What’s your procrastination style? If you love a useful quiz this is for you. Ever looked at a task on your to-do list and felt an immediate wave of dread? I know I have! The problem with procrastination is that I think a lot of us misunderstand it. And, too often, we shame ourselves for it instead of looking at the true cause.
Because the truth is, procrastination is actually more of an emotional regulation problem than a time management problem. But if you want to stop procrastinating then you need to understand why you’re actually doing it.
Think of a task where you’re currently experiencing procrastination
And ask yourself these 4 diagnostic questions:
- What is the very first physical sensation or emotion you feel looking at it?
- What is the internal narrative you tell yourself about why you aren’t doing it?
- What do you do instead of working on it?
- How do you feel right as the deadline hits?
Based on your answers, you likely fall into one of these 6 Procrastination Styles:
The Perfectionist 🔍
The Story: “It needs to be flawless before I can hand it in.”
The Substitute: Researching excessively or rewriting the same paragraph.
The Payoff: Relief mixed with frustration that it still isn’t perfect.
The Dreamer 💭
The Story: “I have this amazing vision, I just need to map it out.”
The Substitute: Mind-mapping, brainstorming, or starting new projects.
The Payoff: Boredom when reality requires executing the hard details.
The Worrier ⚠️
The Story: “What if I get it wrong? What if they don’t like it?”
The Substitute: Over-analyzing risks, asking for constant reassurance, or freezing.
The Payoff: Pure exhaustion and temporary safety from judgment.
The Crisis-Maker ⚡
The Story: “I work best under pressure anyway. It’s fine.”
The Substitute: Scrolling, socializing, or doing anything unrelated.
The Payoff: A massive adrenaline rush, followed by relief that you “pulled it off.”
The Over-Committer 🗂️
The Story: “I have to do all of this, I don’t have a choice.”
The Substitute: Saying “yes” to new minor requests instead of the main task.
The Payoff: Burnout, resentment, and feeling completely swamped.
The Rebel / Defier 🛑
The Story: “Why do I even have to do this? It’s a waste of time.”
The Substitute: Passive resistance, complaining, or doing a different task you prefer.
The Payoff: Resentful compliance or a sense of quiet retaliation.
Do any of these seem familiar to you? The kind of insight you can get from looking deeper into habits like procrastination is crucial for resilience. It means that, instead of just beating yourself up for being lazy, you’re actually solving what’s behind the problem.
Self-awareness is the big advantage with procrastination – you don’t need any more productivity apps!
If you’d like to discover more of this kind of self-knowing to build up your ability to dance with life get in touch.
