to save time. In addition, students should utilize their time and not waste it on meaningless trivia.

Works Cited

1. Cornell University. (2015, October). A Simple, Effective Time Management System. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from http://lsc.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/A-Simple-Effective-Time-Management-System.pdf
2. Olaniyi, A. A. (2013, September 09). Effects of job stress and motivation on performance of employees in Hotel Industry. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from http://trap.ncirl.ie/910/
3. Princeton University. (2012). Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination | McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/understanding-and-overcoming-procrastination
4. Vitasaria, P. (2010, December 23). The Relationship between Study Anxiety and Academic Performance among Engineering Students. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042810021725