73 A Christian Guide to Body Stewardship, Diet and Exercise Though not listed in the top five, procrastination and technology are other common sources of stress for college students. Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something. However, Scripture clearly teaches that we should be diligent and avoid slothful behavior (Prov. 6:6; 12:24; 13:4). Moser (2014) associates fear (e.g., feeling overwhelmed), overconfidence and laziness as some of the underlying culprits of procrastination. A useful tool in helping to prioritize tasks by urgency and importance and avoid procrastination is the Eisenhower Matrix (Moser, 2014). This tool is meant to help students sort out less urgent and less important tasks that should either be deleted or delegated. An example of the Eisenhower Matrix is provided in Figure 4.5. Figure 4.5. The Eisenhower Matrix for Time Management Although technology has dramatically improved the college experience in many ways, it can also be a significant source of stress. If not careful, college students can spend too much time or put too much emphasis on social media, which can compete with academics and other responsibilities. Smartphones and their apps were designed to be addictive. Research shows that social media apps and websites can have the same effect on the brain as playing a slot machine at a casino. The spontaneous results produce a feeling of reward by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for producing feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation, which in turn promotes the app’s continued use (Stabler, 2021). Additionally, excessive smartphone usage has been linked to an increased risk of stress, depression, anxiety, and loneliness (Enez Darcin et al., 2020; Yoon & Lee, 2015). Strategies to manage smartphone use include: • Use a filter that places time limits on certain apps. • Track app usage and implement controls, as needed, if usage exceeds goals. • Remove, or limit, access to apps that tend to increase stress. • Batch notifications (groupings based on subject) to limit the number of responses (Fitz et al., 2019).
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