“Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.” - Christopher Parker – professional actor.
Unfortunately, procrastination is a term that we are all familiar with as students; the vast majority of us have experienced it firsthand. It saps our time and results like a parasite, a burden on its host. However, despite it’s reputation, recent studies have shown that when harnessed correctly, procrastination can be a powerful tool to improve both academic efficiency and self-efficacy.
As students, we all lead busy lives. We constantly find ourselves torn between responsibility and recreation, without the time to indulge in both. However, a solution has recently presented itself, and the secret lies in the intentional delaying of important tasks with the intent to reap the benefits of a pressured environment. Meet active procrastination, an emerging study technique backed by scientific research.
In essence, active procrastination describes the deliberate delaying of significant work with the intent to stimulate creativity and productivity. In the meantime, smaller, simpler tasks are checked off. On the contrary, passive procrastination is the type we are all familiar with - the involuntary delaying of important tasks, despite the knowledge that it will result in negative consequences in the future.
Now let me be perfectly clear here, I am not encouraging you to begin, say, your 2000-word physics assignment 10 minutes before the deadline in the name of active procrastination. That’s just ludicrous. While active procrastination is a powerful tool, we still need to be realistic. The foundation of this technique relies on the fact that active procrastinators are in control, which results in a wide range of psychological benefits. By consciously delaying tasks, active procrastinators place themselves in an environment where they feel motivated and challenged, and this can improve creativity.
The benefits of active procrastination are demonstrated by leading researchers, Chu and Choi who associated a significant 0.17 average increase in GPA with active procrastination, as opposed to passive procrastination. To put it simply, active procrastination allows you to get your work done more quickly, to a higher standard, freeing up time for the things you love.
The benefits are not limited to academic performance, however, and extensive research has shown that using active procrastination also significantly influences self-efficacy. To quote the American Psychological association, “Self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation, behaviour, and social environment.”
As a student, our health can easily be overlooked in our busy lives, and active procrastination allows us to prioritise our own wellbeing. How many times have you found yourself in the rut of despair associated with passive procrastination? Active procrastination provides an escape by allowing us to use our time in a more purposeful manner (Wessel, J. 2019). This is exemplified by a study by the Colombus state university who found that “Active procrastination was positively correlated with self-efficacy.” Essentially, implementing active procrastination into your study routine promotes an important sense of control over our life.
Overall, active procrastination has been associated with substantial improvements in both academic performance and self-belief. It has the capacity to break the dragging chains of poor time management and set you free. Instead of sitting at your desk passively procrastinating on an English assignment, you could be spending time on the trails with your friends or watching a thrilling movie. With this in mind, I encourage you to take initiative and implement this novel technique into your assessment schedule. Having personally experienced the benefits – this piece is due in 15 minutes – it is abundantly clear that this study technique should not be overlooked.
By Alex Vanzella, Year 9 TGS Student
References –
Carey, M., & Forsyth, A. (2009). Teaching Tip Sheet: Self-Efficacy [Paper presentation]. American Psychological Association.
Chu, A. H. C., & Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking Procrastination: Positive Effects of "Active" Procrastination Behavior on Attitudes and Performance. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 245–264. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.145.3.245-264
Da Silva, S, Smith, A, & Facciolo, M. (2020). Relations between Self-Efficacy and Procrastination Types in College Students [Online document]. Colombus State University. https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1476&context=mps
Wessel, J., Bradely, G., & Hood, M. (2019). Comparing effects of active and passive procrastination: A field study of behavioral delay [Online document]. Science Direct. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid...
Latest Blog
Outdoor Pursuits and Activities Week - Developing Good Character Beyond the Classroom
We offer a range of enrichment activities for our boys, but the last week of Term 1 is a very special opportunity for all of our Senior School students. It's Outdoor Pursuits and Activities Week, which provides age-appropriate physical challenges in a safe, well-supervised environment. Activities on the various camps may include ropes courses, rock climbing, bodyboarding, surfing, mountain biking and canoeing. The aim is to foster a love of the outdoors and an appreciation of the environment.…
Stories behind key TGS staff helping shape our students
It was my great privilege to join TGS as Head of House - Boyce Boarding in 2024. The opportunity to lead these young men of character on their TGS journey carries great weight but is also enormously exciting. Embarking upon this project alongside my wife Meg as Boyce Boarding House Manager strengthens the team further. I am hopeful that we will demonstrate to the boys how positive relationships can foster a warm and supportive environment. I know that many of our boys are familiar with strong…
More Than Just an Education and That Makes All the Difference
Toowoomba Grammar School excels in its extensive co-curricular programs, particularly in performing arts and sports. Our boys learn that success comes from hard work and dedication. This ethos is inspired by quotes like “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great,” “The harder I work, the luckier I get” and the words emblazoned on our P.B. Hauser Aquatic Centre wall “Success is the celebration of preparation.” These opportunities allow students to excel in programs…
Stewardship: Leading the Way in Safety, Sustainability and Security
However, the challenges facing the Director of Facilities, Mr Bengie Dickeson and the Director of Information Technology, Mr Ron Robinson certainly are. This month's weather has been nothing if not unpredictable and it's in those conditions that both these men's skills come to the fore. With Tropical Cyclone Alfred and its threat to our School campus and community - Mr Bengie Dickeson and Mr Ron Robinson played integral roles in keeping everyone and everything on our 150-year-old campus safe.…
Pursuing New Horizons in Horticulture
Jake Moon is a sixth-generation primary producer. He is dedicated to agriculture and is currently working at his family’s St George farming enterprise, tackling some of the sector’s biggest challenges. The 28-year-old says his family moved to the St George irrigation precinct in 1978, initially growing rockmelons and watermelons, hence the business name Moonrocks. Seasonal and market changes led them to switch crops frequently, growing grapes, broccoli and even wax flowers over the years.…
Crushing it at Cricket and Conveying Culture
He explains that he’s named after Yarramundi, a respected and influential leader of the Richmond tribes of the Dharagnora (Hawkesbury-Nepean region of New South Wales) and a respected elder of the Boorooberongal clan of the Dharug people. “I’m proud of my culture and excited to have just started learning Dharug Dalang as part of the language revitalisation with my family.” During one week late last year he juggled exams, balanced representative cricket in Mackay with being the emcee of the…
Disappointment: A Necessary Part of School Life
Schools are inherently hopeful and happy places. Their natural focus on growth, connectedness and preparing youth for a better future creates an optimistic atmosphere in which ambitions are born. These positive emotions and experiences lay the foundation for our expectations and while these can be highly motivating, they come with a catch: the greater our expectations, the greater the disappointments, too. Disappointment is not a popular feeling. Rightly so, not many of us wish to feel sad,…
Boys and Belonging at TGS
As a boarding master of adolescent boys, my role fundamentally concerns pastoral wellbeing and character development to support a successful academic journey. A positive sense of belonging — where boarders feel safe, supported and heard — is fundamental to an effective boarding environment. As such, I felt there was a distinct connection between the International Boys’ Schools Coalition’s (IBSC) theme for the 2024–25 Action Research Cohort, “Boys and Belonging” and what I believe is best…
Fostering Growth and Resilience
This philosophy is vividly demonstrated through our Junior School MATES program, an initiative designed to equip boys from Prep to Year 6 with the skills they need to thrive both in and out of the classroom. Year 6 leader Hugo Seaby epitomises what the program is all about. As a leader in Stephens House, he explains its importance: “It’s about spending time with the younger boys and learning about honesty, respect, kindness and other attributes like that.” He said that it’s helpful for the…
