Deadlines, procrastination, and motivation

An important part of the collegiate education learning experience is learning how to deal with hard deadlines. These deadlines are important for a number of reasons, such as providing a structure to the course and allocating time properly for both the instructor and the student. They can also have a profound impact on a student's motivation, which can be as important a part of teaching as communicating the material.

College students in general are known for procrastination, especially in regards to classes which are undesirable or perhaps considered 'easy'. Consistent, frequent deadlines are important in this situation, as the added pressure of 'time crunch' usually boosts motivation to do homework in a timely manner. If deadlines are spaced too far apart, it may cause a vacuum of interest until only a short time is left. On some assignments, especially those which seem easy but belie a much more difficult problem, this can cause students to procrastinate until it is too late to complete the assignment effectively.

In this sense, the concept of creating smaller, more tangible and more frequent deadlines as parts of larger projects can be a useful tool to help students keep up in the class, and pre-empt the trend to procrastinate until the last minute.