I’ll Finish It Later..: Procrastination and Its Impact on Academic Performance

Introduction

University students at UOW face the universal challenges of having to manage deadlines and submit assignments on time. With students often enrolled in up to four subjects per semester, they are required to juggle multiple weekly quizzes, ongoing assessments, and extensive subject outlines. Despite this structured environment, many students still postpone their work until the last possible moment—some even beginning assignments on the day they are due. This behaviour, widely known as procrastination, raises an important question: why do students procrastinate, and what impact does it have on their academic performance? The common assumption is that procrastination stems from laziness, yet some research suggests that anxiety, perfectionism, and a lack of motivation also play significant roles (Voge 2007). Specific research examining whether procrastination is significantly correlated with academic performance at UOW has not yet been undertaken, so my proposed study seeks to investigate the relationship between a student’s level of procrastination and their average grades at UOW to challenge the idea that procrastination is simply a product of laziness or unintelligence.

Research Question

This research aims to explore the correlation between procrastination and academic performance among UOW students. The central question for this study is: “Is there a correlation between a student’s level of procrastination and their average grades?” By examining this relationship, the research seeks to determine whether procrastination has a measurable impact on student success.

Methodology

To examine this relationship, my study will employ a survey-based research method. A structured survey will be distributed to UOW students enrolled in BCM 212, collecting data on their academic habits, procrastination tendencies, and overall grades. The survey will include both qualitative and quantitative components, featuring questions such as:

Would you consider yourself a procrastinator? (Yes, No, Unsure)
When would you say you spend the most time working on an assignment? (1 Week Before Due Date, 1 Day Before Due Date, On Due Date)
What was your average grade in the last 2 semesters? (50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100)
Do you feel as though you could achieve a greater mark in assignments if you procrastinated less? (Yes, No, Unsure)

The purpose of these questions is to generate an average procrastination score, which will then be statistically compared to their reported academic performance. By creating a correlation chart, I will assess whether higher levels of procrastination are significantly linked to lower grades .

Conclusion

My interest in this topic stems from my belief that procrastination does not necessarily indicate a lack of effort or concern for academic performance. Students procrastinate for a variety of reasons, ranging from external pressures to personal coping mechanisms, and the assumption that it equates to laziness oversimplifies a complex behavioural pattern. Recent research has suggested that procrastination can sometimes allow us to think through uncertainties and difficult emotions (Agarwal 2022) and that environmental factors can also contribute significantly to a student’s procrastination behaviours (Nordby, Klingsieck & Svartdal 2017). In my own anecdotal experience, I have observed that some of the most academically successful students procrastinate yet still achieve distinction averages. Through this research, I hope to challenge existing misconceptions and provide insight into the diverse reasons behind student procrastination at UOW.

References

Agarwal, P 2022, Procrastination: the cognitive biases that enable it – and why it’s sometimes useful, The Conversation.

Hen, M & Goroshit, M 2018, ‘The effects of decisional and academic procrastination on students’ feelings toward academic procrastination’, Current Psychology, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 556–563.

Nordby, K, Klingsieck, KB & Svartdal, F 2017, ‘Do procrastination-friendly environments make students delay unnecessarily?’, Social Psychology of Education, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 491–512.

Voge, DJ 2007, Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination, McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, Princeton University.