What kind of procrastinator are you? Trent Prof Examines Link between Youth & Procrastination
Trent research team produces research on stress management and how procrastinating strategically can help you perform better
What (if any) are the connections between stress level and procrastination? Dr. Brenda Smith-Chant, psychology professor at Trent University Durham GTA, is leading a team of researchers to find out.
Professor Smith-Chant has been teaching undergraduate students at Trent since 2002. She has observed that procrastination is an issue that impacts the vast majority (over 80%) of university students and is often attributed to lack of impulse control or time management skills. Prof. Smith-Chant wanted to know more, so she put together a team to investigate. The team included Trent student Daisy Pyman, who conducted the research as her psychology undergraduate thesis.
Just the Right Amount of Stress
“Our work was based on a very famous observation: People with very little stress are unproductive, as are people with too much stress,” said Prof. Smith-Chant. “In order to be productive, people need “just the right amount” of stress to motivate them to move forward, but not so much that they shut down.”
The researchers set out to test the idea that students are using procrastination as a tool to get their stress level to the place where they will be most efficient and produce good results. The team identified three kinds of procrastinators: social procrastinators, overwhelmed procrastinators, and low-energy procrastinators.
Social procrastinators aren’t feeling enough stress to perform optimally. They will try and create more pressure by allowing more time to pass before getting down to work.
Overwhelmed procrastinators are feeling too much stress to be productive, so try and get their stress levels down by doing things that help manage their energy such as cleaning their room, exercising, or baking a cake.
Low-energy procrastinators are experiencing a real feeling of laziness and the inability to do much of anything at all. For these students, procrastination may be a sign of something that needs to be addressed more holistically—with counselling, support, or major shifts in lifestyle.
Prof. Smith-Chant’s research has exciting impact within the fields of psychology, education and business administration. The upshot is this – procrastination, especially when deadlines are looming, can be a good tool for people to get their stress level to a place where they can do their best work. Just ensure that, if you are productively procrastinating, you avoid screens and keep your own wellness as your top priority.