I still remember the accomplishment I felt in college the one time I turned in a paper a day early. So this is what it’s like not to wait until the last minute. I pledged to eliminate procrastination from my life then and there. Then my next paper was assigned. I bet you can guess what happened. As an adult out of school, you’d think there’d be fewer opportunities to procrastinate, but when I read about the four kinds of procrastinators, I realized I fit every single one!
Organizing expert Sandra Felton says that knowing how to stop procrastinating starts by identifying what kind of procrastinators we are. When we understand the cause of our procrastination, we can better deal with it. Ready to get to the roots of your procrastination? Don’t wait! Which of these 4 kinds of procrastinators sounds most familiar?
1. Perfectionist Procrastinator
Perfectionism is one cause of procrastination and is probably one of the most subtle because it’s rooted in fear. We don’t do something because we are afraid we won’t do it well enough or will make a fool of ourselves. Or, perhaps we fear we’ll succeed and have to live with the new circumstances brought about by our success. Whatever the cause, perfectionism is one of the four self-destructive behavior patterns moms need to try to overcome.
One of the best tips for how to stop procrastinating if you’re a perfectionist is to recognize perfection paralysis for what it is: an immobilizing fear of failing. Your myriad reasons for delaying action are actually a mask for fear of failure (to a perfectionist, less than perfect = failure). Tell yourself those reasons are just excuses and take one step forward. Then one more.
Perfectionism is one cause of procrastination and is probably one of the most subtle because it's rooted in fear. Click To Tweet2. Emotional Procrastinator
Some procrastinators concentrate too much on emotions. They think they can’t accomplish some task unless they are in the right mood. If you’re this type of procrastinator, you might find yourself saying “I don’t feel like doing XYZ. I’m just gonna put it off a bit.”
When you have to do something arduous, procrastination feels good. Try overcoming emotional procrastination by putting on your boss hat. Create a deadline to break through the boredom or tell yourself to give the task 20 minutes of work, and then you can take a break.
3. Circumstantial Procrastinator
Often, circumstances hold up procrastinators. They are waiting for a part to arrive or a price to fall. Maybe they are seriously overcommitted and have no time. Or, the environment isn’t right (it’s too crowded, noisy, or messy). If this rings true for you, ask yourself if there’s some other motivation behind your procrastination.
For example, I wanted to discuss an issue in my marriage with my husband, and I kept putting it off, saying the kids had to be in bed or it needed to be the weekend. When I was frank with myself, I admitted I was afraid of conflict. Recognizing the real reason made me accept that the circumstances wouldn’t make a difference. I just needed to have the conversation.
4. Procrastination Junkie
Some people have made a habit of riding the wave of adrenaline that comes when they wait until the last minute. They’ve become experts in knowing how long they can dawdle before jumping into a project. This may work for simple projects but leaves no room for error and does not work well on complex projects.
If this is you, break up a task into smaller chunks to celebrate smaller wins. Do your kids’ drawers need to be cleaned out? Start with just sock drawers and get the job done.
So what type of procrastinator are you?
Portions used with permission from the book Organizing Your Day: Time Management Techniques That Will Work for You by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims, (Revell). P. 93
