Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning  

Girls, anxiety and procrastination 

Procrastination is usually considered a sign of laziness or a lack of drive, even those of us who experience it tend to blame ourselves. But for teenage girls and young women, the truth is far more complicated, and far more human. The fear and anxiety that builds around starting something new, something risky, something that reveals who you are -  that feeling is genuine. It is not weakness. But here lies a maddening paradox: these very anxieties, the things that prevent us from moving forward, are intrinsic to the motion itself. The fear of beginning is almost always a sign that what you are about to do matters to you.  

Understanding why this happens, and what to do about it, is one of the most useful things a young woman can learn. Not because it makes the fear disappear, but because it makes the fear workable. 

Research consistently shows that procrastination is an emotional regulation problem. Studies identify the main drivers as perfectionism, fear of failure, and anxiety: a cluster of pressures that land particularly heavily on adolescent girls. The World Health Organisation (2024) reports that anxiety disorders affect around 5.5 per cent of 15–19-year-olds, but the rates are significantly higher among girls, and we know that girls tend to internalise their struggles more than boys.  

Perfectionism is at the heart of much of this. Perfectionism does not drive excellence, it drives paralysis. When the standard is perfection, beginning feels dangerous, because beginning means risking an imperfect result. The assignment sits unbegun. The artwork stays unattempted. The idea never leaves the notebook. Research describes this as a chain: perfectionism feeds fear of failure, fear of failure depletes motivation and resilience, this leads to avoidance, and the result is inevitably disappointing. 

Teachers of girls are only too aware of the link between perfectionism and procrastination and so, we structure our lessons around this.  While girls may feel safe as passive recipients of our knowledge, we know that real learning comes in the application of this knowledge.  The trying and the doing is the thing. St Catherine’s combined research with the University of Queensland has focused on with the building of self-efficacy in our students, and we do this by various means in our classrooms all the time. 

Can’t write a whole essay? 

Start with the topic sentence.  

Can’t tackle the extended question? 

Break it into small, concrete steps. 

These small actions provide students with a sense of accomplishment. Each completion is evidence that against the narrative that you cannot do it. 

Remember the ‘Take 5 (minutes) and stay alive’ Transport Accident Commission campaign? The campaign director knew from UK research that they could encourage drivers to pull over for five minutes, because any longer felt prohibitive.  However, it was the act of pulling over and resting that encouraged further rest.  That is what teachers do in the classroom when we require students to write an essay or attempt an equation for 10 minutes. Often, once the students start writing, they are loathe to stop. This cognitive behavioural approach, which replaces the catastrophic thinking ("I can’t do it") with action-oriented thoughts, ("I’ll work for just 10 minutes") are among the most evidence-supported interventions for procrastination. This reduces resistance and helps the brain feel capable rather than threatened. 

Because perfectionism, anxiety, and procrastination are so tightly linked in adolescent girls, our teachers are well placed to address this directly. And we do this every day — we normalise imperfect drafts, celebrate processes over product, and model vulnerability — all strategies designed to help dismantle the belief that only a perfect result is worth producing.  

The research is evident on one final point: when teachers are warm, consistent, and genuinely interested in students’ learning rather than simply their performance, the relationship itself becomes protective. For adolescent girls navigating perfectionism, self-doubt, and the fear of being seen to fail, having a teacher who communicates ‘I believe you can do this, and I will help you find how’ is not a small thing. It is, for many, the difference between beginning and not beginning at all. 

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” 

— Julian of Norwich, 14th Century mystic 

Ms Lisa Hanlon

Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning