Date: November 10th, 2021
Procrastination is currently a massive problem, not just in the U.S, but worldwide. 80-95% of students procrastinate (University of Calgary) and studies reveal that procrastination leads to various mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression, meaning that the need to prevent procrastination is greater than ever.
Currently, 80-95% of students procrastinate in not only the U.S, but also worldwide, leading to higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and fatigue among students.
Procrastination is defined as the action of delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences. About 20 percent of adults have regular bouts of procrastination, but as many as perhaps 70 to 90 percent of undergraduates are chronic putter-offers. It often leads to lower quality work than what would be given normally some causes for procrastination can include a feeling of being unable to do the task, seeking short-term joy, the fear of making mistakes, or simply a lack of motivation. These factors decrease one's self-Control leading them to do something more favorable at the moment.
Validation and justification research was crucial to evaluating the ins and outs of the problem. Additionally, as a by-product, it provided useful insight into effective strategies in solving the problem that can be potentially used for Profectly's future solution.
This source addresses the problem with procrastination in which people procrastinate and have irrational beliefs which make the situation worse. Furthermore, these irrational beliefs usually revolve around the idea that said person believes they are not good enough to complete the task at hand.
The artifact provides validity for the problem as it establishes procrastination as a deeply rooted problem, similarly to previous research. It also demonstrates potential strategies to cope with procrastination and prevent irrational beliefs that may increase it. Overall, the artifact adds new information relating to causes of procrastination and potential solutions that can be used to increase the effectiveness of Profectly's future solution.
The source goes into detail of how procrastination is a problem with emotional regulation. People have the immediate reflex to reward themselves in the short term and avoid things that would feel bad in the short term, but hurt more in the long term. Meaning that people have an inherent bias to prioritize the short term over the long term. In order to avoid procrastination, there has to be a better reward in prioritizing the long term over the short term.
The artifact provides conflicts with some research as it considers tools that aren’t said person to be useless in terms of combatting procrastination like apps, or websites. This is because it states that procrastination is an emotional problem, but if an app or website could use this it would still be possible, and in one way or another help prevent procrastination. This artifact helps display the true nature of what procrastination is, where it stems from, and how to actually prevent it.
This source summarizes three big reasons why people are likely to procrastinate and they are because of the stress of the work, indecisiveness of doing the work, and “adding drama to life.” This is followed by five ways to help discourage procrastination and they are to spread deadlines out, provide supportive feedback, teach time management and study skills, be mindful of the workload given, and give clear instructions/examples.
This artifact validates that procrastination is a solvable problem by giving studies showing how students work before and after procrastination help. This site adds many ways to help fight procrastination and that will be helpful for developing Profectly as a successful project.
This artifact explains to parents why kids procrastinate and what their motivations for procrastination may be such as lack of motivation, stress, low self-confidence, etc. This site also goes over that procrastination can lead to a downward spiral of low work ethic and low grades and to counteract this, teaches parents ways to help kids overcome procrastination such as creating good study habits or boosting their confidence.
This artifact provides multiple possible ways for parents to understand and help their kids fight procrastination and it adds a teaching perspective that should incorporate into the final solution of the problem. It also validated the dilemma of procrastination because the source talks about procrastination in detail and the multitude of things that causes procrastination proving that it is enough of a problem for Oxford to pay attention to its side effects and think up ways to combat it.
The article essentially goes over the reasoning for procrastination especially amongst students. Furthermore, it specifically looks at the three main causes of procrastination: Distractions, Perfectionism and Fear of Failure, and lack of Motivation. For each of these, the artifact goes over a possible solution or mindset to prevent procrastination.
The article provides validity for the argument by addressing the root causes of procrastination being Distractions, Perfectionism, and lack of motivation, highlighting how these are problematic for students. The artifact specifically looks at a given person's emotional strength to overcome the challenges and obstacles of procrastination, concurring with other sources and, therefore, providing further insight into the problem.
Like many of the other artifacts, this one summarized procrastination and potential ways to solve it. However, It also states an in depth, step by step process and tips to prevent procrastination. Awareness, Staying Motivated, Goals, Being Realistic, Having a positive perspective are just a few of the article’s main points. The article goes into detail about motivation and staying motivated, specifically finding productive reasons to engage in a task.
The article is essential to providing validity and information to the research as it confirms and adds various techniques to avoid procrastination in a logical, clear, and concise manner. Additionally, it details specific strategies to try according to a given person's personal preferences and personality. A unique aspect that it adds is that motivation is essential to preventing procrastination, and using solid positive reinforcement to do so is most effective. Further, provides a large range of tips which gives more options and opportunities with the future solution.
The industry Profectly is targeting is that of Self-Improvement, which is a subsect of the larger, mental wellness and wellness industries. There are various products and services that compete in this area including those that focus on time management, habit, goals, etc. Most products/services in this market are websites and apps because they are easy to use and easily accessible by the user. A few products in the industry:
Forest - Focuses on Time Management
ClickUp - Increases Productivity & Time Management (for businesses)
Limit - Decreases usage of Time Wasting apps
Trello - Increases Productivity & Time Management (direct competitor to ClickUp)
(More Information in Element B)
The justification and validation process of the problem brought valuable research that can use to make the future solution far more effective and useful. Additionally, this research allows for effective evaluation of the causes of procrastination and possible solutions that are more mentally and emotionally focused.
Element A Research significantly helped with identifying the problem effectively and understanding it more fluently so that it can be optimally solved. This was done through validation and justification research which provided background information behind the causes of procrastination and potential strategies to prevent it. Additionally, the problem statement and business statement creation process were essential as a guide for future research, especially in Element B. All in all, the Element A research stands as the cornerstone for Profectly product research for the future solution.
Whitbourne, S. K. (2012, April 10). The Paradox of Procrastination. Psychology Today. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201204/the-paradox-procrastination
Lieberman, C. (2019, March 25). Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control). The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html
Terada, Y., & Morgenstern, M. (2020, February 11). 3 Reasons Students Procrastinate—and How to Help Them Stop. Edutopia. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-reasons-students-procrastinate-and-how-help-them-stop
Oxford Learning. (2017, September 27). Why Do Students Procrastinate? Oxford Learning. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.oxfordlearning.com/why-do-kids-procrastinate/
Agboga, V. (n.d.). Student Struggles: Battling with Procrastination. London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/Assets/Articles/procrastination
Voge, D. J. (2007). Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination | McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning. McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning |. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/understanding-and-overcoming-procrastination