The Science of Procrastination: Why We Thrive Under Pressure
Beyond external factors, such as a two weeks notice for an exam, procrastination is one topic that hits too close to home. check out Mojola's tips for identifying and tackling procrastination.
It was 3 p.m. on a not-so-lazy afternoon, and Mojola, a second-year Pharmacology student, found herself deep in a YouTube rabbit hole. She wasn’t watching “Ninja Nerd” or “Learning Anatomy with Dr. Bakare” —no, she was on Breanna Quan’s study vlog channel, hoping for a spark of motivation.
Technically, Mojola was kind of studying. She had her trusty Pomodoro timer going—study for an hour, take a break for 25 minutes. She even had the cute focus app open on her phone to track her progress. In her mind, this counted as part of the process, right? After all, watching someone else study could be productive, couldn’t it?
Here is what Mojola did not understand: She was engaging in Productive Procrastination - doing something that feels productive but delaying the actual task at hand. Being Mojola, she believed she was watching those videos to get motivated, but she ended up stretching beyond her break time, leaving her distracted.
Classic Procrastination, right?
Procrastination is delaying tasks until the last minute or missing deadlines altogether.
Despite popular misconceptions, it is not always caused by laziness. It can stem from fear of failure, poor time management, perfectionism, or feeling overwhelmed. Procrastination is linked to the brain’s reward system: when people avoid challenging tasks and opt for “fun” activities (like Mojola watching study vlogs), their brain releases dopamine, creating a temporary sense of pleasure. This can trap people in a cycle of delay, chasing that dopamine rush, even though it leads to stress and frustration when the task finally demands attention.
But why is it that we often seem to work under pressure?
Having deadlines creates a sense of urgency. It puts you in flight mode, releasing stress hormones like Adrenaline and Cortisol and narrowing your focus. It is because these hormones heighten your focus, improve your energy and your reaction time, and help you power through your tasks. This might explain why you would lock in when your in-courses have a definite date rather than “maybe next week or next 2 weeks”.
We all had that moment when we wrote that English essay the day before submission or turned the assignment in at exactly 11:59 pm. That’s because, under pressure, the brain stops overthinking and zeroes in on completing the task at hand.
There’s a psychological principle for this: The Yerkes-Dodson Law. It states that moderate stress can push you out of complacency, boosting productivity and creativity. But too much stress?
That’s where things fall apart.
When the stress becomes overwhelming, it can have the opposite effect. As the Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests, too much pressure can lead to burnout, fatigue, and mistakes. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we work best when we’re under pressure, but relying on that stress as a driving force can quickly become unsustainable.
The goal should be to balance productivity with self-care. And that’s where understanding procrastination is essential. If you’re constantly waiting until the last minute, it’s a sign that you may be relying too heavily on stress to fuel your work. So, next time you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself: is this stress actually helping me, or is it slowly working against me?
Identifying Procrastination
Identifying procrastination can be tricky because it often disguises itself as "busywork" or justified delays. There are several ways to help you recognize it, including:
1. Always waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect time e.g I will start reading by 1:30 pm.
2. Doing small, unimportant tasks to avoid the main work.
3. Constantly distracting yourself either with social media, shows or just finding ways to avoid doing that task.
4. Avoiding a task because you feel overwhelmed.
5. Rushing to finish a task that you have ample time to.
There are other ways procrastination can manifest, but these are just to help you introspect.
Recognizing the signs of procrastination early and implementing strategies to manage it, whether that’s setting mini-deadlines, breaking tasks into smaller chunks, or finding ways to stay motivated, you can avoid the danger of too much pressure while still getting the job done efficiently. Finding that balance might be the real key to mastering procrastination once and for all.
Strategies for managing procrastination
Here’s how you can tackle this not-so-little problem:
1. Setting mini-deadlines
This particularly works for me, I usually set an earlier deadline of a week for example, depending on the task at hand. This would simulate urgency without that last-minute chaos.
2. Reward Yourself
This can be in the form of “If I finish Professor Agbaje’s slide before 12, I
will buy Mavise Jollof Rice.”
3. Get a serious accountability partner
Find someone who can provide the encouragement and support you need to keep pushing, whether it’s a soft pat on the back or the harsh sting of cold water when you fall asleep with TikTok motivational videos playing in the background.
4. Be Kind to yourself
Do not take up too many roles and commitments. Remember that you need time for yourself, too.
5. Break down your tasks
Breaking a complex task into smaller steps can make it seem easier and more manageable. Tackle things one step at a time so you do not get overwhelmed.
These strategies, setting mini-deadlines, rewarding yourself, having an accountability partner, and breaking tasks down, are all tried and tested ways to manage procrastination.
I’ll admit, though, that even as I write this article, I’ve been a bit of a hypocrite. I started writing at 10:24 p.m., knowing it was due by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Should I have set an earlier deadline for myself? Probably. But I guess I'll try again with that… later.”
Toodles!
Mojolaoluwa Dada,
Associate Editor, APSoUL.
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