Avoiding procrastination through time management: an experimental intervention study

TLDR

Procrastination is a serious issue for many students, linked to anxiety and low grades, and is considered a self‑regulatory failure. The study examined the effects of a short‑term time‑management intervention on procrastination. Ninety‑six students were randomly assigned to a treatment (47) or control (49) group. The intervention group distributed work time more evenly and avoided procrastination, whereas the control group procrastinated, spending more time on tasks right before deadlines.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short-term time management intervention on procrastination. Procrastination is a serious issue for many students and associated with different negative consequences, such as anxiety or low grades. As procrastination is described as a self-regulatory failure, a training programme focussing on self-regulatory skills might be helpful. We randomly assigned 96 students to a treatment (n = 47) and a control group (n = 49). As hypothesised, participants of the control group showed procrastination: they spent more time on a self-selected, important academic task right before the deadline was reached compared to the weeks before. The participants of the treatment group, instead, allocated their work time more equally and did not show procrastination. Therefore, the explored time management intervention prevents from a serious time management problem.