What Kind of Procrastinator Am I?
By Subomi Lawal
It could be safe to say that all of us have struggled with procrastination at different stages in our lives. It may not be an issue all the time but it is likely that we’ve gone through similar experiences at least once, such as: leaving a task or deadline to the last minute, feeling stuck or unable to start something or just putting a task off by doing something else instead. It may be tempting to put ourselves down for this, but it’s not all on us and so understanding procrastination better can empower us to overcome it.
Here’s the secret - people don’t necessarily procrastinate because they’re lazy or lack time-management skills, it’s often more about emotional management. We tend to procrastinate because we anticipate feeling something negative, or we ponder on that negative emotion and find something else to distract us from it. These negative emotions could be the stress we feel before taking on a big task or feeling overwhelmed when your to-do list seems to be never-ending. The real kicker to overcome these emotions is to first acknowledge them and then try to understand their cause.
In order to delve deeper and look into the nitty-gritty of procrastination, it is worth considering the different types of procrastinators, their main issue and a possible solution:
The Performer
These kinds of procrastinators force themselves to focus by shrinking the time they must tackle a task. These are the people who likely work on a project the night before the deadline. They put it off to the very last minute as they pride themselves on working under pressure. You’d think that there’s not much that’s wrong with this, as they do get the work done, after all. However, a key issue for performers is that they’re perfectionists and they struggle with getting started at all. But if we change the point of view and focus on when we want to begin the task rather than when we hope to finish it, it’ll take a lot of pressure off performance procrastinators.
The Over-booker
“My schedule is all booked up for the week, I can’t do that task, I’m just too busy” is something an over-booker procrastinator might say. These kind of procrastinators are always preoccupied and fully booked, which inevitably means they’re often overwhelmed and stressed. But how do they procrastinate when they’re always busy? The distinctive thing about over-bookers is that they purposely fill up their schedule to give an excuse for not doing a task or to not do the task at all. A major issue with over-bookers is creating a lot of work for themselves to avoid doing a task. To get ahead of this kind of procrastination, you need a moment of self-reflection. So, think about what you’re avoiding and why you think you’re avoiding that task? Is there something that can be done about the task? Maybe breaking larger tasks up into little tasks or giving yourself regular breaks could help? These are some questions and actions to consider if you struggle with this kind of procrastination.
The Self-Deprecator
Do you put yourself down whenever you don’t do something and possibly blame it on being lazy? Well, this could mean you procrastinate in the form of a self-deprecator. The interesting thing is that you are not necessarily being lazy, you may just need a break. In other words, self-deprecators can be extra harsh on themselves when they fail to do something and most likely attribute this to being inadequate when all they need is some time to recharge and rest. With self-deprecators, the impact of not taking a break can lead to burnout, which may cause them to procrastinate more, because they feel lazy and low on energy. If you resonate with the self-deprecator, then make sure you take time to give yourself a break!
The Novelty Seeker
Do you struggle to follow through? Perhaps you get an idea to start the project but never seem to finish it? This could mean that you may be a novelty seeker procrastinator. Novelty seekers are the idea generators, they come up with numerous ideas but with every new idea, an old one gets ignored. So, with novelty seekers, half-done tasks can build up. Their number one struggle is not being able to complete their tasks, so a way to resolve this is to focus on one task. Stick to this motto: don’t drop it, till it’s done.
From all that’s been said, we can see how different procrastinators behave and have a possible solution to their procrastination. Perhaps you may resonate with parts of each type or switch between types depending on the task or how you are feeling? If this is the case, take a moment to recognise: what behaviours of procrastination you are displaying in that present moment, the potential reasons behind this, and the relevant solutions in order to move forward.
Even if you know a few helpful solutions, procrastination is quite a difficult thing to overcome. This is especially difficult when you don’t realize in the moment that you’re doing it. Therefore, it can be helpful to look at it from the perspective of this saying, “the cost of procrastination is the life you could have lived”. This way, procrastination becomes a whole new word, it’s not about doing nothing to avoid something anymore, it becomes something that starts to affect your life. For example, if you want to become a pro athlete but procrastinate by not going to the gym or attending training, then you begin to lose pieces of a whole life you could have lived. So, for times when you notice that you’re procrastinating, think about this quote and let it motivate you to do that thing you’re avoiding or pushing to the last minute, no matter what type of procrastinator you are.