Between March 2-6 2026, students are invited to join Procrastination Awareness Week activities by attending FREE virtual workshops.
Students learn strategies related to focus and concentration, motivation, time management, writing, studying, and exam preparation.
These workshops represent some of the best offerings of learning specialists, writing coaches/instructors, counsellors, librarians, and other professionals from across Canadian post-secondary institutions.
Register for Procrastination Awareness Week
Students can choose the sessions most relevant to their program, needs, and learning goals.
Registration is free!
What causes procrastination?
According to research, there are 4 primary factors (causes) of procrastination:
- low expectancy of completing a task (or completing it well)
- low task value, perceiving it as unpleasant or unrewarding
- high impulsiveness and distraction
- long delay between task initiation and completion
Can procrastination really be controlled?
Yes! But first, it's important to understand your unique vulnerability to procrastination.
How can I stop procrastinating?
The key to overcoming procrastination is to understand how you are uniquely vulnerable to procrastination and then to tailor your strategies to those unique vulnerabilities.
To increase expectancy
- Break tasks into manageable steps (e.g., into sub-tasks that you can easily complete)
To add value
- Make tasks more enjoyable (e.g., by listening to music while you do them)
To decrease impulsiveness
- Make it harder to procrastinate (e.g., by removing potential distractions)
- Improve your environment (e.g., by adding reminders of your goals)
To avoid delay
- Set deadlines (e.g., by deciding that you’ll complete a certain task by noon tomorrow)
What can I do now to stop procrastinating?
To stop procrastinating right now, commit to just two minutes of a task to break initial resistance.
Looking for additional help?
Ask us about effective strategies for overcoming procrastination in an individualized and situation-specific way.
Book an appointment at: https://my.laurentian.ca/book.