“Procrastination is the thief of time.” — Edward Young (1743)
This is one of the most famous quotes about procrastination. Most of us have experienced the frustration of putting something off, only to realize how much time has slipped away. We tell ourselves that we will only watch one more episode or scroll for only five more minutes, but before we know it, hours have passed and we are nowhere closer to finishing what we meant to do.
Psychological research suggests that procrastination may steal more than just your time. Procrastination can impact our performance, well-being, and health, making it costly in many areas of our lives.
Performance
Students
For students, procrastination is consistently linked to poorer academic performance. Research has found that students who procrastinate tend to achieve lower test scores and lower overall grades (Moon & Illingworth, 2005; Kim & Seo, 2015). One possible reason is that delaying work leaves less time for planning, researching, revising, and editing before deadlines.
Employees
Procrastination can follow us into the workplace too. Research suggests that procrastination is linked to important career outcomes. In a large study of more than 22,000 people, individuals who reported higher levels of procrastination were also more likely to report lower salaries, shorter periods of employment, and more likely to be unemployed or underemployed (Nguyen, Steel, & Ferrari, 2013).
In other words, repeatedly putting off important tasks may have consequences that go beyond a missed deadline. Over time, procrastination may be associated with poorer work performance and broader career outcomes.
Mental Well-Being
One of the biggest costs of procrastination is the emotional weight of delaying important tasks. Research has consistently linked procrastination with negative emotions such as anxiety, guilt, shame, and boredom (Beswick et al., 1988; Blunt & Pychyl, 1998; Fee & Tangney, 2000; Pychyl et al., 2000; Rahimi et al., 2023).
Procrastination has also been linked to factors such as perfectionism (Flett et al., 1992), neuroticism (Hess et al., 2000), and lower motivation (Klassen et al., 2008; Patrzek et al., 2012; Steel, 2007).
For many people, procrastination starts as a way to avoid an unpleasant feeling. The problem is that this relief is usually temporary. As deadlines approach, those same emotions can return, sometimes even more strongly, creating a cycle that can be difficult to break.
Physical Health
The effects of procrastination may extend beyond work and school. Research has found that procrastination is linked to poorer health outcomes and more frequent visits to healthcare professionals (Tice & Baumeister, 1997).
This may happen when people repeatedly delay actions that support their well-being, such as exercising, scheduling medical appointments, or addressing health concerns. While procrastination may seem like a small delay in the moment, these repeated choices can add up over time and affect our health.
A Final Thought
It’s important to remember that most research on procrastination shows relationships between procrastination and other outcomes. This means that procrastination is linked with things like poorer academic performance, anxiety, and health concerns, but research cannot always tell us exactly what causes what. In many cases, these factors influence one another over time.
One thing is clear: Procrastination isn’t just about losing time. It can affect our performance, our emotional well-being, and our physical health. Understanding these costs isn’t about creating guilt. It’s about recognizing what’s at stake and why finding healthier ways to respond to procrastination matters. Because when we understand what procrastination takes from us, we can better understand what we want to protect.
References
Beswick, G., Rothblum, E. D., & Mann, L. (1988). Psychological antecedents of student procrastination. Australian Psychologist, 23(2), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050068808255605
Blunt, A., & Pychyl, T. A. (1998). Volitional action and inaction in the lives of undergraduate students: State orientation, procrastination and proneness to boredom. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(6), 837–846. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(98)00018-8
Fee, R. L., & Tangney, J. P. (2000). Procrastination: A means of avoiding shame or guilt? Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15(5), 167–184.
Flett, G. L., Blankstein, K. R., Hewitt, P. L., & Koledin, S. (1992). Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students. Social Behaviour and Personality, 20(2), 85–94. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.1992.20.2.85
Hess, B., Sherman, M. F., & Goodman, M. (2000). Eveningness predicts academic procrastination: The mediating role of neuroticism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15(5), 61–74.
Klassen, R. M., Krawchuk, L. L., & Rajani, S. (2008). Academic procrastination of undergraduates: Low self-efficacy to self-regulate predicts higher levels of procrastination. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(4), 915–931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2007.07.001
Kim, K. R., & Seo, E. H. (2015). The relationship between procrastination and academic performance: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 82, 26–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.038
Moon, S. M., & Illingworth, A. J. (2005). Exploring the dynamic nature of procrastination: A latent growth curve analysis of academic procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(2), 297–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.04.009
Nguyen, B., Steel, P., & Ferrari, J. R. (2013). Procrastination’s impact in the workplace and the workplace’s impact on procrastination. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 21(4), 388–399. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12048
Patrzek, J., Grunschel, C., & Fries, S. (2012). Academic procrastination: The perspective of university counsellors. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 34, 185–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-012-9150-z
Pychyl, T. A., Lee, J. M., Thibodeau, R., & Blunt, A. (2000). Five days of emotion: An experience sampling study of undergraduate student procrastination. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15(5), 239–254.
Rahimi, S., Hall, N. C., & Sticca, F. (2023). Understanding academic procrastination: A longitudinal analysis of procrastination and emotions in undergraduate and graduate students. Motivation and Emotion, 47, 554-574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10010-9
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65
Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: The costs and benefits of dawdling. Psychological Science, 8(6), 454–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00460.x
Young, E. (1743). Night thoughts.
This post is a simplified breakdown of concepts from my own dissertation and published research. For the full data, methodology, and academic discussion, see:
Rahimi, S., Hall, N. C., & Sticca, F. (2023). Understanding academic procrastination: A longitudinal analysis of procrastination and emotions in undergraduate and graduate students. Motivation and Emotion, 47, 554-574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10010-9
Rahimi, S. (2019). Understanding academic procrastination: A longitudinal analysis of procrastination and emotions in undergraduate and graduate students. Doctoral dissertation, McGill University.
Rahimi, S., & Hall, N. C. (2021). Why are you waiting? Procrastination on academic tasks among undergraduate and graduate students. Innovative Higher Education, 46, 759–776. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09563-9
