The majority of people will automatically assume that a procrastinator is lazy. That laying off tasks means not wanting to put in the time to complete them, that it is too much effort to even start doing something. But this view can only have detrimental effects; it fails to recognise the root cause of procrastination: perfectionism. 

Perfectionism can be described as ‘the need to be or appear to be perfect, or even to believe that it's possible to achieve perfection.’ In many cultures where academic competitiveness is a fundamental part of both school and later work life, this personality style is often viewed as positive and a key driving factor in careers. Although it can motivate students effectively, it has many hidden and often forgotten side effects. 

On one hand, perfectionists are sometimes viewed as model students. The need to achieve flawless work leads to great care being taken while working on projects or assignments, as anything below top grades is seen as unacceptable. In lesser amounts, perfectionism is the most successful motivator, and can lead to healthy competition between students. The constant striving for greatness helps students to better themselves, and if they fail to reach their extraordinarily ambitious goals, they will be more determined to persevere and eventually attain excellence. 

On the other hand, it is incredibly easy to overdo perfection. It can make failures a thousand times more painful, shameful, and disappointing, as the realisation dawns that someone’s personal expectations are sometimes too ambitious. Even if a perfectionist creates a seemingly flawless piece of work, it could just fuel their innate desire to continue at this high standard of work consistently. 

Working under stress is so deeply ingrained in some people’s habits that they cannot function in calm environments. When under stress, the human body produces the hormone cortisol, which essentially helps us to prepare for a fight or flight situation. It can increase heart rate and breathing rate, manifesting itself as symptoms of panic or anxiety attacks. However, to notorious procrastinators, it is an essential part of their work schedule. Many relate to not being able to do work until the day or even night before it is due, simply because it is not urgent enough.  

This can be a torturous cycle; the more someone procrastinates, the later they end up completing homework. Because they spend their time catching up on nearly overdue tasks, they cannot get organised and on top of assignments enough to do tasks the day they are set. Even though the original aim was to achieve perfection in their standard of work, leaving things for the last minute can lead to rushed work and immense levels of stress. 

Furthermore, perfectionism plays a crucial role in procrastination habits. The fear of failure can translate to an inability to even start work if someone knows they are too tired, unmotivated, or uninspired, to create the best work they possibly can. This is when terms such as executive dysfunction are brought in, describing the repetitive behaviour when a person knows they need to do the work, and even want to do it, but cannot physically move their body to start the task. Many perfectionists can find themselves asking, ‘what is the point of starting now, if I know it's going to end up decent rather than amazing? It's too late now, I'm too tired, there's no point in starting now! I'll do something else until I feel ready to draft an amazing essay.’  

Sometimes, perfectionism can also show itself as anxiety and stress. In these cases, many are tempted to completely forget about the task responsible for the worry, doing more enjoyable, relaxing, and even trivial activities instead. It seems much simpler to let the person of ‘later today’ or ‘first thing tomorrow morning’ deal with the problem, rather than face it and potentially come out of it knowing that you have failed, that the work could have been so much better, failing to even consider that it could have been so much worse. Whilst it is true that mental health experts recommend doing relaxing tasks when feeling overwhelmed, it must be remembered that everything is best in moderation, so binge-watching your favourite show on Netflix may not be the optimal coping mechanism. 

With exam season coming up, now is the optimal time to educate yourselves on and brush up on your coping techniques that you use to overcome procrastination and reduce stress. Try incorporating this advice into your revision:

  • start off by making a list of all the tasks you actually need to do, including assignments, revision, and solidifying classwork
  • ensure you prioritse the most important or urgent tasks by ranking them
  • break down larger tasks int smaller, more feasible tasks
  • cross off tasks once you have completed them- it can give a sense of finality and accomplishment
  • make sure to take breaks and rewards yourself to avoid burn out! 

Although on the surface procrastination is so often perceived as lacking a willingness to complete a task, it is often the opposite. Perfectionists can be so concerned about the quality of their work, that they end up delaying and preparing mentally for the task for hours, days, or even months, rather than risk starting an assignment and worrying that their work has flaws.