6 Types of Procrastinators: Why Procrastination Is Not a Lack of Self-Control
Did you know? There are 6 different types of procrastinators in the world.
We’ve all been there: we have a school assignment, or a work spreadsheet due and everything else in the world seems more enjoyable. So, we put it off, and put it off, until the very last second when we cram, and, if we’re being honest, probably don’t do our best.
Choosing leisure over work is nothing new to the human experience. However, if you’re someone that finds yourself in this type of situation over, and over, and over again, you’re probably procrastinating.
When you hear the word procrastination you most likely think of the scenario I just described.
However, when you break it down, it’s not exactly black and white.
If you tend to procrastinate and you’re sick of being labeled as ‘lazy’ or ‘unmotivated’ this article is for you.
Why Do People Procrastinate?
This answer may surprise you, but procrastination really has nothing to do with self-control.
It could be as simple as a surface issue such as the task being unpleasant or difficult.
Or, the root cause could lie beneath the surface and stem from more inner turmoil such as low self-esteem, self-doubt, or anxiety about the task at hand.
You aren’t smart enough to write this paper.
You’re going to fail anyway, so why try?
These inner voices have been studied, researched, and given a clinical name: procrastinatory cognitions.
This cycle of negative thinking can greatly hinder a person’s ability to start a task and can take a massive amount of strength and perseverance to overcome.
6 Types of Procrastinators
While there are three different types of procrastinators, they do have similarities. There are 3 different types of behaviors, each with 2 types within, that drive procrastination.
Depending on what driving force is behind the inability to start will determine which category you fall into:
Attention to detail
Attention toward the future
Attention toward relationships with others
1. The Perfectionist
The perfectionist has trouble initiating a task due to their inner fear of failure. Because of their impossibly high standards, a perfectionist will spend an overwhelming amount of time fixated on the details.
While many people would describe ‘failure’ as not completing the task at all, the perfectionist views failure as not performing the task to sheer perfection.
This causes them to resist even starting for fear they won’t live up to their own internal standards.
This exaggerated attention to detail can prevent a perfectionist from being able to both start, and finish a project.
An example of a perfectionist: Sarah has always dreamed of opening her own bakery. However, due to an overwhelming fear of failure, Sarah puts this dream off for decades waiting for all of her life circumstances to be perfect and organized. She lost out on years of crafting her business because she couldn’t stop worrying about the little details.
2. The Dreamer
The dreamer too, is held back by details, however not in the same way the perfectionist is.
The dreamer doesn’t like details or being consumed by them. They don’t even like to think about details, at all.
This can make tasks difficult to start because their lack of attention to detail can often cause them to become overwhelmed by the information.
They have many dreams and ideas, however, they only view these through a ‘grand scheme’ type of lens, and believe the details should get sorted out by someone else.
A dreamer is often quite skilled at coming up with ideas, yet can easily get frustrated when trying to sit down and plan them out.
An example of a dreamer: Nicholas has always been inspired by the culture of Europe. It’s been his life goal to backpack through Berlin since he was a child. He has a grand vision of the experiences and memories he will make, however when he tries to sit and plan his trip he becomes overwhelmed. Details like obtaining a passport, living accommodations, finances, and language barriers become too much for him to handle, so he never ends up going.
3. The Worrier
Similar to the perfectionist, the worrier is hindered from beginning a task because they fear they won’t succeed.
However, unlike the perfectionist, the worrier isn’t focused on performing the task perfectly, they internally focus on any, and all problems that could go wrong.
This mindset of always jumping to the worst-case scenario often leads worriers down a rabbit hole of “what if’s” and can result in them concluding they simply can’t do the task at hand.
A worrier may also exhibit other behaviors of anxiety like the inability to make important decisions.
An example of a worrier: Mike has wanted to quit smoking for years now. Every time he even begins to think about quitting, he’s held back by the fear the withdrawals will bring. He knows he can do it and that he has the willpower to, but the lack of confidence in his ability to cope without nicotine holds him back from even trying.
4. The Over-Doer
An over-doer often exhibits symptoms of someone struggling with high functioning anxiety.
This type of procrastinator has a difficult time saying “no” to others and therefore ends up with an overwhelming amount of tasks on their plate.
An over-doer ends up creating more work for themselves because they aren’t able to efficiently prioritize it all.
While you’d initially think the over-doer would end up just overworking themselves, the reality is, they often end up taking on too many tasks for other people and often put their own agenda on the back burner.
This can result in a negative mindset that believes if they can’t get everything done, they’ve failed.
An example of an over-doer: Maria is a single mom, working two jobs, caring for 3 young children, and running a home. Maria was offered a book writing contract that gave her a window of 6 months to write a short story. Despite this large time frame, Maria continuously had to put her book on the back burner because her other jobs and children came first. She ended up writing the book in 2 weeks and pulled many all-nighters to get it finished.
5. The Defier
When it comes to the defier, their reason for procrastination is quite different. Their inability to start often stems from feelings of frustration, anger, or resentment towards the person directing the task.
What defiers often fail to recognize at the moment is that the task must be done at some point, however, due to their inner turmoil, they put it off for as long as possible.
Rebelling against the task master is a way for defiers to exhibit control in their own life, and relieve some of the negative symptoms brewing under the surface.
Example of a defier: Erin, a 15-year-old girl has plans to attend a concert with her friends on Saturday. Erin’s mom told her that in order for her to go, her room must be thoroughly cleaned. Erin feels this is unfair and unnecessary since a clean room has nothing to do with going to a concert. Despite her mom giving her all week, Erin continues to put it off in order to defy her mom’s orders. However, she knows she has to clean it if she wants to go on Saturday, so she waits until Friday night.
6. The Crisis-Maker
The crisis-maker has an existential problem with the feeling of boredom.
If a task seems dull, or boring, the crisis-maker will wait until the very last possible minute to complete the task because the thrill of racing the clock is entertaining to them.
As you can imagine, the biggest problem with crisis-makers is their quality of work.
Certain tasks need to be spread out over time in order to complete them well.
The crisis-maker truly believes that they “work better under pressure” and thrives off of the thrill of living life on the edge.
An example of a crisis-maker: Jacob, a sophomore in college, has a large paper due for his Biology class on Friday. While his professor gave them plenty of time to work on this essay, Jacob found it difficult to start since he finds Biology incredibly boring. Jacob knows that he works best when he has a time limit since there’s no choice but to get it done. Instead of writing his paper over the course of a few days, Jacob decided to wait until the night before and cram his entire paper into a few hours and many energy drinks.
In Summary
Behind every procrastinator, is a root cause.
Whether it’s negative thinking patterns, false belief about one’s abilities, or fear of falling short, it’s rarely, if ever, simply because a person is ‘careless’.
Understanding why you procrastinate in the first place is a great way to get started overcoming this frustrating habit.
Once you can figure out why it’s so difficult for you to begin an important task, you can challenge yourself on those thoughts with the help of a therapist.
Therapy can give you all the tools and coping mechanisms to stop procrastination from running your life.
References:
https://www.fandm.edu/uploads/files/434250750569800119-breaking-the-procrastination-habit-worksheet.pdf
https://jaysonmoran.com/2021/02/12/6-types-of-procrastinators-and-how-they-think/