Abstract for:Procrastination Dynamics: A Study of Delay Tactics and Their Implications

In dealing with compulsory or voluntary task, a common phenomenon always experienced by students is procrastination. Procrastination causes not only substandard quality in outcome, but also results in tiredness and high stress levels which is unfavourable to mental well-being. In this paper, procrastination is modelled through a system dynamics perspective to understand its underlying mechanisms behind it. The model is based on Sterman’s (2000) “Managing Your Workload” problem, as well as the authors’ own experience with procrastination. It capitalizes on the concepts of perception delays, utility cost-based decision-rules, and crisis management techniques procrastinators employ, with the goal of unravelling such processes and misperceptions therein. The paper concludes that repeated misperception of an extra utility cost for starting work results in procrastination, that such misperception is related to workload of the task, and that physical limit holds procrastinator from working as fast as anticipated. We then move to recommend policies to overcome the wicked problem that touches many people’s lives adversely.