Today’s society is filled with lots of things that can become a distraction. We all have life events and responsibilities that consume our time. But there is one thing that is the main combatant to being productive. It’s that evil word “Procrastination”. Stalling seems to be a plague amongst everyone that has ever faced a deadline or had an open ended task. Wherever there is time, there is a tendency to waste it. We are all doomed to fail if we don’t beat the monster named “Procrastination”!
The article, Procrastination, participation, and performance in an online learning environment, by Nicholas Michinov, Sophie Brunot, Olivier Le Bohec, Jacques Juhel, and Marine Delaval in the journal Computers & Education, brings much needed insight on this particular topic. It brings out the major factors when dealing with procrastination. First we have Time Management. Nicholas Michinov, Sophie Brunot, Olivier Le Bohec, Jacques Juhel, and Marine Delaval (2011) point out that “this is most common among students, especially at college and university levels” (pg. 2.1). A study was carried out completely online using Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) to analyze student’s success or failure in relation to procrastination. The results showed that procrastination and lack of participation lead to meager performance. The journal also states that this study found that the level of participation in discussion forums mediates the relationship between procrastination and performance” (Michinov, Brunot, Le Bohec, Juhel, & Delaval, 2011). This article reveals that “putting off” what you can today until tomorrow has incredible effect on the success of an online student.
When reading this article, I learned that diligence is a major factor in keeping good time management. We find that the execution of our plans is the only way to accomplish our goals. When we don’t prioritize, we are destined to either fail or be mediocre at best. Strong commitment and strong work ethic is what causes success. I believe this article addresses the issue of procrastination very thoroughly. Surprisingly, it also harmonizes with biblical principles. “In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Prov. 4:23, NASB). The Hebrews understood that sluggishness often lead to important things not being done.
I find that the information contained in this article will cause me to become a better online student. I gather from it an understanding of the negative effects that procrastination have on anyone attempting to reach a goal. I will endeavor to apply the things I learned in the article by implementing the specific steps and absorbing the information to affect my thought process. I will make it a practice to become a person and student who seeks to get things done early instead of waiting until I feel like it. While I understand that “life happens” sometimes, I now comprehend that if I am diligent with planning and executing, that I will actually have more time for relaxation.
As we look at our time management, and several other aspects that are affected by procrastination, we will see that if we are not diligent, we can miss out on our goals. The bible says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22, NASB). In our Christian walk, we are instructed to be doers because if we merely talk about serving the Lord, we will never actually serve Him. God requires action to accompany our words. “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov. 10:4, NASB).

References
Michinov, N., Brunot, S., Le Bohec, O., Juhel, J., & Delaval, M. (2011). Procrastination, participation and performance in an online learning enviroment. Computers & Eductaion, 2.1.