The Hidden Costs of 11:59 Deadlines: Stress, Procrastination, and the Need for Change in Education

While there is a common belief that 11:59 and weekend deadlines are mostly a negative aspect of most classes, there are some who argue against this. The main arguments are that by having a deadline looming overhead the entire day, the students will feel more pressure to get the assignments done as soon as possible as well as that the late night and weekend deadlines will give busier students that participate in extracurricular activities more time to complete these assignments. While there is merit behind these arguments, they are both flawed in their own ways. Both of these arguments fail to mention the largest issue with this line of thinking: students are people that can fall into the trap of procrastination as well as the fact that they can become overwhelmed. 

“Why do students procrastinate? Teachers confirm that 11:59 is the magic hour”, an article published by Ella Goodweather, a reporter for the website Three Penny Press, points out that one student felt as though the 11:59 deadline could be beneficial to students as “‘it can make you more productive’” as it will force the students to be more efficient as the deadline is closing in with the day. Although this may be the case for one student, there are a multitude of other students that find these deadlines to only cause more stress and lead to them feeling overwhelmed. There is a reason that a study published by the American Psychological Association found that students today experience significantly higher levels of stress than any other generation of students in recent history. 

 A high school AP teacher in this same article argues that “‘When you have no other choice, you do it’”. When looking at this quote closer, therein lies the issue, “you have no other choice”. The students that have these deadlines feel as if they have no other choice and are trapped into feeling as if they have a constant ticking time bomb looming above their heads at all times as when they complete one 11:59 deadline, another soon follows, if it is not already there. This feeling of entrapment is what builds up dangerous levels of stress within students. 

This cycle of constant deadlines creates an environment where students begin to prioritize survival in the classroom and the preservation of their gpa over genuinely learning the material. Rather than helping students to foster a love for life-long learning and critical thinking, the relentless nature of these deadlines pushes students to work past burnout, which sacrifices both the quality of the work that they are submitting as well as their personal well-being.  This toxic education culture not only diminishes the school and learning experience, but also results in the developing of unhealthy habits among students such as sleep deprivation, anxiety, and burnout. 

In regards to the busy students that may find these later deadlines more useful, an article from Technician by Jordan Birkner argues that having assignments due during the day makes things more difficult for these students and that it makes it much less manageable as they will typically have more time to work on homework later at night after work, sports, or clubs. Despite this claim, the National Institutes of Health found that almost 80% of all college students procrastinate. This number is so overwhelmingly high that it would be dishonest to say that this is the case for the majority of these students that are involved in extracurricular activities. 

This figure indicates that regardless of level of participation in different clubs, sports, or activities, most students will procrastinate and find themselves in the same bind that the other students find themselves in, with a looming deadline fast-approaching and the stress will begin to ensue. 

Furthermore, while late-night deadlines might appear to accommodate these busy schedules, they often enable the very behavior that they aim to help alleviate: procrastination. By allowing students to push off assignments to the last possible minute in the day, the deadlines create a false sense of flexibility and cushioning that leads to heightened stress and diminished productivity as they may begin to feel tired or weary from the long day that they often have. Rather than encouraging effective time management, the 11:59 deadline reinforces poor habits, leaving students to be forced under pressure rather than helping them learn to balance their responsibilities more effectively. 

One way to help combat this pressure and stress that the students may feel throughout the day is to give them the time and space to spend time outside. Multiple studies published by the American Psychological Association, the Harvard Gazette, and the National Institutes of Health have all shown that spending even 10-20 minutes outside a day can show significant improvement in mood, productivity, as well as diminishing stress levels. 

One way to do this in the classroom is to move some classes outside if possible. Taking students outside to do their work will allow them to get the rejuvenating effects of nature while still remaining productive and getting their assignments done. Another possibility is to take even 15 minutes out of class time to allow the students to go outside and to relax in the middle of the day. This will allow for the students to come back to the classroom refreshed and more productive which, in the middle of the day, can be massively beneficial in getting them through the day less stressed and to be better prepared to get their work done in a timely fashion. This will allow for a less stressed, and happy generation of students in an era of fast-paced, stressful living. 

While 11:59 and weekend deadlines may appear beneficial to some students, their negative impacts often overshadow any of the potential advantages. These deadlines encourage procrastination, increase stress, and promote unhealthy habits, leaving students overwhelmed and focused more on meeting deadlines than truly engaging with their learning and becoming lifelong learning. Rather than maintaining these rigid deadlines, teachers should focus on setting aside time for alternative approaches such as incorporating stress-relief activities such as spending some time outside during the school day. These small adjustments will help to prioritize student mental health and help to foster healthy practices to avoid burnout that create life-long learners. 

References

Three Penny Press. (2021, February 21). Why do students procrastinate? Teachers confirm that 11:59 is the magic hour. https://threepennypress.org/opinions/2021/02/21/assignments-flood-in-just-on-time/

Technician. (2023, March 7). Dueling Column: Assignments should be due at class time. https://www.technicianonline.com/opinion/dueling-column-assignments-should-be-due-at-class-time/article_e03df6c8-bd5c-11ed-ad3e-9f6ec27bd31b.html

González-Brignardello, M. P., Sánchez-Elvira Paniagua, A., & López-González, M. Á. (2023). Academic Procrastination in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review. Children (Basel, Switzerland)https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10297372/