Brain Health
Why Procrastination is So Prominent in Teens and Young Adults, and How You Can Support Them
Procrastination is a common struggle; however, it is especially prominent in teens and young adults. While procrastination can sometimes come across as laziness, distractibility, or even defiance, there are practical and scientific reasons why procrastination is such a prominent obstacle for teens and young adults.
As parents, understanding these reasons can help alleviate potential frustration and agitation, facilitate greater understanding and empathy, and inform better strategies for facilitating growth and development.
The most influential factor when it comes to the high incidence of procrastination in teens and young adults is the continued development of the brain. While teens and young adults may appear fully matured physically, the brain is not yet fully developed and has not had the opportunity to make important connections that guide us in decision-making.
The frontal lobe, which is responsible for all reasoning, planning, problem-solving, and decision-making, does not reach full maturity until around the age of 25. During their teenage and young adult years, individuals rely more on the amygdala—a part of the brain that processes emotions—when making choices. Consequently, this reliance leads to decisions that are often influenced by emotions rather than logic or reason. As a result, teens and young adults are more prone to procrastinating on less appealing tasks in favor of options that seem more emotionally rewarding or appealing.
Developing brains also struggle to make connections in situations where rewards or consequences are delayed.
In these scenarios, the developing brain is not able to easily connect an action (or a lack of action) with a delayed consequence or reward. Conversely, the developing brain can easily connect an action with an immediate or instant reward, and as a result, tends to prioritize these scenarios.
For instance, imagine your teenage son has laundry to do but keeps putting it off and eventually falls asleep while watching a movie instead. He won’t face an immediate consequence for not doing his laundry. In reality, he’ll only realize the impact when he wakes up the next school day and discovers he has no clean clothes to wear!
Due to the delayed consequence, the brain struggles to associate the outcome with the initial action (or inaction) and fails to learn from the experience. Consequently, when faced with a similar situation in the future, the brain is unlikely to make a different choice.
As we age, we naturally gain more life experience, and our brains gradually form stronger connections between a lack of action or delayed action (i.e., procrastination) and inevitable consequences. In short, the brain learns through experience that procrastination creates undesirable consequences down the road and begins to avoid this behavior.
As a mom and working professional in my forties, I’ve had a lot of life experiences that have reinforced the many downsides of procrastination. As a result, procrastination is not something I struggle with anymore. The panic, stress, and anxiety that I experienced in the past because of procrastination is something I now avoid at all costs. However, this understanding didn’t come easily; it required considerable life experience and challenging consequences for my brain to eventually make these connections.
My teenage son, on the other hand, struggles regularly with procrastination.
The key difference between me and my teenage son? Time and experience.
As frustrating as procrastination can be, we have to remember that there are practical reasons why teens and young adults struggle with procrastination, but as parents, does this mean we just have to sit by and wait for them to “grow up?”
Sometimes!
The brain is driven by experience.
The brain learns from experience and forms important connections based on experiences. As parents, we can share our knowledge and wisdom with our teens and young adults, but this shared knowledge will never be as impactful or as meaningful as real-life experience. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is just give them the space to experience life and learn.
Other times, they may benefit from more direct guidance.
Here are a few ways we can support them along their journey:
- Help your teen or young adult identify and clarify the potential consequences of procrastination and the potential rewards of taking action.
As noted earlier, the consequences for procrastination are often delayed, which makes it difficult for developing brains to conceptualize and anticipate. You can help your teen or young adult by clarifying and verbalizing the risks and rewards of their choices in clear terms.
For instance, imagine your teenage daughter is procrastinating on an important paper that’s due at the end of the week. By clarifying and expressing the potential consequences of her choices, you can transform vague, future possibilities into concrete realities that are more immediate and tangible.
Additionally, you can highlight the potential benefits and rewards of completing the work on time, allowing her to weigh the risks and advantages of her decisions. Will this guarantee that your teen or young adult will always choose wisely? Not necessarily. However, engaging in these discussions encourages the brain to start linking present choices to their long-term effects.
- Don’t shield your teen or young adult from the consequences of procrastination.
As parents, there is nothing we want more than for our kids to be healthy, happy, and to thrive. As a result, we may try to shield our kids from the harsher realities of life, which may sometimes include shielding them from the consequences of their own actions and decisions.
For example, your teenage son put off washing his clothes, but you know he has nothing clean to wear for school tomorrow, so you go ahead and wash his clothes for him.
No big deal, right?
By stepping in to protect your child from the repercussions of his procrastination, you hindered his brain from learning from that situation and establishing the crucial links between procrastination and its consequences.
If you are frequently shielding your teen or young adult from the consequences of their actions, their brains will not make these important connections, nor will they learn from their experiences and gain the necessary skills and maturity to thrive as an adult.
- Make stress reduction a priority by incorporating Cereset sessions into your routine.
While practical factors contribute to the procrastination challenges faced by most teens and young adults, a stressed brain is highly susceptible to procrastination.
Stress impairs the brain’s function and performance and is especially detrimental to important cognitive functions like planning, decision-making, and self-control. When stressed, it becomes increasingly difficult for the brain to focus, plan, prioritize, and execute a plan. In addition, stress is a huge drain on energy resources.
Facilitating the brain’s release from stress and aiding its recovery prepares your teenager or young adult for greater success. This not only reduces their susceptibility to procrastination but also helps them feel less overwhelmed when it comes to taking action in life.
By encouraging your teenager or young adult to alleviate stress and providing them with the space and opportunities to learn from their life experiences, you can help your teen or young adult overcome procrastination and lead a proactive, successful life!
by Sonya Crittenden,
Director of Client Services
Don’t let procrastination hold you back from the health you deserve, schedule an Introduction to Cereset special today!