5 Types of Procrastinators: Which Type Are You?

We are each blameworthy of procrastinating sometimes—there’s always thing much absorbing than nan activity astatine hand. We usually deliberation it’s nary large woody since a deadline is our biggest inspiration, and we do our champion activity erstwhile we’re inspired. We whitethorn moreover joke astir it while we go victims of nan various types of procrastination.

Procrastination intends delaying aliases postponing an urgent task and tin greatly wounded productivity.

A study successful 2015 recovered that, connected average, a personification loses complete 55 days per twelvemonth procrastinating, wasting astir 218 minutes each time doing unimportant things. Here’s nan math:

218 minutes/day x 365 = 79570 minutes = 55.3 days

That’s a batch of clip wasted!

We must conflict procrastination to its core, and we tin do this if we go much alert of ourselves and this bad wont called procrastination. Only past tin we win successful reaching our goals.

Learn nan 5 types of procrastination and place which type of procrastinator you are.

Learn nan Different Types of Procrastination

To thief you place why you put things disconnected easily, present are 5 different types of procrastination and procrastinators.

Type 1: The Perfectionist

They are nan ones who salary excessively overmuch attraction to insignificant details. A perfectionist is acrophobic to commencement nan task astatine manus because they get stressed astir getting each item right. They tin besides get stuck successful nan process, moreover erstwhile they’ve started, since they’re excessively frightened to move on.

Advice for nan Perfectionist

Instead of letting your obsession pinch specifications return up each your time, beryllium clear astir nan intent of your tasks and delegate a clip limit to each to woody pinch this type of procrastination. This will unit you to stay focused and decorativeness your task wrong nan clip frame.

For example: If you’re going to constitute a report, beryllium clear astir nan intent of nan study first.

If nan report’s extremity is to coming nan changes successful information complete nan past fewer months, don’t sweat excessively overmuch astir penning up a batch of dainty words; rather, attraction much connected nan figures and charts. Make judge nan extremity tin beryllium reached, and there’s nary request to activity connected things that don’t thief you execute nan eventual goal.

Type 2: The Dreamer

This is personification who enjoys making nan perfect scheme much than taking action. They are highly imaginative but find it difficult to really decorativeness a task.

Advice for nan Dreamer

To extremity yourself from being carried distant by your endless imagination pinch this procrastination type, get your feet backmost connected nan crushed by mounting circumstantial (and achievable) goals for each time based connected nan SMART framework. Set a extremity and break down nan scheme into mini tasks that you tin return action connected correct away.

For example: If you dream astir waking up earlier each day, group a clear extremity for it: “In 3 weeks, I will aftermath up astatine 6:30 americium each day.”

Then, break this extremity down into smaller tasks:

• From coming onwards, I will spell to slumber earlier 11:00 pm
• Set nan siren to punctual you to spell to sleep
• Schedule earlier friend gatherings truthful you tin spell to slumber early
• For nan 1st week, I will aftermath up astatine 7:30 am, moreover connected non-working days
• Go jogging aliases swimming successful nan greeting connected weekends

Also, you should bespeak connected your advancement while you work. Track your input and output for each task, truthful you tin easy show which tasks are only a discarded of clip pinch small importance. This tin thief you attraction connected doing nan things that bring affirmative results, improving productivity.

Type 3: The Avoider / Self-Saboteur

The worriers are frightened to return connected tasks they deliberation they can’t manage. They would alternatively put disconnected activity than beryllium judged by others erstwhile they make mistakes.

Advice for nan Avoider

I cognize checking emails look tempting, but don’t make answering emails nan first point connected your to-do list. More often than not, emails are unimportant, but they bargain your clip and intelligence power earlier you moreover notice.

Instead, attraction connected nan worst first to tackle this type of procrastination. Spend your greeting moving connected what you find nan astir challenging. This will springiness you a consciousness of achievement, and it will thief you build momentum for a productive time ahead.

Try to break down your tasks into smaller sub-tasks. Understand really overmuch clip and power is needed for a fixed task, and make realistic calculations.

For example: A 2000-word study does look to return a batch of clip and effort, and it does look scary conscionable to commencement moving connected it. But is location immoderate measurement to break this down into smaller pieces truthful it’ll look little scary?

You tin effort this:

• Introduction: astir 100 words (15 min)
• Table of contented (5 min)
• Report connected nan financial status: a floor plan pinch 100 words of supporting matter (20 min)
• Case study: 3 cases based connected nan caller business exemplary pinch astir 400 words each (around 40 min each)
• Conclusion: astir 800 words (30 min)

Does it look a batch easier now?

Type 4: The Crisis-Maker

The crisis-maker deliberately pushes backmost activity until nan past minute. They find deadlines (crises) breathtaking and judge that they activity champion erstwhile moving nether pressure, which causes them to negociate their clip poorly.

Advice for nan Crisis-Maker

Being forced to unreserved nan activity because you will execute amended is conscionable an illusion because it leaves you nary room for reviewing nan activity to make it amended afterward.

If you ever time off activity until nan past minute, effort utilizing nan Pomodoro technique, developed by Italian entrepreneur Francesco Cirillo.

It focuses connected moving successful short, intensely focused bursts, and past giving yourself a little break to retrieve and commencement over.

For example: Use a timer and disagreement your analyzable activity into small, manageable sessions. In betwixt nan mini sessions, springiness yourself a break to recover.

While giving your encephalon a regular break tin boost your capacity by recharging your brain’s energy, completing nan tasks earlier allows you to person plentifulness of clip to spell done your activity again to make it moreover better.

Type 5: The Busy Bee

This type of procrastinators are nan fussy ones. They person problem prioritizing tasks because they either person excessively galore of them aliases garbage to activity connected what they spot arsenic unworthy of their effort. They don’t cognize really to take nan task that’s champion for them and simply postpone making immoderate decisions.

Advice for nan Busy Procrastinator

You person to get your priorities consecutive erstwhile you tally into this type of procrastination. Important tasks should return privilege complete urgent ones because “urgent” doesn’t ever mean important. You only person truthful overmuch clip and energy, and you don’t want to discarded that connected things that don’t matter.

Identify nan intent of your task and nan expected outcome. Important tasks are nan ones that adhd worth successful nan agelong run.

Replying to an email that says, “please get backmost to maine asap” seems urgent, but earlier you reply to that email, deliberation astir really important it is compared to different tasks.

For example: Imagine nan email is sent by a customer asking astir nan advancement of a project, and she wants you to reply to her arsenic soon arsenic possible; astatine nan aforesaid time, you person different task astir fixing nan logistics problem that is affecting each nan projects connected hand. Which 1 should you grip first?

The clip costs for replying to an email is low, but nan use is besides very debased because you conscionable fulfill 1 client’s request. Fixing nan logistic problem astir apt takes a batch much time, but it’s besides a batch much worthy it because by fixing nan problem, you’re redeeming each nan projects connected hand, benefiting nan full company.

The Bottom Line

You whitethorn announcement astir of nan characteristics of procrastinators person to do pinch their mindset. People support delaying activity because of fear. This is precisely why tweaking our cognition towards activity tin thief america extremity procrastinating.

Changing your mindset whitethorn look for illustration a batch of work, but by doing nan smallest things each day, you’re getting utilized to really you grip work—from mounting goals, to breaking down tasks, to evaluating each task’s values.

Featured photograph credit: Nick Fewings via unsplash.com