The Dangers of Procrastination When You're a University Student

Procrastination can affect anyone, but it’s common among university students. There are a lot of distractions when you’re a student and many things that may seem more fun than completing assignments and studying. The truth is, procrastination can be dangerous and even disastrous when you’re a student. Check out a few of the dangers of procrastination below and take steps to avoid them.

The Quality of Your Work Can Suffer

When you start an assignment too close to its due date (e.g. a day before the deadline), it may be impossible to deliver your best work. A small timeframe or tight deadline could impede creativity and suppress your best ideas. Rushed work may also not be reflective of your talents or abilities and can lead to low quality work and failing grades. Plus, most major assignments and/or projects require weeks of research and planning. Neglecting this research and planning process could make your assignment or project less detailed and polished.

Procrastination Can Cause Stress and/or Anxiety

University can be full of stressors and anxiety-inducing conditions, including heavy workloads, a new social environment or pressure, homesickness, etc. However, unknown to many, procrastination is a common culprit of stress and anxiety for university students. The longer you procrastinate, the more you worry, the closer the deadlines become, and the more work piles up. Short deadlines and more work can cause pressure, compounding stress and anxiety. Most university assignments or projects are typically broken down into and meant to be completed in steps. Leaving all the work to the last minute can make an assignment larger and more complicated than it should be. Large, complicated projects are inherently stress and anxiety-inducing.

It Can Compromise Your Academic Record

How you work affects the quality of your work and how much you get done. With (self-imposed) tighter deadlines, it’s likely you’ll finish less and pay less attention to detail, offering lower quality work. Eventually, this could lead to falling grades. Chronic procrastination could also lead to complete academic failure, especially if it causes you to miss deadlines, and this can sidetrack your academic goals. If these types of issues persist or worsen, they could eventually lead to academic probation or worse.

It Can Negatively Affect Your Social Life

For many people, an active social life is one of the best parts of being a university student. During university, you meet new people, experience new things, and pass into a new phase of life. Procrastination can actually put all of this in jeopardy, because if you’re always finishing your work at the last minute or cramming for tests, there’s a greater chance you will be forced to miss social events and time spent with friends.

Procrastination Can Lower Confidence and Self-Esteem

For many, it’s difficult to feel self-confident when you constantly put things off to the last minute. Not only can procrastination cause low self-esteem, it can result from low self-esteem, and the more you procrastinate, the worse you feel about yourself. Low self-esteem can compromise your academic performance and social life, and it can lead to social isolation, anxiety, stress and even depression.

If you find yourself pushing more and more of your work off to the last minute, make a commitment to change the way you tackle assignments and studying. Get started now, before exam season starts!

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