In my first article, procrastination was discussed as being more complicated than simply being lazy or lacking discipline.

One recurring theme from the research by Pychyl and Sirios is the suggestion of different types of procrastination being linked to different emotional experiences. This means two students may be procrastinating for entirely different reasons; these students are likely to show their procrastination in completely different ways.

For example, some students may be procrastinating because they feel overwhelmed, others may be putting too much pressure on themselves, some people avoid tasks in order to avoid the feelings of stress that come along with those tasks, and others can be procrastinating due to being mentally exhausted or burnt out.

Reflecting on my own experiences at university and the more I looked into the research, the more I realised procrastination didn’t display the same way every time.

Personally, the way I procrastinate would change depending on what was happening around me. When my workload was extremely high, I would be more inclined to avoid tasks entirely because of how overwhelmed I already was. While at other times, typically toward the start of the year, I would find myself procrastinating due to overthinking every detail and putting too much pressure on myself to complete tasks to the highest standards.

Due to these different causes behind procrastination, there is rarely going to be a piece of advice that is useful for everyone; something that might help one person can then be completely ineffective for others. Therefore, this article is designed to help you identify the different types of procrastination in order to approach possible solutions aligned with what the actual issues are.

The Perfectionist

One of the more common forms of procrastination for university students, perfectionism tends to happen when extremely high expectations are placed on ourselves and we become afraid of not meeting those expectations.

Assignments can feel high stakes, especially when they have a particularly high weighting in grading. The pressure to do well in these assignments can become so overwhelming that beginning the task feels risky. This can be amplified when we compare ourselves to students around us.

Personally, sometimes avoiding the task creates this sense of temporary safety rather than having completed it and then having to worry that the outcomes won’t meet my own expectations.

The problem is that the longer we delay starting, the more pressure we place on ourselves.

The Overwhelmed Student

Sometimes procrastination has less to do with fear and more to do with feeling overloaded.

University can feel like an intense balancing act, having to complete assignments while worrying about work, finances, placement, family responsibilities, social pressures and trying to maintain your own personal life at the same time. This creates scenarios when even simple tasks begin to feel impossible just due to being overloaded by everything else.

One thing I noticed while writing these articles is how quickly a task can become overwhelming when it feels unclear or too large. If I focused too much on the bigger picture, I found myself avoiding it completely. However, when I was able to break things down into smaller sections, allocating myself time to complete these sections instead of the entire thing felt much more manageable.

This is because when tasks feel too big or confusing, our brains often respond by shutting down and avoiding the task entirely. It’s not necessarily that we don’t care, but instead it’s often that we genuinely don’t know where to begin.

Unfortunately, “later” usually comes with even more stress attached.

The Avoider (Emotion-Driven Procrastination)

This type of procrastination is closely linked to emotional regulation, which was discussed in the first article.

When certain tasks trigger uncomfortable emotions such as anxiety, stress, fear of failure, embarrassment, or self-doubt, we attempt to avoid feeling these emotions, instead distracting ourselves with things that provide short-term comfort or relief.

For me personally, this usually looks like scrolling on my phone, checking emails, cleaning my room, or convincing myself that doing smaller “productive” tasks somehow counts as working on the assignment I’m avoiding. This reduces the stress we would be feeling in the short-term but does not eliminate it, instead pushing it down the road for later.

Avoidance often helps us regulate our emotions temporarily, but comes at the cost of creating more stress long-term.

The Burnt-Out Student

It is important to note that when I refer to “The Burnt-Out Student” I am speaking about the way we describe being mentally exhausted, overwhelmed and drained of energy due to the demands of university. Although this burnt-out feeling is very real and can be extremely stressful, it is different from a formal or clinical assessment of burnout by a professional.

As already discussed, university can be mentally draining, especially during periods where everything seems to happen at once. Assignments overlap, exams approach, work shifts increase, sleep decreases, and eventually even small tasks can begin feeling mentally exhausting.

One thing I think students often struggle with is recognising the difference between procrastination and burnout. The difference is that when we’re burnt out, even tasks we genuinely want to complete and usually get some form of enjoyment out of can feel extremely difficult.

Sometimes the issue isn’t productivity, it’s more about recovery.

Which type do you relate to most?

Most people probably won’t fit perfectly into just one category. You may relate to multiple types depending on your workload, stress levels, mental health, or what’s happening in your life at the time.

Try asking yourself:

• Do I avoid tasks because I want them to be perfect?
• Do I feel overwhelmed or unsure where to begin?
• Am I distracting myself to avoid stress or anxiety?
• Am I mentally exhausted and struggling to focus?

Understanding your own procrastination patterns can make it much easier to respond in a way that helps instead of just criticising yourself for not being productive enough.

There isn’t really a one-size-fits-all solution to procrastination because different causes usually require different approaches. Someone who is burnt out may need rest and recovery, while someone who is overwhelmed may benefit more from breaking tasks into smaller steps.

In the next article I’ll focus more on practical strategies and discuss realistic ways to start tasks when you really don’t feel like it.