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Most kids procrastinate, especially when it comes to school. Honestly, for the most part, I don’t blame them.
They’re not procrastinating because they want to or because it makes them feel good. They’re also not procrastinating because they’re just lazy or have bad time management.
They’re procrastinating because:
- They don’t like the subject or task,
- They don’t know how to do it,
- They don’t think they can do it, or
- They don’t see the point in doing it.
They’re procrastinating because school, or whatever subject or task triggers them, makes them feel bad in some way.
And they don’t know how to change that. This is the first thing you and your child need to understand about procrastination in order to GET OUT of the procrastination trap once and for all.
I’m about the biggest proponent of students taking ownership, but I also know that students can’t take ownership over changing something that they don’t know how to change.
Think about it. If your kid knew how to consistently self-start, get their work done, submit it on time…don’t you think they’d be doing it already?
In my experience, the answer is yes.
Kids don’t want to feel stupid so they say they got it, leave them alone, they’ll stop procrastinating, etc. In reality, the fact stands –
If they knew what they had to do and how to do it, they’d be doing it already.
Your child wants to feel smart. They want to feel confident and get good grades and make you proud. If they knew how to do this, they’d be doing it.
The second thing to know about procrastination is that it’s not a phase. Kids don’t hit 14 or 15 or 18 or 21 and magically age out of it. It’s a chronic and often crippling behavior that doesn’t go away on its own.
Kids procrastinate less when they 1) understand the real reason(s) they’re procrastinating (see the list above) and 2) practice strategies and skills that help them feel good about school.
When you give your kids the right tools, it doesn’t matter if they like a subject or not, or if they think what they’re being taught is useless. They learn to attach meaning to it beyond the content, so that they’re getting something out of it for themselves regardless.
With the right tools, there’s no uncertainty or doubt when it comes to their schoolwork; they know the exact steps for working through all of their assignments and studying for tests. Clarity is power – give them clarity and they can take their power back and beat the procrastination trap once and for all.
Not every student is ready to learn how to overcome procrastination; they need to learn new tools, how to use them and then actually practice using them.
But, if your child is ready to take control over their work, we can show them exactly how. Book a free 1:1 Learning Skills Assessment with my team here so they (and you) can get clear on why they procrastinate and how to overcome it simply and efficiently.
To your family’s success,
Kelsey
