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The Procrastinator's Guide to a PhD: How to overcome procrastination and complete your dissertation

Procrastinating is an occupational hazard of doing a PhD. But what if you already have procrastination issues? It’s one thing to start as a well-organised, diligent student and then lapse when faced with the lack of deadlines and accountability. It’s another to have been flying by the seat of your pants for the last several years, pulling all-nighters to finish assignments and cramming for exams. What to do? As a recovering procrastinator myself, with several decades of bad habits to overcome, I want to reassure you that change is possible! You can use your well-honed skill in mind games for good instead of evil. The happy news is that if you’ve made it this far, you’ve got all the brains you need to succeed—you just have to know what to do with them. At the end of the day, it’s perseverance, not brilliance, that will get you to your goal. Whether you have long dabbled in the dark art of procrastination or you’re a relative newcomer, you’ll find something here to help you achieve your PhD. Note: The focus of this book is on the thesis or dissertation, not on the coursework and qualifying exams which are part of doctoral studies in the USA.

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How to Stop Procrastinating: A Guide for PhD Students and Academics

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Jayron Habibe

A finishing PhD students in Medical Biochemistry. He has a love for writing about practical tools that make life as a PhD student just a little bit easier. Learn more about Jayron

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🧠Introduction

As a PhD student or academic, you are well aware of the unique challenges that come with managing research projects and meeting deadlines. However, one common hurdle that can hinder your progress is the tendency to start procrastinating.

You may find yourself putting off important tasks, succumbing to distractions, and struggling to make the most of your time. But fear not! This comprehensive guide is specifically designed to help PhD students and academics like you overcome procrastination and maximize productivity.

In the world of academia, productivity is not just a buzzword; it is essential for achieving research goals, making significant contributions to your field, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance . By adopting effective strategies and implementing practical techniques, you can break free from the cycle of procrastination and optimize your productivity, ultimately leading to greater success and personal fulfillment.

Throughout this guide, we will explore a range of proven strategies tailored to the unique needs of PhD students and academics. You will discover how to create a daily to-do list that encompasses research tasks, deadlines, and academic responsibilities. We’ll delve into the power of time blocking and how it can help you allocate dedicated time for research, writing, teaching, and personal development. You’ll also learn how to find your optimal working style, incorporating techniques such as deep work sessions, or collaborative sessions that resonate with your workflow.

Rewarding yourself for research and academic milestones is vital for maintaining motivation, so we’ll explore how to celebrate your achievements along the way. We’ll discuss the importance of minimizing context switching, avoiding distractions, and maintaining focus during crucial work sessions. 

By implementing the strategies outlined in this guide, you will not only overcome procrastination but also unlock your full potential as a PhD student or academic. The path to success is paved with intentional, focused, and productive work. Are you ready to stop procrastinating and embark on a journey of enhanced productivity? Let’s dive in and transform your research and academic experience.

🗒️Daily To-Do List for Researchers and Academics

A well-structured and thoughtfully crafted daily to-do list is a powerful tool for PhD students and academics. It provides a roadmap for your day, helping you stay organized, focused, and on track with your research and academic commitments.

It is important to create a to-do list that reflects your priorities and aligns with your long-term goals. Start by capturing all the tasks and responsibilities you need to address, including research activities, writing assignments, teaching duties, meetings, and administrative tasks. Be thorough in this process to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Another valuable tip is to break down larger tasks into smaller, actionable steps . This approach helps prevent overwhelm and allows you to make progress incrementally. For instance, if you have a research paper to write, break it down into phases like conducting literature reviews, collecting data, outlining, drafting, and revising. By tackling one step at a time, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and stay motivated throughout the process.

Furthermore, assigning realistic time estimates to each task helps you allocate your time effectively and avoid over-committing. This practice ensures that you have a clear understanding of the time required for each task, preventing unnecessary stress and frustration.

Once you have your list of tasks, it’s crucial to prioritize them effectively. Here, you can use the concept of “ABC prioritization,” which involves categorizing tasks into three levels of importance: A, B, and C. A-tasks are high-priority and have a significant impact, B-tasks are important but less urgent, and C-tasks are those that can be deferred or delegated if possible.

To take your prioritization a step further, you can use the Eisenhower Matrix, a productivity framework that classifies tasks into four quadrants: important and urgent, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and not important or urgent. This matrix helps you identify critical tasks that require immediate attention and separate them from tasks that can be scheduled or eliminated.

Lastly, review and update your to-do list regularly . Priorities may shift, deadlines may change, and new tasks may arise. By taking a few minutes at the beginning or end of each day to review and adjust your to-do list, you ensure that it remains relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with your overall goals.

If you’d like to use an app that makes creating to-do lists super easy I would recommend checking out Todoist . It has tons of awesome features while being extremely easy and simple to just get started with. It also happens to be my to-do list app of choice so if you’re interested just check it out.

⏳Time Blocking for Researchers and Academics

Time blocking is a powerful technique that allows PhD students and academics to optimize their productivity by allocating dedicated blocks of time for specific tasks or activities. By implementing this strategy, you can effectively manage your workload, reduce distractions, and make significant progress in your research and academic endeavors.

Time blocking involves dividing your day into distinct time slots, each dedicated to a specific task or type of activity. This structured approach helps create a sense of focus and clarity, enabling you to prioritize and complete tasks more efficiently. To make the most of time blocking, consider the following techniques:

Identify Your Key Priorities:

Before you begin time blocking, identify your most important priorities. These may include research activities, writing, data analysis, teaching responsibilities, meetings, or personal development. By having a clear understanding of your priorities, you can allocate sufficient time to each area.

Determine Optimal Time Slots

Consider your energy levels, cognitive peaks, and natural rhythms when determining your time slots. Some individuals are more productive in the morning, while others thrive in the afternoon or evening. Find the time slots that work best for you and align them with tasks that require deep focus and concentration.

Block Focus Time

Designate uninterrupted periods for deep work and focused tasks. During these time blocks, eliminate distractions, such as turning off notifications, closing unnecessary tabs, and creating a conducive work environment.

Include Breaks

Recognize the importance of breaks and transition time between tasks. Schedule short breaks to recharge and refresh your mind. Additionally, allocate buffer time between tasks to allow for a smooth transition and avoid feeling rushed or overwhelmed.

Flexibility

While time blocking provides structure, it’s essential to remain flexible. Unexpected events or new tasks may arise, requiring adjustments to your schedule. Embrace the flexibility to rearrange your time blocks when necessary, ensuring that you stay responsive to changing priorities.

Remember, the goal of time blocking is not to fill every minute of your day with tasks. It’s about creating a balance between focused work, breaks, and other essential activities. By allocating specific time slots for each task or responsibility, you gain clarity on your commitments and avoid the pitfalls of multitasking.

Additionally, time blocking can help manage the tendency to overcommit. By allocating realistic time slots for tasks, you gain a better understanding of how much you can accomplish within a given timeframe. This practice prevents the stress and frustration that can arise from unrealistic expectations and allows you to set achievable goals.

🛠️Discovering Your Optimal Working Style

Finding your optimal working style is crucial for enhancing productivity as a PhD student or academic. Each individual has unique preferences, strengths, and rhythms when it comes to work. By understanding and embracing your working style, you can tailor your approach to research and academic tasks, ultimately boosting your efficiency and output. Here are some key considerations to help you discover your optimal working style:

Experimentation

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different working styles and techniques. Try out various approaches such as the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working in focused sprints followed by short breaks, or deep work sessions where you dedicate uninterrupted time to intensive tasks. Evaluate the outcomes and determine what resonates with you the most.

Collaborative vs. Solitary Work

Consider whether you thrive in collaborative settings or if you perform better working independently. PhD students and academics often engage in team projects or research collaborations, but some tasks may require concentrated solitary work. Finding the right balance that suits your working style is essential for maintaining productivity.

Environmental Factors

Your physical work environment can have a significant impact on your productivity. Some individuals thrive in a quiet and organized space, while others prefer a bustling and interactive setting. Experiment with different environments, and create a workspace that promotes focus and minimizes distractions.

Workflow Tools

Explore productivity tools and technology that align with your working style. Digital tools like project management software, note-taking apps, or reference management systems can streamline your research process. Find tools that enhance your workflow and integrate seamlessly with your working preferences.

Remember, discovering your optimal working style is a continuous journey. As you progress through your academic career, your needs and preferences may evolve. Stay open to adapting and refining your approach to ensure it remains aligned with your goals and aspirations.

🍬 Rewarding Yourself While Working

Rewarding yourself while working can be a powerful motivator to overcome procrastination and maintain focus as a PhD student or academic. By incorporating intentional rewards into your work routine, you can create a positive reinforcement system that boosts your productivity and enhances your overall satisfaction. Here are some strategies to consider:

Milestone Celebrations

Break down your work into smaller milestones and celebrate each achievement along the way. For example, completing a section of a research paper, reaching a specific word count, or finishing a challenging experiment can all be acknowledged as milestones. Treat yourself to a small reward, such as a coffee break, a short walk, or a few minutes of enjoyable leisure activities.

Time-Based Rewards

Set specific time intervals during your work session, and reward yourself with short breaks or mini-rewards when you reach those intervals. This technique can be particularly effective when using the Pomodoro Technique, where you work for a set period, like 25 minutes, and then take a 5-minute break. Use these breaks to do something you enjoy, like reading a book, listening to music, or engaging in a brief mindfulness exercise.

Meaningful Incentives

Identify rewards that are personally meaningful and aligned with your interests or hobbies. This could be engaging in a favorite recreational activity, treating yourself to a delicious snack, or indulging in a leisurely activity you enjoy. The key is to choose rewards that bring you joy and provide a sense of rejuvenation and fulfillment.

Gamify Your Tasks

Turn your work into a game by setting up challenges or creating a points system. Assign point values to different tasks, and challenge yourself to accumulate a certain number of points within a specific timeframe. When you reach your goal, reward yourself with a prize or treat. This gamification approach adds an element of fun and excitement to your work, making it more engaging and enjoyable.

Social Accountability

Share your goals and progress with a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor. Establish a system of social accountability where you can celebrate your accomplishments together. This external validation and support can be a rewarding experience and provide an additional incentive to stay focused and productive.

Remember, the rewards you choose should be small, enjoyable, and in moderation. The purpose is to create positive associations with your work and maintain a healthy work-life balance. By incorporating rewards into your work routine, you can cultivate a positive mindset, boost your motivation, and reduce the likelihood of procrastination.

🕹️Avoiding Context Switching

Avoiding context-switching and cultivating mindfulness are essential practices for maximizing productivity and maintaining focus as a PhD student or academic. These strategies help minimize distractions, enhance concentration, and promote a sense of clarity and presence in your work. Here are some tips to minimize context switching:

Batch Similar Tasks

Group similar tasks together and allocate dedicated time blocks for them. For example, schedule a specific block of time for reading and responding to emails, another block for data analysis, and another for writing. By focusing on one type of task at a time, you reduce the need to constantly switch gears and maintain a higher level of efficiency.

Minimize Interruptions

Identify and eliminate sources of interruptions and distractions in your work environment. Silence or disable unnecessary notifications on your devices, inform colleagues or family members about your focused work time, and create boundaries to protect your uninterrupted work blocks.

Plan Transition Time

When switching between tasks or projects, allocate buffer time to mentally transition and prepare for the upcoming task. This allows you to wrap up one task effectively and transition smoothly to the next, minimizing the disruption to your focus and productivity.

🤯Conclusion

In the fast-paced world of academia, mastering productivity techniques is essential for PhD students and academics to thrive and achieve their goals. By implementing strategies such as creating a well-structured daily to-do list, practicing time blocking, finding what works for you, rewarding yourself while working, and avoiding context switching you can overcome procrastination, maintain focus, and maximize your productivity.

Remember, productivity is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires experimentation, self-reflection, and continuous refinement to find the strategies that work best for you as a PhD student or academic. Stay open to exploring new techniques and adapting your workflow as needed. The journey toward productivity is a personal one, and what works for others may not work the same for you.

As you apply these productivity principles, keep in mind the unique challenges and demands of being a PhD student or academic. Embrace your strengths, leverage your resources, and seek support from your peers, mentors, or productivity communities. Together, you can navigate the complexities of academic life and achieve remarkable results.

Ultimately, productivity is not just about getting more things done—it’s about creating a fulfilling and balanced academic experience. By optimizing your workflow, you can allocate time for your research, teaching, personal growth, and self-care. Remember to celebrate your accomplishments, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and prioritize your well-being along the way.

Now, armed with these productivity strategies and a commitment to action, it’s time to embark on your journey towards enhanced productivity as a PhD student or academic. Embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, stay focused on your goals, and make the most of your academic pursuits

Start by implementing one or two strategies from this blog, and gradually incorporate additional techniques into your routine. Remember, small steps can lead to significant improvements over time. Embrace the power of productivity and unleash your full potential as a successful PhD student or academic.

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What Is Procrastination?

Putting off tasks we don't enjoy is common, despite the consequences

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Why Do You Procrastinate?

Types of procrastination.

• The Negative Impact
• Strategies to Stop

Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, or past their deadline. Some researchers define procrastination as a "form of self-regulation failure characterized by the irrational delay of tasks despite potentially negative consequences."

According to Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago and author of "Still Procrastinating: The No Regret Guide to Getting It Done," around 20% of U.S. adults are chronic procrastinators.

No matter how well-organized and committed you are, chances are that you have found yourself frittering away hours on trivial pursuits (watching TV, updating your Facebook status, shopping online) when you should have been spending that time on work or school-related projects.

Whether you're putting off finishing a project for work, avoiding homework assignments, or ignoring household chores, procrastination can have a major impact on your job, your grades, and your life.

In most cases, procrastination is not a sign of a serious problem. It's a common tendency that most people give in to at some point or another.

Remember that time that you thought you had a week left to finish a project that was really due the next day? How about the time you decided not to clean up your apartment because you "didn't feel like doing it right now?"

We often assume that projects won't take as long to finish as they really will, which can lead to a false sense of security when we believe that we still have plenty of time to complete these tasks.

One of the biggest factors contributing to procrastination is the notion that we have to feel inspired or motivated to work on a task at a particular moment.

The reality is that if you wait until you're in the right frame of mind to do certain tasks (especially undesirable ones), you will probably find that the right time simply never comes along and the task never gets completed.

The following are a few other factors that cause procrastination.

Researchers suggest that procrastination can be particularly pronounced among students. A 2007 meta analysis published in the Psychological Bulletin found that a whopping 80% to 95% of college students procrastinated on a regular basis, particularly when it came to completing assignments and coursework.  

According to researchers, there are some major cognitive distortions that lead to academic procrastination.   Students tend to:

• Overestimate how much time they have left to perform tasks
• Overestimate how motivated they will be in the future
• Underestimate how long certain activities will take to complete
• Mistakenly assume that they need to be in the right frame of mind to work on a project

Present Bias

The present bias is a phenomenon observed in human behavior that may result in procrastination. The present bias means that we tend to be motivated more by immediate gratification or rewards than we are by long-term rewards. This is why it feels good in the moment to procrastinate.

For example, the immediate reward of staying in bed and watching TV is more appealing than the long-term reward of publishing a blog post, which would take much longer to accomplish.

Procrastination can also be a result of depression . Feelings of hopelessness , helplessness, and a lack of energy can make it difficult to start (and finish) the simplest task. Depression can also lead to self-doubt . When you can't figure out how to tackle a project or feel insecure about your abilities, you might find it easier to put it off.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Procrastination is also pretty common in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder . One reason is that OCD is often linked with maladaptive perfectionism, which causes fears about making new mistakes, doubts about whether you are doing something correctly, and worry over others' expectations of you.

People with OCD also often have a propensity toward indecision, causing them to procrastinate rather than make a decision.

Many adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with procrastination. When you're so distracted by outside stimuli, as well as internal thoughts, it can be hard to get started on a task, especially if that task is difficult or not interesting to you.

Is Procrastination a Mental Illness?

Procrastination itself is not a mental illness. But in some cases, it may be symptomatic of an underlying mental health condition such as depression, OCD, or ADHD.

We often come up with a number of excuses or rationalizations to justify our behavior. According to researchers, there are 15 key reasons why people say they procrastinate:

• Not knowing what needs to be done
• Not knowing how to do something
• Not wanting to do something
• Not caring if it gets done or not
• Not caring when something gets done
• Not feeling in the mood to do it
• Being in the habit of waiting until the last minute
• Believing that you work better under pressure
• Thinking that you can finish it at the last minute
• Lacking the initiative to get started
• Blaming sickness or poor health
• Waiting for the right moment
• Needing time to think about the task
• Delaying one task in favor of working on another

Press Play for Advice On Completing Tasks

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to get tasks done with a science-backed trick known as 'temptation bundling.' Click below to listen now.

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Some researchers classify two types of procrastinators: passive and active procrastinators.

• Passive procrastinators : Delay the task because they have trouble making decisions and acting on them
• Active procrastinators : Delay the task purposefully because working under pressure allows them to "feel challenged and motivated"

Others define the types of procrastinators based on different behavioral styles of procrastination, including:

• Perfectionist : Puts off tasks out of the fear of not being able to complete a task perfectly
• Dreamer : Puts off tasks because they are not good at paying attention to detail
• Defier : Doesn't believe someone should dictate their time schedule
• Worrier : Puts off tasks out of fear of change or leaving the comfort of "the known"
• Crisis-maker : Puts off tasks because they like working under pressure
• Overdoer : Takes on too much and struggles with finding time to start and complete task

Procrastinators vs. Non-Procrastinators

"Non-procrastinators focus on the task that needs to be done. They have a stronger personal identity and are less concerned about what psychologists call 'social esteem'—how others like us—as opposed to self-esteem which is how we feel about ourselves," explained Dr. Ferrari in an interview with the American Psychological Association (APA).  

According to psychologist Piers Steel, people who don't procrastinate tend to be high in the personality trait known as conscientiousness , one of the broad dispositions identified by the Big Five theory of personality. People who are high in conscientiousness also tend to be high in other areas including self-discipline, persistence, and personal responsibility.

The Negative Impact of Procrastination

It is only in cases where procrastination becomes chronic and begins to have a serious impact on a person's daily life that it becomes a more serious issue. In such instances, it's not just a matter of having poor time management skills, it's a major part of their lifestyle.

Perhaps they pay their bills late, don't start work on big projects until the night before the deadline, delay gift shopping until the day before a birthday, and even file their income tax returns late.

Unfortunately, this procrastination can have a serious impact on a number of life areas, including a person's mental health and social, professional, and financial well-being:

• Higher levels of stress and illness
• Increased burden placed on social relationships
• Resentment from friends, family, co-workers, and fellow students
• Consequences of delinquent bills and income tax returns

How to Overcome Procrastination

You might find yourself wondering, How can I stop procrastinating?

Fortunately, there are a number of different things you can do to fight procrastination and start getting things done on time. Consider these your procrastination exercises:

• Make a to-do list : To help keep you on track, consider placing a due date next to each item.
• Take baby steps : Break down the items on your list into small, manageable steps so that your tasks don’t seem so overwhelming.
• Recognize the warning signs : Pay attention to any thoughts of procrastination and do your best to resist the urge. If you begin to think about procrastinating, force yourself to spend a few minutes working on your task.
• Eliminate distraction : Ask yourself what pulls your attention away the most—whether it's Instagram, Facebook updates, or the local news—and turn off those sources of distraction.
• Pat yourself on the back : When you finish an item on your to-do list on time, congratulate yourself and reward yourself by indulging in something you find fun.    

Prem R, Scheel TE, Weigelt O, Hoffmann K, Korunka C. Procrastination in daily working life: A diary study on within-person processes that link work characteristics to workplace procrastination . Front Psychol . 2018;9:1087. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01087

American Psychological Association. The Psychology of Procrastination: Why People Put Off Important Tasks Until the Last Minute . 2010.

Bisin A, Hyndman K. Present-bias, procrastination and deadlines in a field experiment . Games and Economic Behavior. 2020;119:339-357. doi:10.1016/j.geb.2019.11.010

Steel P. The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure . Psychol Bull . 2007;133(1):65-94. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65 

Ferrari, Joseph & Johnson, Judith & McCown, William. (1995). Procrastination and Task Avoidance - Theory, Research and Treatment . doi: 10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6

Beutel ME, Klein EM, Aufenanger S, et al. Procrastination, distress and life satisfaction across the age range - A German representative community study .  PLoS One . 2016;11(2):e0148054. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0148054

Limburg K, Watson HJ, Hagger MS, Egan SJ.  The relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology: A meta-analysis .  J Clin Psychol.  2017;73(10):1301-1326. doi:10.1002/jclp.22435

Altgassen M, Scheres A, Edel MA.  Prospective memory (partially) mediates the link between ADHD symptoms and procrastination .  Atten Defic Hyperact Disord . 2019;11(1):59-71. doi:10.1007/s12402-018-0273-x

Tuckman BW, Abry DA, Smith DR. (2008). Learning and Motivation Strategies: Your Guide to Success (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Zohar AH, Shimone LP, Hen M. Active and passive procrastination in terms of temperament and character .  PeerJ . 2019;7:e6988. doi:10.7717/peerj.6988

American Psychological Association. The first step to overcoming procrastination: Know thyself .

Svartdal F, Nemtcan E. Past negative consequences of unnecessary delay as a marker of procrastination . Front Psychol. 2022;13. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.787337

Schrager S, Sadowski E. Getting more done: Strategies to increase scholarly productivity .  J Grad Med Educ . 2016;8(1):10-13. doi:10.4300/JGME-D-15-00165.1

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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PhD thesis: writing it up (and the art of procrastination)

Mike smith reveals six of the most useful pieces of advice he has been able to give his phd students over the years.

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Doing background reading, undertaking leading-edge research, and analysing the results may seem like the hard part. In fact, they may well be hard, but these elements are often the aspects of research that, as a PhD student, you find easier to carry out.  It’s the research process, and you must have been good at it in order to get on to a PhD programme in the first place. And it’s something that you will continue to do in a research career.

However, research doesn’t get you a PhD. The “traditional” UK form of assessment (and one that is prevalent in the geosciences, my subject area) is a written thesis and oral examination. The latter, while potentially nerve-racking, is relatively short and the direct style of question and answer is similar to the way that conferences operate. But the thesis? It’s an 80,000-word “book” presenting, in long form, your understanding of your subject area, identifying a “gap in knowledge” that you intend to investigate, outlining the methodology that you will use to investigate it, presenting the results of the investigation and then summarising their significance.

On face value, it is a suitable assessment tool. However, given its restricted nature, it will likely only be read by your supervisor and examiners. It is also a style of writing that is sufficiently different from writing for journals and considerably longer – if you want to publish it, you will need to re-write it. So, is it any surprise that many PhD students struggle with writing up? So, to get you writing, here are six of the most useful pieces of advice that I’ve been able to share with my students over the years.

Top of the pile is that you can improve the quality of your research simply by being a better writer. That’s not to say that your understanding or investigation gets any better, but that your communication with others improves and that is a significant part of the research process (particularly when you are being examined). And the route to better writing is to practise – write more, write regularly, and write in different styles.

Let’s take those in turn. First, you need to increase the quantity of your writing. Second, try to write regularly. And it isn’t just academic writing that helps you, but writing fiction, non-fiction, formal, informal, personal, descriptive and narrative. It is all productive. If you complete 500 words every day, in any form, you will rapidly improve your composition, editing and grammar.

Allied to more writing is more reading that exposes you to alternative writing styles and vocabulary. Read more in your subject area and in different genres more widely. If you want to rapidly improve your word knowledge, then a smartphone app such as Vocab.com, will enable you to compile word lists.

Even when the research is complete and your writing skills are good, the words may simply fail you and procrastination sets in. You volunteer for unpaid teaching, read an article that you know isn’t useful, or even clean the bathroom. Anything that doesn’t involve writing. How, then, do you summon the writing genie?

You have to start at the beginning, and simply begin writing. You simply must get into the habit of writing daily, setting yourself a realistic target and sticking to it. Procrastination hits us all, but force yourself to rise above it.   

Think about where you write – not all places are created equal in the world of procrastination. Coffee shops and the train are now my favourites – they are distraction-free, anonymous and allow me to focus on getting words down and out of my head. I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on the porch of my girlfriend’s house and my PhD thesis at the kitchen table. I suggested to one student that he sit on the London Underground until he had reached his target.

In addition to place, there is also time of day. I’m a night owl and find that I’m particularly productive between about 8pm and 11pm – find your own optimal time slot.

One of my biggest productivity boosts has been being able to write when the mood strikes. That doesn’t mean always carrying a laptop though – a smartphone and a mini keyboard are all that’s required for getting words on to the page. And the best travel keyboard that I’ve found so far is the Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard. Turn on your phone, fold out your keyboard and start typing.

And finally, in the words of Anne Lamott ( Bird By Bird ), you have to write shitty first drafts (SFDs). No one writes perfectly the first time – in fact, I expect to see extensive changes and SFDs are about getting ideas out of your head and on to paper in a structured manner. As one of my mentors, Jim Rose, once said, you can’t improve your writing until you have it down on paper. And SFDs are that first step.

Completing a research degree is hard as you are pushing the boundaries of what is known – but more than that, you are independent and largely self-managed. Take it Bird By Bird -style and start by getting that SFD out the door.

Don’t forget that there are places and times that you will find are better for your writing and, if it helps you, allow yourself to write whenever you get the urge.

Mike J Smith is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Maps  and a senior fellow at the Higher Education Academy. 

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How to Stop Procrastinating and Complete Your PhD Thesis: 10 Strategies to Consider

Jun 25, 2020

Remember the old saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today?” It’s easier said than done when it comes to writing your PhD thesis.  Considering 80 to 95 per cent  of college students procrastinate, you’re far from alone. 

While there’s comfort in this statistic, it won’t help you finish your PhD thesis. There are many reasons for PhD thesis procrastination. They include a lack of support, difficulty setting priorities, the challenges of working from home, and more.

Despite these pitfalls, you can get from a blank page to a committee-ready document faster than you might think. Keep reading for ten tips that outline how to avoid procrastinating when writing your PhD.

Interested in group workshops, cohort-courses and a free PhD learning & support community? 

The team behind The PhD Proofreaders have launched The PhD People, a free learning and community platform for PhD students. Connect, share and learn with other students, and boost your skills with cohort-based workshops and courses.

Why we procrastinate.

Understanding why we procrastinate will help you overcome this negative tendency. What’s the number one reason many PhD students delay dissertation writing? Self-doubt.

Graduate students have many fears. They include concerns about performing inadequately and failing to meet expectations.

Students also procrastinate because they underestimate how long different steps in their dissertation will take to complete. Some assume they must feel “inspired” before they can write. They fail to realise that writing is a skill that requires daily practice.

Others overestimate how motivated they will be later on. They also mistakenly believe they must be in the right frame of mind to work. Waiting to “feel ready” to write a dissertation will never happen, though. Nevertheless, this false assumption can trigger a vicious cycle.

Finally, procrastination proves a common problem for individuals who have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Why? An unhealthy level of perfectionism often accompanies OCD.

This perfectionism can prove paralysing when students become afraid to make mistakes, take chances, or do anything that might not turn out perfectly. 

No matter why you’re procrastinating, the following tips will help you get back on track for success.  

1) Set Priorities and Stick to Them

Procrastination can take  many shapes and forms. One of the most insidious remains putting off urgent matters to complete menial tasks of lower priority. 

Why do we do this? Because humans are hardwired to seek out instant gratification.

That’s what completing little tasks gives you. Besides delaying urgent tasks for the sake of non-urgent ones, procrastination can also take the shape of setting aside unpleasant, challenging jobs in favour of fun ones. 

Again, these fun jobs often do little to help us complete anything of urgency. Perhaps the reason it’s so easy to get caught up in this form of procrastination is because it will keep you busy. It may even give you a fleeting sense of accomplishment until you start ruminating over your dissertation again. 

2) Manage Distractions

How do you avoid mixed up priorities? By scheduling a time or day to take care of these minor tasks. Call it an “admin day” or a “detail day.” No matter what moniker you give it, dedicate a limited amount of time to efficiently and quickly completing these minor tasks. 

Now that you’ve designated a day on your calendar for tidying up loose ends, create a dedicated “to-do” list. Then, every time something that you need to do pops into your head, add it to the list. 

You’ll prevent distraction by knowing you’ve scheduled a time to address these minor concerns. This approach will allow you to concentrate on your dissertation.

3) Establish a Support Network

When it comes to avoiding PhD procrastination, you need a strong support network in place. After all, it’s easy to get distracted by well-meaning colleagues and friends. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries, too.

By sharing a civilised conversation about what you do and don’t need to focus on right now, you also avoid a build-up of potential awkwardness and tension. Explain your difficulties with concentrating and how they can help you. 

4) Get Over the Romance of Working From Home

Working from home  is idealised by many, yet the reality proves far from perfect. It can feel quite challenging to concentrate while in a space usually reserved for fun times and leisure activities.

What’s more, your home represents the ultimate obstacle course when it comes to trivial matters you should put off until later (but don’t). Whether it’s dishes left in the sink or dusting that needs to be done, staying at home can exacerbate procrastination through distractions.

Your PhD Thesis. On one page.

5) make peer pressure your ally.

Fortunately, when you surround yourself with others who may be working or writing, you gain a boost in productivity. After all, productivity is contagious. Find a great  coffee shop  with remote worker energy and let the “peer pressure” around you reignite your creative spark and energy.

6) Know Your Limits

Did you know that the average attention span is just 20 minutes? Sure, individuals can force themselves to focus on one subject for much longer. Nonetheless, peak productivity time still comes in 20-minute chunks.

Stop trying to force yourself into binge cycles of research and writing. Instead, understand your limitations and schedule accordingly. Plan your day with small breaks in mind when you need them most, and you’ll avoid distraction and frustration.

7) Take Advantage of Productivity Software

What’s productivity software? The ultimate answer to procrastination. This software lets you block sites that typically distract from work at hand. Whether it’s Netflix or Facebook, BBC News or Instagram, taking away temptation will help you get more done.

There are many different types of productivity software out there, but one of my favourites remains Cold Turkey. It completely cuts you off from the civilised world for a length of time that you determine. Yes, the experience can feel daunting, but you’ll be amazed by how much you get done.

8) Treat Your Body Well

PhD thesis writing can take a toll on your body if you let it. This reality can lead to a vicious cycle of getting sick, trying to catch up, burning out, and getting sick again. How about we agree to avoid this cycle from the get-go?

Eating right, sleeping well, drinking enough water, and exercising might seem like luxuries you don’t have time for right now. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Your brain works better when you treat your body right, and you need a working brain to write a dissertation.

9) Gain Confidence

When you’re not sure about your writing prowess or what makes for a fantastic dissertation, this uncertainty can impact your productivity. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of free resources available to help you create a finished product of which you’ll feel proud.

Check out these  free guides  to improve the quality of your writing, boost your motivation, and help you stay sane throughout the PhD dissertation writing process.  

10) Get Structured

Many PhD students have questions related to properly structuring their dissertations. Again, a lack of clarity in any area of the process can lead to stilted creativity. So, you need to iron out these issues right away. 

If you’re looking for guidance when it comes to planning and structuring your work, check out  this resource  for templates, chapter cheat sheets, and other thesis writing tips. 

While you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for the daily PhD newsletter featuring helpful tips for how to write a doctoral thesis. 

Dealing With PhD Thesis Procrastination 

Are you struggling with PhD thesis procrastination? If so, you’re not alone. That said, now’s the time to get proactive about finding solutions to put you back in control of your educational path.

Fortunately, we can help. We offer expert support to help you with your PhD journey. Contact us  to discuss where you are in your PhD thesis writing process and how we can help. 

Hello, Doctor…

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  Be able to call yourself Doctor sooner with our five-star rated How to Write A PhD email-course. Learn everything your supervisor should have taught you about planning and completing a PhD.

Now half price. Join hundreds of other students and become a better thesis writer, or your money back. 

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Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Academic Procrastination

Associated data.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Objective and Background

Academic procrastination as deliberate postponement of academic tasks, despite being aware of its consequences, is a common phenomenon among students. Current conceptualizations of procrastination support the rule of emotion regulation difficulties in the psychopathology of this phenomenon. In this regard, the current study is aimed to investigate the role of difficulty in emotion regulation in academic procrastination.

The present study is a cross-sectional study. Participants were 250 students who completed Tuckman Procrastination Scale (TPS), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).

Correlation analyses showed that the TPS has a significant positive association on overall DERS and all but one of the six dimensions (DERS-Awareness) of emotion regulation difficulties ( p < 0.01). This association remained significant after controlling for anxiety and depression. Further, the multivariate regression showed that the only DERS dimension that could predict TPS was DERS-Strategies. Finally, individuals with a high level of procrastination reported greater DERS scores than those with a lower level.

Results indicate that difficulty in emotion regulation, especially the ones’ believe about his/her ability in regulating unpleasant emotions effectively, is important in procrastination. However, despite the limited association between DERS and TPS, the findings raise some potentially useful implications for procrastination studies and interventions.

Introduction

Procrastination is defined as “to voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay” ( Steel, 2010 ). It has various manifestations and forms such as General procrastination, Decisional Procrastination, Active Procrastination, Unintentional Procrastination, and Academic Procrastination. An overview of previous literature reveals that the most common form of procrastination is academic procrastination, which refers to the deliberate delay in completing academic assignments even though one is aware of its negative outcomes and consequences ( Steel, 2007b ). It has been reported that 15–20 percent of the adult and about half of the students suffer from chronic and frequent procrastination and suffer from major problems in their daily lives ( Rozental and Carlbring, 2013 ). Research has also estimated that more than 60 percent of Iranian students involve in academic procrastination ( Mohammadi Bytamar et al., 2018 ).

Academic procrastination is associated with major dysfunction at the academic performance ( Madhan et al., 2012 ) and reduces psychological well-being ( Van Eerde, 2003 ). Students who procrastinate are more likely to experience depression and social anxiety than students who don’t procrastinate ( Mohammadi Bytamar et al., 2017 ). Procrastination is also associated with experiences of persistent stress and negative emotions, including anxiety, distress, depression, and hopelessness ( Chabaud et al., 2010 ; Sirois, 2014 ).

Given that the procrastination is a multifactorial problem, different psychological, clinical, situational, and motivational factors have been proposed to explain it. This diversity in approaches leads the researchers to focus on more fundamental characteristics of procrastination such as self-regulation ( Steel, 2007a ; Kandemir, 2014 ). Self-regulation has been well studied with Self-Determination Theory ( Ryan and Deci, 2017 ; Valenzuela et al., 2020 ). From this perspective, self-regulation is a motivational capacity that satisfies autonomous feelings and makes individuals pursuit and reach their personal goals. In this regard, procrastination can be consider as a volitional dysregulation, in spite of being motivated. This volitional problem can also effect on individual self-efficacy beliefs, motivation and goal settings through a vicious cycle ( Valenzuela et al., 2020 ).

However, the more important question is why procrastinators fail in self-regulation. In attempt to answer this question, studies have identified range of factors, including factors related to task characteristics such as perceived aversiveness or difficulty of the task and the length of time it takes to receive a reward ( Dewitte and Schouwenburg, 2002 ) as well as factors related to the individual’s characteristics such as high impulsivity ( Rebetez et al., 2018 ), low conscientiousness ( Watson, 2001 ), perfectionism ( Rozental and Carlbring, 2014 ), and fear of failure ( Haghbin et al., 2012 ). Some results suggest a connection between the self-regulation failure of procrastination and emotion regulation ( Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 ).

Emotion regulation consists of different strategies to monitor and change the frequency, intensity, duration, emotional reactions, and the expression of a wide range of emotions, especially in the context of goal-related behavior ( Kring, 2010 ; Gross, 2015 ). Adaptive emotion regulation strategies involve modulating the experience of intensive emotions in order to facilitate achieving desired goals ( Gratz and Roemer, 2004 ). On the other hand, emotion dysregulation defined as “maladaptive emotional responsiveness reflected in dysfunctional understanding, reactivity, and management” ( Mennin et al., 2007 ). Emotion regulation difficulties have been reported across a wide range of emotional problems ( Berking and Wupperman, 2012 ; Naragon-Gainey et al., 2017 ; Khakpoor et al., 2019 ). Steel (2007a) considers procrastination as a kind of dysfunctional, emotional driven self-regulation. In his view, procrastinators consider themselves unable to change the situation, and thus, instead of focusing on the task, they turn their attention to their emotions and emotional responses. In other words, they choose the emotion-oriented style instead of the task-oriented style which resulted in postponing the aversive tasks.

Tice and Bratslavsky (2000) also suggest that difficulty in emotion regulation can be considered as one of the causes of failure in self-regulation and self-control. From this perspective, focusing on regulating emotions and prioritizing the short-term mood repair rather than pursuing goals in the long term, results in failure in self-regulation and therefore procrastination ( Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 ). Evidence indicated that negative emotions are important antecedents of procrastination ( Steel, 2007a ; Wohl et al., 2010 ). When an individual confronts a task that is viewed as aversive, difficult, or boring, he/she experiences negative emotions ( Solomon and Rothblum, 1984 ). In such circumstances, the procrastinator tries to get rid of these emotions as soon as possible by avoiding tasks or procrastination ( Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 ). It seems that individuals postponing their tasks, due to lack of access to adaptive emotion regulation strategies and consequently failure in self-regulation ( Fernie et al., 2016 ; Steel and Klingsieck, 2016 ) and by doing so, they at least temporarily avoid negative emotions ( Golestanibakht and Shokri, 1392 ). However, the effect of procrastination on repairing mood is short term and does not have long-lasting effects ( Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 ). Conversely, delaying goals or tasks imposes greater costs (such as time pressure) on the individual and caused more negative emotions such as guilt and anxiety and thus more procrastination, in the long-term ( Fee and Tangney, 2000 ).

Although previous theories suggest emotion regulation as a predisposing and perpetuating factor in understanding procrastination ( Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 ; Pychyl and Sirois, 2016 ), limited studies have examined the relationship between these two. These studies mainly concerned the procrastination intervention through enhancing emotion regulation skills ( Mirzaei et al., 2014 ; Eckert et al., 2016 ) and not examined their connection specifically.

In this regard, the present study had four primary aims. The first goal was to examine the association between academic procrastination and an overall difficulty in emotion regulation and its dimensions, controlling for anxiety and depression. It was hypothesized that difficulty in emotion regulation and its dimensions could predict academic procrastination, beyond anxiety and depression levels. Second, the study aimed to investigate the incremental contribution of an overall difficulty in emotion regulation beyond anxiety and depression. It was hypothesized that difficulty in emotion regulation provide significant unique variance in predicting academic procrastination. Third, the current study aimed to determine which dimensions of difficulty in emotion regulation is particularly relevant to academic procrastination. It was hypothesized that limited access to emotion regulation strategies would probably be the best predictor of procrastination. However, according to the priority of short-term mood regulation, it seemed that in the second place, difficulty to perform purposeful behaviors related to emotions to be the next predictors. Finally, we sought to examine whether there is a different between individuals with high and low level of procrastination in reporting difficulties in emotion regulation as well as group differences in its dimension. It was hypothesized that individuals who were above the procrastination cutoff report more difficulties in emotion regulation than those below the cutoff.

Materials and Methods

Participants and procedure.

The participants consisted of 250 students recruited from the Zanjan University of Medical Sciences via a convenience sampling method. The participants were asked to complete all the scales including Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Tuckman Procrastination Scale (TPS), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).

The inclusion criteria included age 18 or older, fluency in Persian, and the willingness to participate in the study. Given that psychological disorder(s) could contribute to the observed level of DERS, TPS, and the possible association between them, participations had been asked to report if they had been diagnosed with a psychological disorder(s) by a psychologist or psychiatrist. Eighteen participations reported psychological disorder(s) and excluded from the study. Further, 22 participations were excluded because they did not complete all the measures. The final sample consisted of 210 students with a mean age of 23.35 years ( SD = 5.35). The sample contained 49% male and 51% female. In terms of education, 13.3% were associate students, 48.1% were undergraduate, 8.1% were postgraduate and 29.9% were Ph.D. students.

The study had been approved by the Ethics Committee of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (reference number: ZUMS.REC.1396.79). All participations were submitted anonymously and written informed consent was obtained from them.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)

This 21-item inventory was designed by Beck et al. (1996) to measure the severity of depression over the past 2 weeks. It has a high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and test-retest reliability of 0.93 in a week ( Beck et al., 1996 ). The internal consistency coefficient for Iranian sample were 0.90 and the test–retest coefficient was 0.94 ( Ghassemzadeh et al., 2005 ). In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.86.

Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)

This 21-item inventory was designed by Beck et al. (1998) to measure the severity of anxiety in adults and adolescents. An adequate reliability value (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.93) and 5-week test-retest reliability coefficient (0.83) has been reported for this inventory ( de Beurs et al., 1997 ). In Iran, an adequate internal consistency of BAI (α = 0.92) and test–retest ( r = 0.83) has been reported ( Rafiei and Seifi, 2013 ). In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.93.

Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)

This scale was developed by Gratz and Roemer in 2004 with 36 items and 6 subscales for measuring emotion dysregulation and emotional self-regulation strategies. The subscales of this scale include the lack of acceptance of emotional responses, difficulty in performing purposeful behavior, difficulty controlling impulse, lack of emotional awareness, limited access to emotion regulation strategies, and lack of clarity of emotion. High internal consistency (α = 0.93) and adequate 2-week test-retest reliability ( r = 0.85) have been reported for this scale ( Gratz and Roemer, 2004 ). The reliability of the Persian version of DERS also varies from 0.79 to 0.91, using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and the reliability of its test-retest is between 0.86 and 0.88 after a week ( Besharat and Bazzazian, 2015 ). Internal consistency in this sample was good with alphas ranging from 0.65 to 0.91 in six subscales and 0.91 in overall DERS.

Tuckman Procrastination Scale (TPS)

This scale was developed by Tuckman (1991) to measure responders’ procrastination and to identify students with academic problems early in their career ( Ferrari et al., 1995 ). The TPS consists of 16 Likert scale items and one factor. Twelve items are scored directly and four items (16-17-14-12) are scored inversely. Higher scores reflect greater procrastination tendency. Tuckman (1991) found good reliability with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86. In Iran, an adequate internal consistency of TPS (α = 0.74) has been reported ( Shehni et al., 2006 ). In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.86.

Data Analysis Method

SPSS version 25 was used to perform statistical analyses. Zero-order and the partial correlation coefficient was conducted to investigate the associations between DERS and TPS. Moreover, hierarchical and multivariate regressions were used to test the hypotheses that difficulty in emotion regulation and its dimensions would provide a significant contribution in predicting academic procrastination. Finally, univariate and multivariate analyses of variance (ANOVA/MANOVA) were calculated to compare DERS scores of individuals with a high level of procrastination to those at a subthreshold level. ANCOVA and MANCOVA were used to control for the effects of anxiety and depression.

Means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis of all study variables are presented in Table 1 . The Skewness and Kurtosis values of study variables showed that the distribution of variables is normal and in the range of −2 to +2. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov Test confirmed the assumption of normal distribution of study variables.

Mean, Standard Deviation, Skewness, Kurtosis and normality test of study variables.

No gender differences were found in tendency toward procrastination (M men = 36.72, SD men = 9.42; M women =35.27, SD women = 8.05; t=1.198, p=0.232) and total score of difficulties in emotion regulation (M men = 85.84, SD men = 21.06; M women = 81.49, SD women = 19.34; t=1.563, p=0.120). Regarding DERS subscales, women showed greater scores than men in lack of emotional awareness (M men = 14.32, SD men = 3.99; M women = 15.70, SD women = 3.86; t=−2.546, p=0.012) and men showed greater scores than women in impulse control difficulties (M men = 15.28, SD men = 5.70; M women = 12.96, SD women = 4.29; t=3.337, p=0.001) and limited access to emotion regulation strategies (M men = 18.58, SD men = 7.00; M women = 16.74, SD women = 6.36; t=1.999, p=0.047). Furthermore, no gender differences were found in non-acceptance of emotional response (M men = 13.36, SD men = 5.22; M women = 12.26, SD women = 4.83; t=1.582, p=0.115), difficulty engaging in goal-directed behavior (M men = 14.82, SD men = 5.06; M women = 14.14, SD women = 4.43; t=1.029, p=0.305) and lack of emotional clarities (M men = 9.96, SD men = 3.30; M women = 10.30, SD women = 3.57; t=−0.711, p=0.478). To explore the relationship between TPS and different DERS subscales, zero-order correlations were conducted (see Table 2 ). An examination of zero-order correlations showed that the procrastination (TPS) was significantly positively associated with DERS-total score, and all but one of the six dimensions of emotion regulation difficulties ( p < 0.0001; Table 2 ). The DERS-Awareness was not significantly associated with TPS and the DERS-Strategies has the most powerful relationship with TPS. Partial correlations controlling for anxiety and depression were also computed to ensure that the above correlations could not be attributed to shared variance with these variables. TPS remained significantly associated with DERS-total and all of its dimensions except for the DERS-Awareness after controlling for anxiety and depression (see Table 2 ).

Correlations between academic procrastination and difficulty in emotion regulation (controlling and not controlling for anxiety and depression).

Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to examine the relative contributions of anxiety, depression, and difficulty in emotion regulation in predicting TPS more fully. DERS total score was used in this analysis as it remained significant predictors of TPS after controlling for anxiety and depression in the previous analysis. Anxiety was entered as a predictor variable at Step 1, followed by depression at Step 2. In the third and final step of the model, the DERS total score was entered. TPS served as the dependent variable. While anxiety accounted for a significant amount of variance in predicting TPS (3%) the addition of depression at step 2 accounted for an additional 10% of the variance; in fact, anxiety was no longer a significant predictor of TPS after the inclusion of depression in the model. Finally, when the DERS total score was entered in the third step, it significantly improved the model, accounting for an additional 7% of the variance in TPS and emerging as a significant predictor of TPS. BDI remained a significant predictor, although its beta weight decreased (see Table 3 ).

Hierarchical regression analysis examining difficulties in emotion regulation as a predictor of TPS, controlling for BAI and BDI.

In order to investigate the extent to which DERS dimensions predict procrastination in students, multivariate regression was conducted.

As seen in Table 4 , the difficulty in emotion regulation dimensions could explain 15% of the total procrastination variance ( R 2 = 0.15). The results of one-way ANOVA showed that prediction of procrastination by dimensions of difficulty in emotion regulation was significant ( F = 5.92, p < 0.01), which means that the relationship between procrastination and linear least-squares of the difficulty in emotion regulation dimensions cannot be random and the model is statistically significant. The results of multivariate regression also revealed that DERS-Strategies was the only DERS dimension that could significantly positively predict TPS (β = 0.220, p < 0.05). None of the other dimensions of DERS could significantly predict TPS.

Regression analysis examining difficulties in emotion regulation subscales as a predictor of TPS.

Finally, a univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare DERS scores between individuals higher and lower than scoring 41 on the TPS. Individuals above the cutoff scored significantly higher on the DERS, F (1,208) = 12.13, p < 0.01 (see Table 5 ), with results remaining significant after controlling for anxiety and depression, F (1,206) = 3.89, p < 0.05.

Differences in DERS total and subscale scores among participants above and below the TPS cutoff.

Next, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted with the DERS dimension as dependent variables and the TPS variable (above vs. below the cutoff) as the independent variable. The overall model was significant, Wilkes λ = 0.91, F (6,208) = 3.48, p = 0.003. Post hoc ANOVAs demonstrated that above TPS cutoff participants reported significantly greater scores on all dimensions, except for DERS-Awareness (see Table 5 ). In a MANCOVA controlling for anxiety and depression, the overall model was no longer significant [Wilkes λ = 0.95, F (6,201) = 1.69, p = 0.125]. However, post hoc ANCOVAs revealed a significant difference in DERS-Strategies between the two groups, F (1,206) = 7.52, p = 0.07.

This study aimed to investigate the role of difficulty in emotion regulation and its dimensions in students’ academic procrastination. As expected, the overall DERS as well as its dimensions (except for DERS-Awareness) were positively significantly associated with academic procrastination, beyond shared variance of anxiety and depression. This finding is consistent with previous studies that support the role of difficulty in emotion regulation in procrastination ( Rebetez et al., 2015 ; Zarei and Khoshouei, 2016 ) and suggests a unique association between TPS and the overall emotion regulation difficulties. Eckert et al. (2016) suggested that emotion regulation as a potential predictor of procrastination and that training of emotion regulation skills could reduce procrastination. This finding is also in line with theories that consider procrastination as a failure in self-regulation and maladaptive emotion regulation strategy ( Steel, 2007a ; Pychyl and Sirois, 2016 ). When procrastinators faced with tasks or situations that are seen as difficult or aversive, they prefer to regulate the negative emotions of the task immediately instead of pursuing their goals. For example, they try to reduce the experience of negative emotions through avoiding situations that provoke negative emotions, distracting themselves from aversive tasks, or biased information processing ( Koole, 2009 ; Gross, 2015 ). In other words, rather than using adaptive emotion regulation strategies, they use procrastination as a way of regulating their emotions; a strategy that reduces negative emotions in the short term but prevents them from achieving their goals in the long term.

Surprisingly, the DERS-Awareness was negatively associated with procrastination at the bivariate level, although this relationship was not significant. There are some possible explanations for this finding. First, this finding suggests that the DERS-Awareness cannot be considered as a predicting factor for academic procrastination. In other words, people who procrastinate are probably as aware of their emotions as those who aren’t. Second, it appears that the DERS-Awareness measures a different construct from emotion regulation. The DERS is generally attempted to assess individuals’ reaction to unpleasant emotions, while this dimension focuses solely on the awareness of these emotions ( Hallion et al., 2018 ). It is also worth to mention that emotional awareness has adaptive and maladaptive aspects which should be differentiated ( Lischetzke and Eid, 2003 ). In this regard, the lack of association between DERS-Awareness and procrastination might be due to the inability of this dimension in distinguishing between two aspects of emotional awareness. It seems that procrastinators pay attention to their emotions in a maladaptive way when confronted with difficult tasks; which exposed them to the more unpleasant emotions and increased the chances of postponing assignments. Finally, this finding may be due to the psychometric limitations of the DERS-Awareness dimension. Studies which have been conducted on the psychometric properties of the DERS revealed that there is a weak association between the DERS-Awareness and other dimensions ( Giromini et al., 2012 ; Fowler et al., 2014 ) and suggested to exclude its items from the scale ( Osborne et al., 2017 ).

An examination of the relative contributions of anxiety, depression, and difficulty in emotion regulation in predicting procrastination indicated that DERS total score and DERS-Strategies were significant predictors of TPS and accounted for a significant incremental variance.

Overall, these findings suggest that how one regulates his/her emotion specifically, the subjective appraisal of the effectiveness of one’s efforts is an important factor in predicting an individual’s procrastination behaviors. DERS-Strategies measure “the belief that there is little that can be done to regulate emotions effectively, once an individual is upset” ( Gratz and Roemer, 2004 ). In this regard, procrastination seems to be related to subjective appraisal about the ability to effectively modulate unpleasant emotions rather than using strategies. Procrastinators perceive themselves as someone who cannot change the situation effectively or regulate their negative emotions; the belief that makes them less likely to concentrate on the task at hand or tolerate unpleasant emotions to achieve their goals. It seems that this perception of self, along with the priority of short-term mood repair ( Sirois and Pychyl, 2013 ), develops and perpetuates the procrastination behavior. This finding is especially important in clinical settings in which clinicians should address procrastinators’ appraisals by restructuring cognitions related to emotion regulation as part of procrastination interventions.

Moreover, previous literature conceptualized procrastination as a situation-dependent phenomenon ( Patrzek et al., 2012 ; Klingsieck et al., 2013 ), a feature that has been considered in developing DERS-Strategies dimensions ( Gratz and Roemer, 2004 ). It seems that the characteristics of a situation or goal can influence how individuals regulate their emotions and consequently their procrastination behavior. In other words, the inability to the flexible use of situationally adaptive emotion regulation strategies can hinder individuals from achieving goals or meeting environmental demands. For example, Codina et al. (2018) suggest that autonomy-supportive teaching style has a negative association with procrastination. It seems that this style of teaching can affect students’ procrastination through promoting motivation and regulation conditions.

Finally, finding indicated that individuals with a high level of procrastination report significantly greater level of overall difficulties in regulating their emotions. According to previous studies, the higher level of procrastination is associated with greater experience of negative emotion (whether as an antecedent or as a consequence) ( Chabaud et al., 2010 ; Patrzek et al., 2012 ), which exacerbates the need to use strategies to recover their emotions. Result also indicated that DERS-Strategies was the only dimension which remained significant after controlling for anxiety and depression. Prior research emphasis on the role of self-efficacy ( Ziegler and Opdenakker, 2018 ; Liu et al., 2020 ) and self-efficacy for self-regulation ( Klassen et al., 2008 ) in predicting levels of procrastination. Self-efficacy can serves as a motivational, cognitive, affective and selective process in procrastination ( Bandura, 1977 ). It improves individuals’ positive expectations, reduces negative emotions, and affects their efforts before and during doing the task. It seems that in the absence of anxiety and depression, individuals’ belief about their ability to influence the situation effectively (self-efficacy), has a remarkable role in procrastination severity.

The present study has some limitations. First, the sample size of the study was small, which makes it difficult to generalize the findings. In addition, the cross-sectional nature of the study did not allow an accurate understanding of the causal relationship between emotion regulation and procrastination. However, it seems that emotion regulation strategies, especially individuals’ perception of their ability in regulating emotions, can help formulate problems related to procrastination. Moreover, the current study only investigates difficulties in emotion regulation in explaining procrastination and doesn’t consider other underlying factors such as experiential avoidance ( Heshmati et al., 2018 ), ruminations, and worry ( Constantin et al., 2018 ), family cultural capital, habits, attitudes ( Valenzuela and Codina, 2014 ) and teaching styles ( Codina et al., 2018 ). Future studies would benefit from employing methods such as structural equation analysis or a longitudinal study design to investigate the causal relationship between these structures more accurately. Furthermore, it seems that despite the widespread use and high validity of the scale of DERS, this measure cannot fully assess emotion regulation in the context of procrastination. Some studies have suggested that there is an overlap between the content of items of DERS and structures such as attentional, planning, and decision-making difficulties ( de la Cruz et al., 2013 ) which are important in describing procrastination. Some part of the association that has been found in the present study may be due to this overlap. In this regard, future studies should continue to investigate the exact relationship between emotion regulation and academic procrastination. It is also suggested future studies need to be done to develop and utilize a measure that can evaluate emotion regulation in this group of individuals. In addition, the main limitation of TPS is an interpretation based on the total score and it’s not address other dimensions of academic procrastination. Finally, the current study has evaluated the association between emotion regulation and procrastination solely on the conceptualization of Steel and Sirois. Although comparing different conceptualizations of emotion regulation (whether as a trait or a state) was not the aims of the present study, it is valuable to explore different emotion regulation models in future studies. These studies are especially important in helping us to expand our understanding of emotion regulation strategies in procrastination. The results of this study highlight the significant role of difficulties of emotion regulation in academic procrastination. Accordingly, the development and implementation of emotion-focused therapeutic interventions can help treat academic procrastination.

The present study aimed to examine the role of difficulty in emotion regulation in the context of procrastination. Results revealed that procrastination is associated with difficulty in emotion regulation, especially individuals’ subjective appraisals about their ability to modify the situation. This finding is in line with models that consider emotion regulation as self-regulation failure in procrastination ( Pychyl and Sirois, 2016 ).

The results of the present study raise some potentially useful clinical and academic implications. For example, individuals’ perceptions of the ability to effectively regulate their emotions can be considered as one of the therapeutic goals in procrastination interventions and academic consultations. Preliminary researches also indicated that interventions that increase flexibility in the use of emotion regulation strategies as their therapeutic goals can improve individuals’ procrastination ( Glick et al., 2014 ; Gagnon et al., 2018 ). In this regard, further studies are needed to determine which dimension of difficulty in emotion regulation contributes to changes in procrastination during the interventions. These studies are important to expand the effectiveness of procrastination interventions.

Data Availability Statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

JM and OS carried out and designed the experiment. SK wrote the manuscript with support from OS. JM analyzed the data. All the authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all participants who contributed to the present study.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Shyness and academic procrastination among chinese adolescents: a moderated mediation model of self-regulation and self-focused attention.

• 1 College of Teacher Education, Taishan University Shandong Province, Tai’an, China
• 2 Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, China

Academic procrastination is a common concern among adolescents, but the correlation between shyness and academic procrastination and the internal mechanisms have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Based on a questionnaire survey with 1,279 Chinese middle school students, this study examined the effect of shyness on academic procrastination and its underlying mechanism of self-regulation and self-focused attention. Results revealed that: (1) shyness significantly predicted academic procrastination. (2) Self-regulation mediated the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination. (3) Self-focused attention played a moderating role in the first half of this mediation process. Specifically, higher level of self-focused attention strengthened the predictive effect of shyness on self-regulation. These results underscored the latent risks and protective factors associated with shyness, self-regulation, and self-focused attention in adolescent academic procrastination. In future research and interventions, attention may be directed towards improving individual internal factors to assist adolescents in effectively addressing issues related to academic procrastination.

1 Introduction

Academic procrastination refers to unnecessary and irrational behaviors that lead to the delay of academic tasks ( Steel and Klingsieck, 2016 ). It exerted an adverse impact on students’ academic performance ( Cormack et al., 2020 ) while also influencing their physical and mental health ( Flett et al., 2016 ). Thus, exploring the determinants of academic procrastination becomes crucial in curtailing its prevalence among adolescents and encouraging their healthy development.

The critical determinants influencing academic procrastination were a medley of internal factors such as personality traits, self-regulation; and environmental factors like task complexity or teacher characteristics ( Klingsieck, 2013 ; Steel and Klingsieck, 2016 ). Notably, the internal factors wield significant swayed over individual behaviors. A deep-dive into these factors can facilitate an enhanced understanding of students varying scholastic performances and diversified learning behaviors, thereby revealing the plethora of causes underpinning student behavior. Hence, an intensive exploration of these internal factors is pivotal to uncovering the mechanisms and repercussions of academic procrastination. This study, embedded within the constructs of Attention Control Theory and Self-focused Attention Theory, aims to unearth the influence and operation of these internal factors—namely shyness, self-regulation, and self-focused attention—on adolescent academic procrastination. The ultimate goal is to panoramically address this issue, thereby furnishing effective recommendations to foster robust academic growth within the adolescent cohort.

1.1 Shyness and academic procrastination

Shyness is characterized as the discomfort or inhibition individuals experience in social situations or under social evaluation ( Coplan et al., 2004 ). Both theoretical constructs and empirical evidence suggests a potential association between shyness and academic procrastination.

While direct research establishing a correlation between shyness and academic procrastination was limited, existing studies underscored the significant role of personality traits in fostering academic procrastination ( Klingsieck, 2013 ). Shyness, as a stable personality trait, induced negative emotions that hindered active participation in classroom discussions and discouraged seeking academic assistance ( Chen et al., 2021 ). Furthermore, these emotions extended to impair crucial cognitive processes necessary for initiating individual tasks in academic settings, leading to divided attention and self-doubt ( Geng et al., 2021 ; Leigh et al., 2021 ), ultimately diminishing task completion proficiency and fostering academic procrastination.

Secondly, Attentional Control Theory ( Derakshan and Eysenck, 2009 ) posited that excessive worry might occupy cognitive resources, leading to insufficient allocation of cognitive resources to tasks and consequently impacting processing efficiency. Shy adolescents, who were more sensitive to potential social threats ( LoBue and Pérez-Edgar, 2014 ), tended to have their attention distracted by social issues unrelated to academic tasks ( Alm and Frodi, 2008 ; Leigh et al., 2021 ). An excessive worry about interpersonal interactions, social status, or performance in the class took up cognitive resources that should be devoted to the completion of academic tasks. This decreased the efficiency of accomplishing academic tasks, culminating in academic procrastination. Hence, it was evident that shyness is closely associated with academic procrastination in adolescents.

Thirdly, Social Cognitive Theory emphasized the influence of an individual’s subjective expectancy of personal capabilities and the outcome of tasks on behavioral choices ( Bandura, 1977 ). Shy adolescents, characterized by lower self-confidence and self-esteem ( Crozier, 1995 ), may develop pessimistic beliefs, perceiving themselves as destined to fail in academic tasks due to heightened concerns about others’ evaluations and persistent self-doubt ( Miller, 1995 ; Coplan et al., 2004 ; Geng et al., 2021 ). This anticipation of failure may lead shy adolescents to psychologically avoid academic tasks, opting to postpone confronting challenges through academic procrastination. In the short term, procrastination may alleviate the pressure of potential failure, providing temporary psychological relief for shy adolescents. However, the trade-off for this comfort was a subsequent compromise in academic performance. In essence, shyness not only impeded adolescents’ academic engagement but also propelled them into a detrimental cycle of procrastination.

Empirical studies have indicated that shy individuals were more prone to experiencing academic challenges, exhibiting lower academic engagement, and achieving suboptimal performance in academic tasks ( Hughes and Coplan, 2010 ; Nikel et al., 2022 ) – characteristics that align closely with academic procrastination. Based on the above analysis, this study posited that shyness can positively predict academic procrastination among adolescents (Hypothesis 1).

1.2 The mediating effect of self-regulation

Self-regulation is a valuable individual resource for adolescents, denoting the conscious adjustment of one’s thoughts, emotions, and actions to achieve goals ( Fries et al., 2008 ). Research indicated that self-regulation is a crucial factor in the learning process and played a pivotal role in achieving academic success ( Robson et al., 2020 ). Individuals with high levels of self-regulation demonstrated unique advantages in learning activities. They can set clear learning goals and efficiently choose appropriate learning strategies. Through continuous assessment of academic progress, they can timely adjust their learning strategies, ensuring success in completing academic tasks ( Ziegler and Opdenakker, 2018 ). Conversely, individuals with low levels of self-regulation exhibited significant disadvantages in the learning process. Their adaptability was notably poor when faced with new changes or challenges in academic tasks. They struggled to adjust states promptly in aspects such as time management, emotional regulation, and distraction elimination. Consequently, they were unable to efficiently accomplish academic goals within limited time, leading to academic procrastination ( Park and Sperling, 2012 ; Valenzuela et al., 2020 ). Thus, self-regulation negatively predicted academic procrastination.

The relationship between shyness and self-regulation has also garnered scholarly attention. Shy adolescents tended to employ self-protective strategies, such as avoiding social interactions or relying on safety behaviors ( Hassan et al., 2021 ). These strategies may consume significant cognitive and emotional resources, disrupting self-efficacy regarding academic tasks ( Nikel et al., 2022 ). This interference exacerbated difficulties in task planning, time management, emotional regulation, and sustaining attention, thereby reducing individual self-regulation abilities ( Leigh et al., 2021 ).

In conclusion, self-regulation likely served as a mediator in the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination. Adequate and effective self-regulation may contribute to mitigating the adverse impact of shyness on academic procrastination. Previous research has also identified self-regulation as playing a mediating role between personality traits and academic procrastination ( Ljubin-Golub et al., 2019 ). Building on this, this study hypothesized that self-regulation serves as a mediator in the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination (Hypothesis 2).

1.3 The moderating effect of self-focused attention

Although shyness influenced adolescent academic procrastination through self-regulation, this impact varies among individuals. Several researchers have emphasized the importance of studying the moderating factors between shyness and social adjustment ( Chen et al., 2021 ; Geng et al., 2021 ). In this study, we explore potential differences in the relationship between self-focused attention and shyness affecting academic procrastination.

Self-focused attention referred to an individual’s sustained attention and observation of their internal state or external performance, and was considered an important facilitating factor for self-monitoring and self-regulation ( Bandura, 2001 ). Furthermore, according to Self-focused Attention Theory, when individuals focused their attention on themselves, they evaluated their behavior based on relevant standards, goals, and norms ( Carver, 2012 ; Silvia and Eddington, 2012 ). Subsequently, they adjusted their behavior according to the evaluation results to achieve their goals ( van Randenborgh et al., 2010 ; Silvia et al., 2014 ). Entering puberty, adolescents experienced an increase in self-awareness. This was accompanied by heightened self-focused attention, directing increased focus towards their thoughts, emotions, physical states, and how they were perceived by others ( Steinberg, 2005 ). In conclusion, self-focused attention may play a facilitating role in adolescents’ self-regulation.

Given that shyness can be perceived as a manifestation of social anxiety to a certain extent ( McNeil, 2010 ), we can derive an understanding of self-focused attention based on our knowledge of anxiety. According to the Self-Focused Cognitive Processes in Models of Social Anxiety/Shyness ( Norton and Abbott, 2016 ), the attentional processes of individuals with social anxiety/shyness interact with self-focused attention, consequently influencing their emotion responses and behavior. Research by Derakshan and Eysenck (2009) further suggests that these individuals tend to allocate cognitive resources predominantly to negative stimuli, potentially impairing their ability to self-regulate. This heightened sensitivity to external evaluations and social threat information, as supported by Geng et al. (2021) , LoBue and Pérez-Edgar (2014) , Miller (1995) , leads individuals with social anxiety/shyness to excessively focus on critiquing their performance in social situations, diverting attention from immediate tasks and developmental needs. Consequently, even with heightened self-focused attention, the facilitating effect on self-regulation may be diminished in this population. Contrastingly, adolescents with low shyness yet heightened self-focused attention, took more recourse to using self-focused attention to meet their developmental requirements, potentially enhancing their self-regulation implementation. That is, the facilitating impact of heightened self-focused attention on self-regulation was more evident. Therefore, self-focused attention played a moderating role in the relationship between shyness and self-regulation, and this moderating effect aligned with the stress-vulnerability hypothesis ( Li et al., 2012 ), whereby higher levels of self-focused attention were more beneficial for low-shy adolescents.

Although researchers have not yet examined the interactive effect of shyness and self-focused attention on predicting adolescent academic development, there is some indirect evidence supporting the stress-vulnerability hypothesis. For instance, researchers have found that self-focused attention elevated effort management in low anxious individuals, thereby enhancing test performance. However, this effect was less pronounced in high anxious individuals ( Carver et al., 1983 ; Eddington and Foxworth, 2012 ).

Based on theoretical and empirical analyses, self-focused attention may play a moderating role in shyness and self-regulation. Specially, it has a clear enhancement effect for low-shyness adolescents, but the effect is less evident for shy adolescents (Hypothesis 3).

The research framework of this study is as follows (see Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 . Conceptual model.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 participants.

The study participants were chosen through cluster sampling, with five regular middle schools randomly selected in Shandong Province, China. Two classes from each of grades one and two, and one class from grade three in each school, were randomly chosen for the survey. Data was collected within classrooms, with 1,431 questionnaires distributed and 1,279 valid responses obtained, yielding an 89.38% effective response rate. The gender distribution included 632 males (49.41%) and 647 females (50.59%). Among the participants, 544 were only children (42.5%) and 735 were not (57.5%). In terms of residence, 781 participants lived in rural areas (61.1%) and 498 resided in urban areas (38.9%). Grade-wise distribution included 543 participants in grade one (42.5%), 559 in grade two (43.7%), and 177 in grade three (13.8%). The mean age of these adolescents was 13.49 ± 1.002. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Taishan University and informed consent was obtained from students, parents, and teachers after explaining the study’s nature, objectives, potential benefits, and possible risks.

2.2 Measures

2.2.1 shyness.

We used the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale (RCBS; Cheek, 1983 ) to assess adolescent shyness, which has been widely used in Chinese students ( Chen et al., 2021 ; Geng et al., 2021 ). Responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale across 13 items, resulting in a total score range of 13–65. Higher scores mean higher level of shyness. Sample items include “I am quite poor in social situations.” In this study, Cronbach’s α for shyness was 0.90. The translation process, employing a translation-back translation approach, addressed inconsistencies, ensuring linguistic uniformity. Two developmental psychology professors evaluated the language expressions and confirmed their appropriateness.

2.2.2 Self-focused attention

The Self-focused Attention Scale (SFAS), developed by Kiropoulos and Klimidis (2006) , and revised by Xiao (2010) , was used in this study. The questionnaire uses a 5-point Likert scale across 17 items, with scores ranging from 17 to 85. Higher scores represent higher level of self-focused attention. Sample items include “I care a lot about the way I present myself physically.” This scale has shown good reliability and validity in previous research ( Ding et al., 2021 ). In this study, Cronbach’s α for self-focused attention was 0.75.

2.2.3 Self-regulation

Adolescents’ self-regulation was assessed by Self-regulation Questionnaire (SRQ; Gao, 2011 ). The questionnaire encompasses three factors: motivation (e.g., I set goals before the beginning of each week.), strategy (e.g., For personal matters, I often do not set specific deadlines for completion.), and behavior (e.g., I often argue with classmates), and consists of 38 items. The questionnaire employs a 4-point Likert scale, with scores ranging from 38 to 190, where higher scores indicate greater self-regulation ability. The questionnaire has demonstrated good reliability and validity in previous research ( Yu et al., 2019 ). In this study, Cronbach’s α for self-regulation was 0.92.

2.2.4 Academic procrastination

We used the Academic Procrastination Inventory (API), developed by Aitken (1982) and adapted by Chen et al. (2008) , to assess students’ academic procrastination behavior. The questionnaire uses a 5-point Likert scale across 13 items, with higher scores indicating more severe procrastination. Sample items include “I always wait until the study tasks can no longer be postponed before starting them.” Cronbach’s α for academic procrastination was 0.80. The API was a suitable tool for assessing academic procrastination and demonstrated good reliability and validity among Chinese students ( Chen et al., 2008 ; Zheng and Xu, 2022 ).

2.3 Statistical analysis

All data analyses were carried out using SPSS 23.0 and the SPSS macro program PROCESS ( Hayes, 2013 ). Initially, Harman’s single-factor test was applied to assess common-method bias associated with self-report questionnaires. Following this, descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted to explore the associations between variables. Subsequently, the SPSS macro program PROCESS (Model 4) was employed to evaluate the mediation effect of self-regulation. Lastly, conditional process analysis was performed using the SPSS macro program PROCESS (Model 7) to confirm whether self-focused attention moderated the mediation model.

3.1 Common method biases test

We employed Harman’s single-factor test to assess for the potential impact of common method bias. The results of this analysis revealed 21 factors with characteristic roots exceeding one, and the variance explained by the first factor amounted to 16.98%, falling below the conventional threshold of 40%. This demonstrated there was no pronounced methodological bias in this study.

3.2 Correlation analysis among study variables

Table 1 lists the means, standard deviations, and correlation matrix for the variables. All variables exhibited statistically significant correlations in conceptually expected ways. Shyness was positively associated with academic procrastination and negatively associated with self-regulation. Self-regulation was negatively associated with academic procrastination. Self-focused attention was positively associated with self-regulation.

Table 1 . Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations among study variables ( N  = 1,279).

3.3 Moderated mediation effect analysis

Using PROCESS and employing bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method for estimating confidence intervals of coefficients, we investigated the association between shyness and academic procrastination while controlling for the influence of gender.

Firstly, we used the PROCESS macro (Model 4) to examine the mediating role of self-regulation in the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination. The results indicated that shyness was negatively associated with on self-regulation ( β  = −0.236, SE = 0.027, p  < 0.01) and self-regulation was negatively associated with academic procrastination ( β  = −0.681, SE = 0.021, p  < 0.01). Moreover, shyness had a significant effect on academic procrastination through self-regulation ( β  = 0.161, SE = 0.021, p  < 0.01). Shyness also had a direct significant effect on academic procrastination ( β  = 0.225, SE = 0.027, p  < 0.01). Consequently, we concluded that self-regulation partially mediated the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination, with the mediation effect accounting for 71.429% of the total effect (see Table 2 ).

Table 2 . Mediation analysis ( N  = 1,279).

Subsequently, we employed Model 7 of the SPSS PROCESS macro program to scrutinize the moderated mediation model (see Table 3 ). Upon the inclusion of self-focused attention in the model, self-focused attention was found to positively predict self-regulation ( β  = 0.112, t  = 4.213, p  < 0.01). Additionally, it moderated the first half of the indirect effect ( β  = −0.052, t  = −2.037, p  < 0.05).

Table 3 . Conditional process analysis ( N  = 1,279).

To clarify the characteristics of the interaction terms, a simple slope test was conducted to analyze the moderating effect of self-focused attention (see Figure 2 ). Generally, when self-focused attention was low (M − 1SD), a significant negative predictive effect of shyness on self-regulation was evident ( β  = −0.179, t  = −4.521, p  < 0.01). Conversely, when self-focused attention was high (M + 1SD), the negative predictive effect of shyness on self-regulation was more pronounced ( β  = −0.283, t  = −8.275, p  < 0.01). This indicated that the predictive effect of shyness on self-regulation varies at different levels of self-focused attention, with higher self-focused attention strengthening the predictive relationship between the two.

Figure 2 . Self-focused attention moderated the relationship between shyness and self-regulation. SFA, self-focused attention.

4 Discussion

This study constructed a moderated mediation model based on Attentional Control Theory and Self-focused Attention Theory, comprehensively investigated the association and potential impact of shyness on academic procrastination in adolescence. The findings revealed that self-regulation partially mediated the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination, and self-focused attention moderated the relationship between shyness and self-regulation.

The findings contributed to a comprehensive understanding of the internal mechanisms of academic procrastination. They not only addressed the knowledge gap regarding the relationship between shyness and academic procrastination but also provided a new perspective on understanding the academic challenges faced by shy adolescents. Moreover, these findings further supported and enriched the viewpoint that personality traits play a significant role in the learning process ( De Raad and Schouwenburg, 1996 ). This study provided valuable insights into methodologies for educational practices and psychological health support.

4.1 Mediating effect of self-regulation

From the perspective of differential psychology, procrastination was considered a personality trait ( Klingsieck, 2013 ). The results of this study supported this viewpoint: shyness positively predicted academic procrastination in adolescents, and this positive association can be explained by self-regulation. Shyness diminished individuals’ self-regulation, consequently contributing to the occurrence of academic procrastination. This finding deepened our understanding of the internal mechanisms through which social pressure and emotional distress impact academic achievement. Two points can be considered to explain this result:

On the one hand, shyness negatively predicted adolescent self-regulation, with higher levels of shyness associated with poorer self-regulation. From a cognitive perspective, shy adolescents exhibited lower self-efficacy ( Nikel et al., 2022 ), making it challenging to clarify academic goals and formulate effective plans. On the emotional front, shy adolescents experienced more negative emotions, posing greater challenges in emotional management and making it difficult to regulate emotions for concentration. Regarding social interaction, shy adolescents faced difficulties in academic social interactions, reducing opportunities for external support and collaboration ( Chen et al., 2021 ). Thus, the typical cognitive, emotional, and social interaction patterns in children can shape their abilities to manage emotions, behaviors, and thoughts in the process of goal achievement and environmental adaptation. Personality traits play a crucial role in self-regulation abilities.

On the other hand, self-regulation negatively predicted academic procrastination, aligning with findings in the procrastination research field ( Park and Sperling, 2012 ; Valenzuela et al., 2020 ). When adolescents can effectively monitor their own behavior and engage in self-assessment, they demonstrate advantages in task planning, time management, and emotional regulation, enabling them to complete academic tasks on time. Conversely, self-regulation failure, accompanied by a malfunction in emotional and psychological resource allocation, leads to academic procrastination. In summary, self-regulation played a crucial bridging role between shyness and academic procrastination.

Furthermore, in recent years, the phenomenon of procrastination has extended beyond the academic domain, sparking widespread interest in various fields, including financial risk and hindrances in career planning ( Nguyen et al., 2013 ). Future research should explore the pivotal roles of other personality factors and self-regulation in procrastination behaviors across different domains, such as finance, medicine, and management. This mediating model offers valuable insights for educators and parents, suggesting that providing education, training, and practical activities focused on enhancing self-regulation skills for shy adolescents can improve their self-regulation, enhance task execution efficiency, effectively reduce the risk of academic procrastination, and better adapt to academic environments.

4.2 Moderating effect of self-focused attention

Theoretical and empirical studies indicated that self-focused attention has a significant impact on self-regulation ( Carver, 2012 ; Silvia and Eddington, 2012 ; Silvia et al., 2014 ). This study validated this conclusion, demonstrating that self-focused attention facilitates self-regulation. However, previous research on self-focused attention had predominantly focused on areas such as psychotherapy, medicine, and the self. The present study contributed to this exploration by introducing an investigation of self-focused attention and its crucial role in academic development.

Moreover, self-focused attention played a moderating role in the first half of the mediating process of “shyness → self-regulation → academic procrastination.” Specifically, adolescents with high levels of self-focused attention exhibited a heightened negative predictive impact of shyness on self-regulation compared to those with lower levels. This implies that heightened self-focused attention attenuated the self-regulation of highly shy adolescents, consequently exacerbating academic procrastination. Consequently, it is imperative to approach the dual role of self-focused attention in this mediation process cautiously: while it serves as a protective factor by bolstering self-regulation and mitigating academic procrastination, excessive self-focused attention in the presence of heightened shyness may exacerbate this risk, resulting in diminished self-regulation and heightened likelihood of academic procrastination. Hence, it is overly simplistic to assume a universally beneficial role for self-focused attention. Instead, its efficacy appears to be more pronounced among less shy adolescents, whereas its protective effects are constrained for those with heightened shyness. This observation aligns seamlessly with the stress-vulnerability hypothesis, suggesting that the resilience of protective factors (e.g., self-focused attention) may wane as risks (e.g., shyness) escalate to a certain threshold ( Li et al., 2012 ). Consequently, optimism regarding the beneficial effects of self-focused attention as a protective factor should be tempered, while the detrimental effects of shyness as a risk factor warrant heightened scrutiny. In summary, this discovery underscored the critical importance of comprehending adolescent academic procrastination at the level of individual differences.

In educational practice, educators should foster adolescents’ self-focused attention to enhance their self-regulation and academic performance. This entails instructing them on effectively utilizing self-focused attention to monitor and adjust their cognition, emotions, and behaviors, thereby better adapting to various situational and task demands. Furthermore, for shy adolescents, educators need to pay special attention to their emotional management and provide psychological support to alleviate anxiety and promote self-regulation, thereby reducing academic procrastination. Most importantly, the findings of this study highlight the interconnected nature of various internal factors influencing adolescents’ academic procrastination, rather than acting independently. Therefore, future interventions should not solely focus on one aspect. Instead, integrated and systematic interventions are preferable, targeting three key areas: shyness, self-focused attention, and self-regulation. This comprehensive approach aims to achieve optimal intervention outcomes and promote the healthy development of adolescents.

4.3 Limitations and future directions

This study encountered several limitations. Firstly, due to its cross-sectional nature, causal relationships between variables could not be established. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to explore bidirectional and causal relationships among variables. Secondly, the reliance solely on self-reported data may introduce bias. Subsequent studies should incorporate data from diverse sources, including parents, teachers, and peers, to achieve a more comprehensive and objective measurement through cross-validation of information. Furthermore, future studies should endeavor to explore innovative measurement approaches and experimental designs to enhance the understanding of academic procrastination and its associated impact variables, particularly focusing on self-regulation. The integration of neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or electroencephalography (EEG) holds promise for revealing neural correlates of self-regulation processes ( Thibault et al., 2015 ). Additionally, cognitive training interventions or virtual reality simulations may provide valuable insights into the flexibility of self-regulation and inform targeted interventions ( Buckley et al., 2014 ). By incorporating state-of-the-art methodologies, researchers can deepen their understanding of the mechanisms underlying academic procrastination, thus advancing more effective interventions and applications.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Ethics Committee of Taishan University. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin.

Author contributions

HS: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Methodology. YY: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Project administration, Resources, Supervision. CP: Supervision, Writing – review & editing.

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. 2022 Tai’an City Science and Technology Innovation Development Project (Policy Guidance Category; 2022NS364).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1352342/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: shyness, self-regulation, self-focused attention, academic procrastination, Chinese adolescents

Citation: Sun H, Yu Y and Peng C (2024) Shyness and academic procrastination among Chinese adolescents: a moderated mediation model of self-regulation and self-focused attention. Front. Psychol . 15:1352342. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1352342

Received: 08 December 2023; Accepted: 19 February 2024; Published: 21 March 2024.

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Copyright © 2024 Sun, Yu and Peng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Hong Sun, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

UCF Student Research Week 2024: Celebrating Innovation, Collaboration and Impact

Celebrating interdisciplinary excellence with keynotes to competitions, UCF scholars unite for research and creative scholarship.

By Mila Chial | March 21, 2024

There are few opportunities for students from across disciplines and colleges to come together quite like the UCF Student Research Week, taking place March 25-29. From groundbreaking engineering feats to captivating artistic projects, students from various fields and expertise levels gather this week to showcase their work within the UCF community.

The premiere event is the Student Scholar Symposium, which takes place March 26-27, where over 800 students showcase more than 600 projects. Graduate and undergraduate students summarize their research or creative projects on posters, providing viewers with a concise overview. During the symposium, judges interview presenters to select top projects in various categories. Winners are announced daily and receive scholarship awards to support their future endeavors.

After the Student Scholar Symposium on March 27, the College of Business will host the Impact of Research Competition. This event challenges students to articulate the significance and potential impact of their research, to address the ‘so what?’ question and thereby demonstrate how their contributions can improve the world. The top three winners will receive $3,000 in awards to support the continuation of their work.

We’re pleased to announce that this year, we will host keynote speaker, Jorge Cham, on March 28. Cham is the best-selling and Emmy-nominated creator of PHD Comics , a popular comic strip offering a humorous portrayal of academia. The Panamanian engineer turned cartoonist, writer, and producer began crafting his comedy while pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Stanford University.  His talk promises to be insightful and entertaining, as he examines the sources of stress for creative and scientific professionals, explores the myth of procrastination, and helps students reconnect with their inner drive and motivation.

On March 29, the Enhancing Lives Showcase offers the opportunity to discover the incredible creative scholarship at UCF in a more personalized setting. Explore interactive displays showcasing artworks, videos, and posters detailing how the knowledge and skills gained through research enabled each creation. Engage with students as they share insights into their work.

After the showcase, the week closes with the Excellence Awards, recognizing the dedication and efforts of UCF students and faculty mentors who work diligently throughout the year on research and creative endeavors.

Student Research Week events help foster camaraderie build presentation skills and bring people together while allowing students to receive recognition for their hard work.

“Research is undoubtedly an integral part of graduate study and drives the discovery that makes UCF one of the top universities in innovation,” says Elizabeth Klonoff, vice provost and dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Kim Schneider, assistant vice provost in the Division of Student Success and Well-Being states, “We are excited to see the incredible work of all students and recognize the symposium as a valuable opportunity for them to share their expertise. However, what inspires this event each year is the collaboration and community it instills in those who participate and attend.”

Student Research Week is open to all students, faculty, staff, and the community. For more information or to see the full schedule and locations of events, visit researchweek.ucf.edu .

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