This study investigates (1) the change in procrastination throughout a semester and (2) whether a nudging intervention can reduce procrastination, increase class attendance and class preparation, and, subsequently, improve performance. Nudges are subtle pushes given in students’ back to guide their behaviour towards desired outcomes, i.e. lower procrastination, higher class attendance, and higher class preparation. A random assignment to treatment experiment is executed in the exercise classes of a first-year undergraduate accounting course (N = 211). The treatment group receives five different nudges throughout the semester, the control group receives no nudges.

Results show increasing procrastination in the first part of the semester, followed by decreasing procrastination. Additionally, simply providing students with nudges does not yield beneficial effects. However, students clicking more intensively on the nudges report lower procrastination and higher class attendance and preparation. Moreover, the decreased procrastination and increased class preparation caused by intensively clicking on the nudges subsequently resulted in higher performance. This paper informs educators about the change in procrastination throughout a semester, offers them information about the effect of nudging on procrastination, and shows how nudges can be implemented in a course.