Procrastination Emerges as Major Threat to University Success

Published: 08 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

Procrastination has emerged as one of the most significant obstacles to academic performance among university students, according to a major study involving more than 65,000 young people in the United States. The research suggests that delaying academic tasks is not merely a minor time-management problem but, for a substantial number of students, a serious barrier that can affect their studies, mental wellbeing, relationships and wider daily lives.

The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found that almost half of the students surveyed identified procrastination as something that harmed their ability to carry out academic work. That figure was more than twice the proportion who identified depression as a damaging factor. Students also reported that procrastination caused considerable distress, placing it ahead of several other difficulties, including family pressures and bullying.

The findings have drawn attention to a behaviour that is common among students but often underestimated. University life frequently requires young people to manage multiple deadlines, assignments, examinations, reading schedules and personal responsibilities with considerably less direct supervision than they may have experienced at school. For some students, repeatedly postponing difficult tasks can gradually become a pattern that undermines their academic progress.

Itamar Shatz, an affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge and author of the study, said he had expected procrastination to feature prominently in the survey but was surprised by the extent to which students described it as harmful. While almost everyone delays tasks from time to time, he said the consequences can be much more serious for people who experience persistent procrastination.

The distinction is important because occasional postponement is a normal part of everyday life. However, chronic procrastination can prevent students from completing important work even when they understand the consequences of delay and genuinely want to make progress. A student may intend to begin an essay, revise for an examination or complete a project but repeatedly find reasons to postpone starting.

The resulting pressure can become increasingly difficult to manage as deadlines approach. Students may then work under intense time pressure, sacrifice sleep or abandon other responsibilities in an attempt to catch up. The immediate consequences can include poorer-quality work and anxiety, while repeated experiences of falling behind may gradually undermine confidence.

Researchers involved in the study suggest that procrastination can also interact with other problems in a self-reinforcing cycle. A student who delays an important task may experience increased stress. That stress can interfere with sleep and concentration, making it more difficult to begin the task later. The additional fatigue and anxiety can then encourage further avoidance.

Such a cycle illustrates why procrastination cannot always be addressed simply by telling students to organise their schedules more effectively. The underlying causes can involve emotional responses to difficult tasks, fear of failure, perfectionism, exhaustion or an inability to deal comfortably with uncertainty.

Fuschia Sirois, a psychology professor at Durham University and co-editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Health Psychology, said research into procrastination and its effects on student health and wellbeing had been developing for decades. She noted that previous studies had already established a substantial evidence base showing that persistent procrastination can negatively affect students’ lives.

However, she cautioned that the new research should be interpreted carefully. The study provides a large-scale snapshot of students’ experiences, but its descriptive nature means that it cannot establish all the causes and effects behind the relationships identified.

Even so, the scale of the research provides an important indication of how widespread the problem may be. When tens of thousands of students identify procrastination as a significant source of academic difficulty and distress, universities may need to consider whether existing student-support systems give the issue sufficient attention.

Sirois also challenged the long-standing idea that procrastination is simply a character flaw. Students who procrastinate are sometimes described as lazy, careless or lacking ambition. Research into the behaviour, however, suggests a more complicated picture.

People may postpone tasks because they want to escape unpleasant emotions associated with those tasks. An assignment that appears intimidating, an examination that creates fear of failure or a project that seems impossible to complete perfectly can trigger discomfort. Avoiding the task may provide temporary emotional relief, even though it creates greater problems later.

That temporary relief can make procrastination particularly difficult to break. When a student turns away from an uncomfortable assignment and instead watches videos, uses social media, talks with friends or engages in another immediately rewarding activity, the unpleasant feelings may briefly disappear. The academic problem, however, remains unresolved.

Over time, guilt and shame can become part of the cycle. Students may feel disappointed in themselves for failing to start earlier, while the growing workload creates additional stress. This emotional burden can make the original task appear even more difficult, increasing the temptation to avoid it again.

Shatz has argued that procrastination should also not automatically be equated with a lack of motivation. Some people who regularly postpone important work can be highly motivated to succeed. Their difficulty may instead arise when competing psychological or emotional pressures interfere with their intentions.

Perfectionism, for example, can make starting an assignment particularly challenging. A student who believes that their work must be exceptionally good may spend so much time worrying about how to begin that they fail to begin at all. Burn-out can have a similar effect, particularly among students attempting to balance demanding academic programmes with employment, family responsibilities and social pressures.

The implications extend beyond university classrooms. Persistent procrastination can influence workplace performance, personal relationships and health. Delayed responsibilities can create conflict with colleagues, friends or family members, while prolonged stress and disrupted sleep can affect overall wellbeing.

For universities, the findings therefore raise questions about how student support should be designed. Shatz argued that institutions should recognise procrastination as a potentially serious obstacle rather than treating it as a simple flaw in time management. Traditional advice, such as distributing basic scheduling guidance, may not be sufficient for students whose procrastination is rooted in emotional difficulties or overwhelming workloads.

Evidence suggests that targeted interventions can help. Approaches may involve helping students understand the emotional reasons behind avoidance, breaking large assignments into manageable tasks, developing realistic routines and addressing perfectionistic thinking. Support can also encourage students to seek assistance before academic difficulties become overwhelming.

The challenge for universities is identifying students who need that support without attaching stigma to procrastination. Because postponing work is common, students may hesitate to ask for help, believing that their behaviour is simply a personal weakness. A more supportive approach could instead frame procrastination as a common and manageable difficulty that can become serious when it begins to interfere with education and wellbeing.

The study ultimately presents procrastination as a more complex issue than the familiar image of a student simply leaving work until the last minute. For some university students, repeated avoidance can become a powerful cycle involving stress, sleep disruption, guilt, reduced productivity and further delay.

The researchers’ findings do not suggest that every student who procrastinates is facing a serious problem. Rather, they highlight the considerable impact the behaviour can have on those who struggle with it persistently. Recognising that distinction may be important for universities seeking to improve academic outcomes and student wellbeing.

As higher education becomes increasingly demanding, understanding why students delay important work could be just as important as teaching them how to manage their time. The research suggests that helping students overcome procrastination may require more than reminders about deadlines. For many, it may involve addressing the emotions, pressures and expectations that make starting the work difficult in the first place.

If universities can provide practical and psychologically informed support, procrastination may become a problem that students learn to manage rather than a pattern that quietly undermines their education. The scale of the latest findings suggests that making that support more accessible could have meaningful consequences for academic success and the wider wellbeing of university students.