Planning Time Management in School Activities and Relation to Procrastination: A Study for Educational Sustainability

Academic procrastination, more than merely postponing tasks, represents a significant failure in the self-regulation process of learning. Research on study skills highlights academic time management as one of the crucial elements of learning strategies and sustainable education. These abilities will help achieve the fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how students plan time management in school activities and its influence on study procrastination, analyzing differences between genders and the hours students spend studying. The Time Management Planning Inventory, the Study Procrastination Questionnaire, and a personal and school data sheet were used. A sample of 506 students (Mage = 13.7) from basic schools in northern Portugal was utilized. The results revealed that gender and study hours significantly influence how students plan time management for school tasks in the short and long term. These variables also showed a significant impact on the procrastination of study activities. The practical implications of this study are substantial, as they provide educators and researchers with insights into the factors influencing academic procrastination and the role of time management planning and study hours. These insights can be applied to develop effective strategies to reduce academic procrastination and promote sustainable education.