There are several causes of procrastination. One cause is unrealistic expectations for achievement. Being a perfectionist is a great burden. It's impossible to be perfect, and - since it's impossible - why even try? The perfectionistic student puts off starting a project because not doing it at all seems better than doing an imperfect job.

A second cause of procrastination is fear. For example, students who are afraid of writing a term paper tend to avoid writing as long as possible. Sometimes reading an entire textbook or writing a lengthy term paper are overwhelming tasks, tasks that seem impossibly large. If the book seems too long to complete, why even start studying it?

A third cause of procrastination is student ignorance. Some students do not realize that college is different from high school. They think that they can compete and survive in college by using their old high school study habits. In high school, teachers or parents often prompted studying. Students who did not begin work on a project were reminded to get started. Students who are used to being told what to do all the time have difficulty being independent learners. They are unprepared for the self-discipline and self-management that college requires.