Zoe Holden

Annotated Bibliography
Digdon, Nancy, and Andrew Howell. "College Students Who Have an Eveningness Preference Report
Lower Self-Control & Greater Procrastination." Informa Healthcare. Chronobiology
International, 2008. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
In this study, Digdon and Howell performed an experiment to see if there was a correlation
between being considered a night owl , and having difficulties with self-regulation. A
procrastination scale and a self control scale were used to measure self-regulation. Their
hypothesis was that people who preferred eveningness would demonstrate poorer self control and
high levels of procrastination opposed to people who preferred morningness. The participants in
the study were given self-regulation and morningness/eveningness questionnaires. The self
control test consisted of 36 statements and each of them were rated on a five-point scale with 1
signifying not at all like me and 5 signifying very much like me. The procrastination test
consisted of 16 statements rated on a 4 point scale with 1 being that is not me for sure and 4
being that is me for sure. After scores and calculations were totalled, the study concluded that a
preference of eveningness did in fact correlate with poor self control and high levels of
procrastination. I found this source to be credible and useful because it suggests that people who
prefer night time, over morning may have issues with self-regulation. meaning that an evening
preference causes difficulties of self-regulation if the persons delayed sleep schedule is out of
sync with earlier schedules required by daytime commitments.
Schouwenburg, Henri, and Clarry Lay. "Trait Procrastination and the Big-five Factors of Personality."
Trait Procrastination and the Big-five Factors of Personality. Elsevier Science Ltd, 1995. Web. 3 Nov.
2015.

This article analyzes the connection between trait procrastination and personality. Schouwenburg
and Lay discuss how procrastination can actually be apart of ones personality. When breaking
down the elements of the personality, there are five factors which include Neuroticism,
Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness, Consciousness. Schouwenburg and Lay conclude that
procrastinators have low frustration tolerance which can be correlated to a low consciousness.
One who fulfills duties and doesnt avoid work is classified as conscientious because one who
does work views it as an opportunity to reach success. Therefore one who procrastinates would
demonstrate a low level of conscientiousness because they continue to put tasks off and view the
tasks as uninteresting and frustrating. Schouwenburg and Lay also explain that a trait
procrastinator is most likely to demonstrate high levels of Extraversion. Being extravert consists
of being impulsive. The constant choice to make impulsive decisions delay the completion of
necessary tasks, which also signifies a low level of self-control. This source is credible and
extremely useful. This source explains that procrastination can be a part of ones personality
which signifies that it isnt something that is a completely irrational behavior. It also suggests that
since it can be classified as a personality trait, procrastination isnt something that can easily be
changed. Many people feel that procrastinators are simply lazy, but this article gives an in depth
psychological explanation as to why some procrastinate.
Tracy, Brian. "Plan Everyday In Advance." Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get
More Done in Less Time. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2007. Print.
This book discusses 21 ways to prevent procrastination and to get more tasks completed in a short
amount of time. The author suggests many beneficial ways to complete tasks in a timely manner.
This consists of setting clear, specific, realistic goals. The author explains that many people
procrastinate because the goals that are set, arent specific or measurable. An example of this
would be, a college student making a goal to raise their gpa. This is goal will most likely not be
achieved because it isnt specific enough. An example of an achievable, specific and measurable

goal would be, I will raise my gpa from a 3.0 to a 3.2 in the fall semester. The author also
discussed that writing goals down and hanging them up can ensure success. Seeing your goals
everyday, causes one to subconsciously think of the goals that must be achieved. If one isnt
constantly reminded, success will be almost impossible to achieve. This source is credible and
extremely useful. I feel that this book is extremely useful because goal setting is the first step in
achieving success. If goals arent clear, measurable, realistic, it will be very difficult to measure
ones progress. If goals arent written down, one will be more inclined to forget about goals, or
result in procrastinating which would delay the achievement of goals.
"Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination." McGraw for Undergraduates. Princeton University,
2012. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
In Princetons article on Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination, the writer highlights
ways that a procrastinator can better manage their acts of procrastination. These solutions are all
based on foundations of improving time management skills, organizational skills and selfregulation. For instance, a solution that involves being organized and managing time wisely
consists of producing a to-do list with all of the tasks that need to be completed. After analyzing
the to-do list, the procrastinator is able to create an unstructured flexible schedule, that allows
them to only pencil in the tasks that are completely necessary. This schedule also allots the
procrastinator time for unplanned activities that the procrastinator may decide to participate in
instead of completing the required assignment. Various assignments such as projects, can be
broken down into smaller tasks, therefore the workload isnt as straining or time consuming. The
broken down tasks will be scheduled so that the procrastinator isnt doing everything at once, and
also allowing the procrastinator to complete the assignment before the due date. The flexible,
unstructured schedule and to-do list both serve as tools to manage the procrastination. I feel that
this source is useful because it gives many solutions to how a procrastinator can improve their
procrastination instead of simply classifying procrastinating as completely irrational. These

solutions and suggestions are more realistic than trying to completely stop procrastinating when
one has most likely been procrastinating nearly all of ones college years.
Whitbourne, Susan. "The Paradox of Procrastination." Psychology Today. 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 3 Nov.
2015.
While reading the blog by Dr. Susan Whitbourne, new perspectives concerning procrastination
were brought to my attention. Dr. Whitbourne views the act of procrastinating as a paradox. She
emphasizes that many people claim that procrastination is suitable for them, because they find that they
have better work ethic and quality when under an extreme amount of pressure. She feels that
procrastination itself is a crippling or self-handicapping act that never ensures success. Therefore, when
procrastinators such as myself, make justifiable reasons to explain their choice of procrastinating, one
example being that working under pressure produces As, she feels that, that in itself is a paradox.
Dr.Whitbourne also discusses and analyzes four main reasons of why severe procrastinators choose to
procrastinate. The reasons being, fear of failure, poor self-regulation, becoming thrilled or aroused by
barely meeting the deadline and perfectionism. I think that this blog is a credible source because it shares
new views of procrastination. Dr. Whitbourne's blog highlights common reasons of why procrastinators
choose to do so, many of these reason have not been addressed in other resources that I have used to
thoroughly research procrastination.