Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something. Procrastination is something that 86% of today’s teens struggle with. Most know what procrastination is but how is it caused? 

Procrastination is a behavior caused by the stress you carry around or unfounded negative beliefs you have about yourself. Oftentimes procrastination is looked at as laziness, but instead of being hard on yourself, ask yourself if your behaviors could be linked to anxiety, ADHD, or any other underlying health issues.

When finding the root causes of your procrastination, it can make it much easier to deal with it day to day. The top 7 root causes of procrastination are Perfectionism, Avoidance, Low self-esteem, Waiting until the last minute, Trouble focusing, Decision Fatigue and Resisting challenges. Something all these things have in common is that they distract your mind from the project you’re trying to accomplish. Once finding out the official root cause, you can do research and find many different ways you can help your own mind and body overcome it. 

For instance, I am a high school freshman, who plays a variety of different sports. My life is very filled with many different activities. I have struggled with procrastination my whole life. Even small projects, such as a homework page can be hard for me to finish with my busy schedule. Another bigger project and I lack a lot is cleaning my room. Not being home most of the day during the week due to school, games and practice and being out with friends on the weekends. I usually just push the task off to the side. I have been learning that if you can just manage keeping your room clean it will save you from all the stress and procrastination you might deal with later on.