Third one on hard work in academia

I have elaborated twice now why I think that urging a student to "work harder" will not help making the student be more successful in hir academic pursuits. I however also do not know what else to do. I always assumed that people who want to do science are motivated internally. I also always assume that people give their very best, because I find it hard to believe that one would choose to do science over any other, more paying, career, and then not trying to be good. Maybe I am very naive here.

Anyways, assuming that this is the case, the only ones I would want to tell to "work harder" are the classic procrastinators. However, for those such an appeal won't do zip, I think. What is more, I think someone who procrastinated a lot must learn how to motivate hirself rather than relying on a supervisor to fling the whip.

My strategy up to know was to ask the student to come up with a time plan, and have regular meetings with hir to remind both of us of how far behind the plan we are, and amend accordingly. If the student is a very bad procrastinator, I would have a talk with hir, reminding hir of the stakes at risk and set clear and, if necessary, hard, deadlines. I would try to talk with hir to find out whether he/she is aware of hir problem, and I would suggest a training in time management.

But I would not ask hir to work harder. People who work in science need to find the ways they can be most productive for themselves, and those are very individual. For some working under a hard deadline does the trick, for others it is to work at night, and for others again it is a regular schedule. Who am I to know, and who am I to tell them? And, shouldn't students, who have studied their whole life, know best how they can be most productive?