Could you be a Chronic Procrastinator? Procrastination is something that we all deal with at some point or another. We may find that there is some kind of project that we don’t want to deal with or we may just feel we have time to do it later. Of course, things always sneak up on us sooner rather than later, and we scramble around to get it all done. This is a temporary thing for most people, something they do on occasion and it isn’t a habit. On the other hand, procrastinators will often deal with these issues each time that they have something to do.
This guidebook is going to spend some time looking at what a procrastinator is and some of the main signs to look for when it comes to determining if you or someone else is considered a procrastinator. We will discuss some things such as avoiding unpleasant tasks, making excuses or just giving up because we feel we are not up to the challenge. These are all things that will make the procrastinator put off their work, rather than trying to get it done.
When you are interested in finding out what a procrastinator is like and learning about some of the signs that come with procrastination to see if they are ones that you are dealing with, make sure to check out this guidebook to get started!
What is a Chronic Procrastinator?
First, we need to take some time to talk about what a procrastinator is. This is basically a person who likes to put things off or who delays doing the work because they feel like they can’t handle it or they just aren’t interested in the work. This can include things like chores, work, and other actions that should be done in a timely manner. If you don’t get to work on cleaning the house because you have to take the kids to soccer practice, that is not procrastination. But if you just sit down and watch television instead of doing the housework, that is procrastination.
All of us have times when we are going to suffer from procrastination in our lives. There are things that we don’t always want to do, and we will put them off as much as possible. But this s usually something that is temporary with most people. But when it comes to being a procrastinator, they are going to push the activity off every time that they are supposed to do something, or at least most of the times.
Often these procrastinators are going to wait until the very last minute to get things done. If they are given a big project, it is pretty common to see them working on that late into the night the day before it is due. These are the people who will go out on the day before Christmas to get all of their shopping done. It seems like no matter what they are doing, they are never able to get it done on time and without rushing at the last minute.
These people often have every excuse in the book to avoid doing some of the work that they should. They may not feel like they should have to get the work done, they may say that it doesn’t interest them, and sometimes they will say that the thrill of waiting until the last minute makes it more exciting for them, so they do better work in the long run. But these are all just excuses that are causing them a lot of harm as they push projects further and further behind each day.
There are several types of procrastinators that you may run across in your life. They are all going to share some common traits, but they can be very different in the manner that they procrastinate and even for the reasons. The three types of procrastinators that you may encounter include:
- Arousal type: these are also known as the thrill seeker type. These are the people who are able to get some kind of rush for waiting until the very last minute in order to get their project done. They like how it feels to get the work done at the last minute, and they will never work on projects early.
- Avoider type: these are the people who are very concerned about how they are going to be seen by others. They are really afraid to fail. So instead of trying and failing, they feel that it is much better to feel incompetent and lazy. This results in them just deciding to not do the work at all.
- Decisional type: these type of person is going to be someone who isn’t able to make decisions on things. They will just keep putting things off because then they don’t have to deal with making some of the decisions in their life. These are also the people who are really relieved when responsibilities of making decisions are taken away from them.
Most of the time, someone who is suffering from procrastination has been dealing with this issue for a long time. But even someone who is a chronic procrastinator is able to make some changes to their behavior, although it is going to take a lot of persistence and dedication. Often the desire to put off things and to procrastinate is not going to go away, but the procrastinator is able to learn to change their habits so that they are able to accomplish all of their tasks on time, rather than waiting until the last minute any longer.
Are you a Chronic Procrastinator?
Sign #1: You Avoid Unpleasant Activity
One of the first signs that you will notice about those who are procrastinators is that when there is an activity that they find to be unpleasant, they are more likely to avoid doing it at all. There are always things that all of us will want to avoid during the day, but many people will just power through them and get these activities done as quickly as possible.
But for someone who is a procrastinator, they are going to avoid the unpleasant activity altogether. They will see that there is something they don’t want to do or something that isn’t going to be all that much fun for them, and they choose to just avoid it.
They will work on something else that is not as important, make calls and texts to friends when it isn’t needed, and they will spend time walking around and chatting or socializing on social media to avoid it.
Of course, there are always times when we all want to avoid doing some activities that are seen as unpleasant. There are days when we want to be lazy or a task that we would rather have someone else do for us, but this is usually something that is few and far between. Most of us realize that we still need to get the work done and while there are a few occasions when we will avoid the work as much as possible, we will usually get it done and out of the way.
On the other hand, a procrastinator is going to use the unpleasantness of the task or the situation in order to not do it at all. They will realize that it is not something they want to do and instead of getting it done and out of the way, they will drag their feet and try to avoid it as much as possible. Instead of avoiding the task on occasion, they will do it all of the time. Sometimes when the task is due, they will either rush through it and try to get it done in just a few minutes, making it look really bad, or they will never get to it at all.
Sign #2: You make a lot of excuses
Excuses are one of the best tools that many chronic procrastinators are going to use to help them not get started on work. In reality, none of us want to spend our time working on projects or doing stuff that we just aren’t that fond of. We would rather go out and hang with our friends, spend more time with our kids and families, or going on vacation, but we realize that this is not reality and so we will get our work done without making a lot of excuses.
But when it comes to a procrastinator, there are always excuses that are out there for why they are not doing the work that they should right now. They are going to use these excuses in order to help justify some of their procrastination, as a way to get out of doing the work and explaining why they would want to put it all off for now, rather than trying to get the work done right away.
Some of the excuses that you will find includes, “I don’t have the time,” or “I’m the most creative when I am under pressure.” All of us are pretty busy on a daily basis, but we always fit the things that are the most important to us in the day. We are able to get a lot done if we choose to, we just need to make sure that we are prioritizing things in the right manner. In addition, no one works better under pressure. In fact, this is one of the worst ways to work because you are pressured, and you are likely to hand in order that is going to look horrible in the long run.
Sign #3: You Look for the Distractions
A good sign of a chronic procrastinator is someone who seems to be distracted all of the time. These are the people who are always doing little busy work through the day, but they never seem to be able to get their actual work done in a timely manner. They will make some excuses for what they need to do, but they can find distractions no matter where they are going.
There are many things that are able to distract us when we are working. You could check your email every time that a new message came up. There is the issue with trying to stay off social media, checking our phones all the time, having people stop by all of the time, running off to the office or break room as often as we can, and so much more. The problem with this behavior is that it results in us taking too much time out of our day trying to do these little things, rather than completing the work that is right in front of us. When we are able to reduce the amount of times that we are able to get distracted, we are able to get more done each day.
When it comes to most people, they are able to avoid the distractions as much as possible. They will turn off the internet and not check their email or social media accounts until the work is done. They will hide their phones on the other side of the room, so they aren’t tempted to answer it all of the time. They may even close the door of the office and try to make it look like they aren’t there so that others are going to leave them alone. They know what they need to get done and they want to get it done as quickly as possible rather than wasting time.
But for procrastinators, things are going to work a little bit differently. Rather than trying to stay away from some of these distractions, they are going to be attracted to them. They don’t want to do the work, so if they are able to find something that will distract them, find something that they can do instead of the work, they are going to run towards it as fast as they can. They will find that while they are doing a lot of busy work in the process, they missed out on getting some of the actual work done by the end of the day. But this doesn’t stop them, they just keep pushing on through the end of the week, and then, if they get to this part, they are going to try and rush through the work at the last minute, hoping to get it all done.
Sign #4: You Have Trouble Managing Your Time
Time management is one of the best things that you are able to do for your work. When you are able to keep your time managed, it is easy to get all of the work done in a timely manner, without having to worry about taking it home and missing out on some of the other things that you would like to get done during the day. People who are bad at time management are the ones who have to spend their nights and weekends at work trying to catch up, while those who are good at managing their time are the ones who are able to go home at the right time each day, and they often feel less stressed out, even though they have the same amount of work as everyone else.
When we are talking about a procrastinator, we are talking about people who are not good at managing their time. These are the people who are going to think that they are able to finish tasks in a short amount of time, so they never plan on getting things done at an early time. They figure there is no need and since they aren’t really that interested in getting things done early and seeing how that feels, they will often just give up and wait until the last minute when they are better able to do it, at least in their minds.
For example, these are the people who would get a big project and be told that it’s due in two weeks. Rather than getting started and coming up with a plan that will help them to get the work done in time they will just shove it to the side and assume that they are able to get to the work later on. Of course, they will just keep pushing the work back until they are not able to wait any longer, and this will result in them rushing around and most likely losing out because the end result will be horrible.
Sign #5: You Avoid Things Because You Don’t Feel Confidence in the Task
Sometimes the procrastinator is not avoiding the task just because they don’t want to do it, but more because they feel that they are not up to the task. They don’t think that they are qualified to finish the task or that they have the right knowledge to get started on the tasks, so they will choose to just put it off rather than actually trying to take on the task.
These people are not going to take their time doing things just because they don’t feel that they are capable of doing the work at all. For example, you may decide that you don’t really know how to run an IRA or a 401(k), so you decide that you aren’t going to start your retirement plan at all, whether through work or on your own. This keeps on going until you reach retirement and realize that you have nothing saved up, or at least for a few years before retirement, so you end up having to scramble or running out of time.
There are things that we are all unsure how to do, but with procrastinators, we are going to purposely avoid these tasks. Other people may realize that they don’t know much about retirement, so they will either read up on the topic or find someone else who is able to walk them through it or do the work for them. With the example of the retirement plan, you don’t have to know how to make this work on your own, you can hire a company or an individual who is able to do the work for you and helps you to get that retirement plan going.
Conclusion
All of us have those times when we are going to be considered procrastinators. We want to be able to put off tasks that we don’t think are all that pleasant or that we just don’t want to do. But most of us decide to get to work and see how much we can get done without waiting. It is different for a procrastinator because they will decide that they can do it later, or they totally decide to not do the work in the first place.
There are some main signs that you will be able to find when it comes to a procrastinator and no matter the type they are or what they are putting off, you will be able to determine it based on some of the signs that we talked about above. Learn how to avoid some of these signs, and you may have a better chance at getting stuff done and seeing some of the results with your workflow that you would like!
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