Which Type of Procrastinator Are You?

Merriam Webster defines procrastination as, “to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done.”

The definition was helpful but isn’t necessary. We all know the feeling of procrastination and what it looks like. Binge-watching “just one more” episode of TV before throwing a load of laundry in the wash, or just one more quick jaunt around the office before getting to that spreadsheet that is due by noon.

The question then is, why do we procrastinate? We know our time should be spent working on important tasks. But instead, we fill time with fluff. Which only delays the task that will have to be done later anyway.  

People procrastinate for different reasons. According to Dr. Ellen Hendrickson, from the Savvy Psychologist Podcast, there are three main types of procrastinators. 

The 3 types of procrastinators

1. The Avoider

The avoider is avoiding the negative emotion tied to doing that task, not the task itself.  

To give an illustration, The Avoider has to give a presentation. They will procrastinate to avoid the negative feeling of stress and anxiety that comes with preparing a speech that people will watch, and (to The Avoider’s imagination), criticize.

Not starting the speech ends up stretching that negative emotion for them into a longer, lower grade intensity of that anxiety and stress. The Avoider finds it hard to enjoy a movie when the anxiety of “I should be preparing my presentation” is simmering on the brain.

2. The Optimist

The Optimist feels confident in their abilities. They do not think the task will take that long, and they also think they have more time than they actually have.

Being confident in your abilities is great, but if this overestimation constantly sneaks up on you, then you might be an Optimist.

3. The Pleasure Seeker

It is perfectly fine to be a little lazy, we all are. However, The Pleasure Seeker turns it into a sport.

The Pleasure Seeker usually waits until they feel like doing what they are supposed to, which doesn’t usually coincide with the deadlines of the task. 

In certain cases, fellow students, employees, a spouse, or family will bail The Pleasure Seeker out by doing the work for them; which ends up being a short-term win. However, in the long-term, this depletes the goodwill tank and can have damaging consequences on The Pleasure Seeker’s reputation and their relationships.

Consequences of procrastination

Procrastination has different effects on different people:

• Avoiders constantly feel anxiety if they aren’t doing what should be done.
• The Optimist gets their ego wounded and starts to doubt their abilities if they constantly underestimate how long tasks will take.
• Pleasure Seekers hurt their relationships.

Beyond just the above, procrastinating on important things like saving money for the future, learning new skills, and finding a meaningful career can delay the joy of life for years.

Regardless of whichever style you fall into, they all have negative effects on our lives. Fortunately, there are many ways to beat procrastination.

Six action steps to beat procrastination

1. Stop Beating Yourself Up About Procrastinating

By showing yourself some self-compassion, you can lower stress levels. Studies have shown that people who are prone to procrastination are also highly critical of themselves for procrastinating. This then causes them stress that makes it harder to do the task they are procrastinating on, thereby leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy of procrastination and negativity.

Stop this loop before it starts by realizing that everyone procrastinates and that you don’t have to be perfect all the time; this helps curb stress paralysis.

2. Radically Accept You are Procrastinating

To help show this self-compassion, radically accept when you are procrastinating.

Procrastination is sneaky. It appears as a reward, just a tiny break that stretches on a little too long. Instead of framing it as a “long break”, view it as procrastinating. Accept that you are procrastinating and enjoy the break. By framing the “small break” for what it is (procrastination), it makes it easier to stop the episode and go tackle what needs to get accomplished.

3. Stop Criticizing Your Work While You are Creating it and Just Create

Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, on Adam Grant’s WorkLife Podcast, said she is still a very bad procrastinator. However, her trick to get over procrastination is very simple. The wastebasket is her friend. Instead of criticizing ideas before they are written down, she just scribbles them onto the paper. She then assesses and tosses the idea if it’s not good.

Studies have shown that people who dedicate just five minutes to starting a task are more likely to continue and complete the task, even in the face of difficult challenges. Fear of failure or thinking the task will be worse than it is is a major cause of procrastination. By simply doing the work, even if it is wrong, is enough motivation to get a better answer and work on the problem until it is complete.

4. Do Something Easy but Productive  

Instead of going from a state of procrastination and diving straight into your highest priority task, build up the work. Find a task that is less than five minutes, complete it, and use that positive momentum to build into your higher objective.

For example, instead of going into that complex spreadsheet after lunch, answer a few emails instead. This acts as a warm-up that makes it less shocking to ramp up into the difficult task that was the reason for an early lunch in the first place.

5. Limit the To-Do List

A mile-long to-do list can make you feel great. It is exciting to plan a long list of items and imagine yourself victorious at the end … of the day tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, you look at the list and get overwhelmed by the sheer number of things to do. Where do you even start?

Having a long to-do list is a common problem. To overcome it, have a list of three top things. One major task, and two minor tasks. Pick that tasks that if you get those done, it was a successful day. Then repeat that every day.

This forces daily prioritization and makes tasks seem more manageable, and thus, more likely to be accomplished. Ironically, getting three things done every day leads to more productivity than trying to have one jammed packed day of productivity. Space your work and your priorities.

6. Plan Ahead    

When you are procrastinating, notice how you procrastinate. Is it with social media, cleaning the house, or rearranging the desk? Everyone has little ways of escaping work. Before you set down to do the task, remove the temptation. For Social Media, this means putting the phone away, maybe even locking it with an app like SPACE. If you tend to clean, try setting your desk to face away from the laundry that needs to be washed until after you’ve completed your task.

Planning takes willpower out of the equation and clears space for productive work to be completed.

Main Take-aways:

• There are different procrastination styles. By knowing which one you are, you are more likely to address the underlying issue that is causing the procrastination in the first place.
• Simply accepting we are procrastinating takes the power away from procrastination, making it more manageable to overcome.
• By being a little proactive and knowing ourselves, we can overcome most of the reasons we procrastinate.

Action item:

• Which type of procrastinator are you? What is one strategy you can put in place this week to lessen your procrastination?