Tips to Overcome Procrastination in School

June 27, 2025 byKristina Cappetta

3 min to read

A mother is looking at her daughter who is smiling

Learning how to overcome procrastination as a student begins with understanding the reasons why young people procrastinate in the first place.

Why Do Students Procrastinate?

It is easy to assume that students procrastinate because they are lazy, but that’s typically not the case. Some students may procrastinate because they do not understand their assignments, while others may be anxious about failing.

Other reasons why students may procrastinate are:

Distraction. Social media, TV, video games, and talking with friends can all put students in the procrastination zone when it comes to academic or other responsibilities.

Lack of Motivation. If students are not interested in their work, they can become more likely to procrastinate. Low Self-Confidence. Students who have low self-confidence may doubt their ability to complete a task, so they try to avoid it as long as possible.

Problems Procrastination Can Cause

Procrastination can not only put students at a disadvantage academically but can lead to other problems like stress, anxiety, depression, and physical health problems, and can also lead to poor sleep if students are staying up late trying to complete projects at the last minute.

Types of Procrastination

Researchers have indicated two types of procrastination, active and passive.

Passive procrastinators delay a task because they can’t make decisions.

Active procrastinators delay a task intentionally because working under pressure helps to motivate them.

Understanding which your student falls under can help find out how to overcome procrastination as a student.

An online student breaking her work down to focus and stop procrastinating.

How to Stop Procrastinating

There are several ways you can help your student avoid procrastination so they can complete their tasks on time.

Types of Procrastination

Breaking down an assignment into small, manageable chunks can help to make the task feel less intimidating and anxiety-inducing, which can help your student focus and stop procrastinating. 

Be realistic about how long completing each task is going to take. Write that estimation next to each assignment—as well as each step required to complete the assignment—and then schedule times to complete these tasks. This will help your student be realistic about what needs to get done.

If your student has a research paper due, then the steps would be to research, outline, draft the paper, and make revisions/proofread. Perhaps researching will take three hours, outlining will take two hours, writing the introduction will take 20 minutes (remember, we’re breaking up big assignments into small steps), writing about the first aspect of the paper will take two hours, writing about the second aspect will take another two hours, writing the conclusion will take 30 minutes, and then making revisions and proofreading the paper will take one hour.

Now that they have the estimated time for each step, they can plan and schedule time to complete these tasks while taking into account their other commitments as well as when they are the most productive during the day. 

Prioritize Tasks

Completing tasks in the order they are due is another way to overcome procrastination as a student. Advise them to make a list of everything that needs to be done and the deadlines for each. Task prioritization methods like this make it clear for students to see what they need to get done and when. By having them tackle what is due first, they shouldn’t be as overwhelmed and should be able to avoid procrastinating.

They can check off the tasks as they complete them, which can help give them a sense of satisfaction and boost their self-esteem.

Eliminate Distractions

Distractions can fuel student procrastination, which is why eliminating as many distractions as possible is key. Be sure all unnecessary electronic devices are put away or off. When trying to complete a school assignment, your student should choose a low-traffic, quiet spot so they can focus better, and consider using a focus method like the Pomodoro technique to stay motivated and give themselves scheduled breaks.

To combat procrastination, a student takes a break to do something they enjoy.

The Connections Academy team is always here with tips for how to overcome procrastination as a student and more practical tips that can help students in school and their everyday lives, including college and career readiness offerings. Click here to learn more about the programs Connections Academy offers.