Top procrastination habits include watching TV, and making tea or coffee

23 May 2023 , 14:05

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One in five young adults feel embarrassed about their procrastination habits, such as pen chewing (Image: Richard Drury/Getty Images)

Making a hot drink (44%), watching TV (41%), and scrolling social media (26%) are some of the top ways Brits procrastinate from working or studying, a study has found.

The survey, of 2,000 adults, found that over half (55%) have picked up bad procrastination habits – such as checking their phone notifications (30%), or catching up on emails (39%).

Snacking, online shopping, and scrolling through news websites, are other top ways in which Brits put off completing a task at hand.

And young adults, aged 18-24, are twice as likely as 55-64-year-olds to do anything other than the jobs on their to-do list (81%, compared to 41%).

But one in five of these Gen Z adults are embarrassed about their procrastination habits, with 79% wanting to stop – however, 52% of those admit they don't know how to.

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And as it emerged that chewing the ends of pens also made the list of top procrastination methods, EXTRA gum, which commissioned the research, hosted a “Pen Amnesty” pop-up at the University of Greenwich, where students could swap their old, chewed-up pens for gum.

Top procrastination habits include watching TV, and making tea or coffee

Extra is urging Brits to swap pens for chewing gum, for a more enjoyable distraction (SWNS)

NHS medic and TV doctor, Dr Zoe Williams, who is working with the chewing gum brand, said: “Staying focused for longer periods of time can be a difficult task to navigate for some students during study sessions, or when gearing up for exam season.

“It can be so easy to get distracted and start procrastinating by doing other things, like watching TV or scrolling social media – anything that stops you from doing the task at hand.

“It’s important to try and keep your mind focused and ensure you’re in a good head space before drilling down and studying.”

However, the study found just over four in ten (41%) struggle to break free from their habit because they have lots of other things going on in their lives, so it’s hard to focus on just one.

For 39% of those who have issues, they find themselves prevented from focusing on a task when they’re hungry.

And when doing tasks on a computer, 61% of those aged 18-24 admit they often have more than 20 tabs open on their browser window at any one time, as they jump between tasks – compared to just 31% of those aged 45-54 who do the same.

More than a third (35%) of respondents admit they have a short attention span, and 28% have fielded criticism from people about their bad procrastination habits.

Gen Z are also more likely to switch between multiple tasks at once (42%) – whereas a quarter of those aged 55-64 simply concentrate on one until it’s done (25%).

However, music (52%), snacks (34%), and chewing gum (26%) were some of things adults couldn’t study without, according to the OnePoll.com data.

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Hannah Lee, a spokeswoman for EXTRA®, added: “We want to help people kick bad study habits, starting with the one you don’t even realise you’re doing – chewing your pen.

“We all know how stressful studying can be, but chewing your pen isn’t the answer.

“There are more enjoyable habits to adopt, like chewing gum, which gives you a much-needed moment of refreshment whilst studying – so swap out your chewed pens for a more useful habit.”

TOP BAD HABITS WHICH STOP BRITS CONCENTRATING: