The Academic Value and Benefits of Procrastination
Procrastination is the most preferred tool of academic achievement for students across the school. Not only does it temporarily lessen stress on students, but it can also make them much more efficient when it comes time to do their work. Procrastination has many benefits, and we wrote this article to help you understand the full benefits of this academic tool, as well as tips from experts on how to properly use and specialize your procrastination skills.
For this article, we have done research to develop the Procrastination Scale, which allows you to rank yourself in terms of how much of a procrastinator you are. You can find the link below.
Why Procrastinate?
Why procrastinate? In addition to the many benefits, which we will go over later, we thought it would be helpful to include the experience of some other skilled procrastinators. One procrastinator, who scored “red” on the Procrastination Scale, said that they procrastinate “so [they] can enjoy time with [their] friends and live in the moment.” Procrastination can allow you to minimize the time you spend on schoolwork, as well as give you time to do things you enjoy and leave the midnight stress until midnight! Another anonymous student, who scored b “between yellow and blue” on the scale, explained that “by procrastinating, I get to talk to people and be more social, which is as important as my work.”
The Benefits of Procrastination
Procrastination has many benefits, both long-term and short-term. When it comes to short-term benefits, the most obvious one is that it can lessen stress on you, as you are not actively working on any assignments. As a result, when it comes time to do your work, you tend to have higher focus and efficiency. In terms of long-term benefits, procrastination can greatly help your communication skills; you will frequently practice your skills by emailing your teachers for extensions. In addition, less time spent doing your work means more time pursuing other hobbies (which you may choose to procrastinate on as well).
Advice on How To Procrastinate (From Actual Procrastinators!):
When asked why they choose to procrastinate and whether they think it's a good academic skill, a student said that procrastination helped enable them to practice faster typing skills and let them unlock a new level of hyperfocus. Their favorite class to procrastinate on is history and said “It gives an adrenaline rush. It’s practically a dangerous sport.”
The student talked further and gave advice for always on-task people who want to enter the world of procrastination but aren’t sure how: “Start slow, work your way up there. Definitely make sure you have a good teacher to do this with, [...] it’s teamwork. You need a partner.” Procrastination is generally frowned upon and many say that it’s a bad habit, but procrastination is actually not a problem the student says. “It has helped me realize my true identity, and because of this I can really enjoy and live in the moment. How can you be carefree if you don’t procrastinate?”
Procrastination as an Adult
As you get older, procrastination looks a little bit different. We interviewed a teacher at KLS, who scored a “between yellow and blue” on the procrastination scale. When asked what they procrastinates on, she responded, “Ir doesn’t make me anxious to procrastinating on paying bills, cleaning, however, procrastinating on actual work does..” In addition, she said that procrastination gives her time to watch reality TV instead, as well as relatively low-stakes talking points when talking to other people. “It also gives me time to paint my nails!” she added.
Conclusion
Procrastination has many benefits, especially more time and more focus when doing homework. It’s a useful tool and is highly recommended to any aspiring academic weapons. Be sure to check out the scale and see what level of procrastinator you are!
