Listen to the Commentary on Toxic Procrastination
Procrastination: The Hobbyists and the Professionals
Procrastination is the process of delaying or postponing something. Procrastinators fall on a very wide spectrum. Some people procrastinate every now and then. These people would not be considered “procrastinators”. Then there are chronically habitual procrastinators. “Hi, I am Leeann, and I am a chronically habitual procrastinator.” It took me some time to admit seriously that I was a procrastinator. I would joke about it, but I never took a deep look at why I would wait until the last minute to do something. Procrastinating seemed to light a flame under me, and I would become a productivity queen when my time was limited. So I always figured that I was just better under pressure. Unfortunately, if I take an honest look at my history of procrastination, I will see that this was not truly the case.
Procrastinator Types
There are 5 main types of procrastinators, and you may relate to one of these types or like me, see yourself in all of them.
- The Perfectionist – They want everything to be just right. Everything has to be “perfect” for them to start something. Also if they are in the middle of something, and it starts looking like things aren’t going as planned, they will shut down and proceed to procrastinate.
- The Dreamer – These people are great planners and poor executors. They dream of creative ideas and would rather sit in the planning stage than move to the doing stage.
- The Avoider – These people avoid tasks they feel will be too hard for them. They would rather not try than try and fail OR wait until the VERY LAST minute and use the excuse, “I didn’t do well because I didn’t have much time.” People who procrastinate through avoidance generally are trying to avoid the uncomfortable emotions they may experience with doing the task.
- The Crisis Maker – These people involve everyone around them in their mess. Everything becomes urgent and an emergency because they waited until the last minute to do something.
- The Busy Bee – You would think that these people are getting things done because they stay busy. However, they are not focusing on the most important task at hand. They concentrate all of their time on low-priority activities.
It’s simple, just use your time wisely!
Most people consider procrastination a time management issue. I was guilty of accusing myself of not using my time wisely and being lazy, but the more I have researched this topic, the more I conclude that it is not a time management issue necessarily, but instead an emotional coping mechanism. Joseph Ferrari, a psychology professor at DePaul University, says, “As I tell people, to tell the chronic procrastinator to ‘just do it’ would be like saying to a clinically depressed person, ‘cheer up’.”
People that chronically procrastinate tend to have a fear of something. They may be afraid to fail. The work may be too hard or they may feel inadequate to do the job. Some people have FOMO: fear of missing out on the fun of life if they spend time doing the required task. They may be scared the finished product will not look like they thought it would in their brain, and some people may have a hard time with criticism.
No man is an island. Everything you do (or don’t do) affects someone else either directly or indirectly.
Toxic Procrastination
Whenever I am talking with a friend or a relative about their life choices and they say something like, “It’s not hurting anyone, but me.” I sometimes say that no man is an island. Everything you do (or don’t do) affects someone else either directly or indirectly. The same thing goes for procrastination.
Women who habitually procrastinate tend to work under stressful situations for long periods, and chronic stress is BAD for your body and mind. This can strain your relationships with coworkers, friends, and family.
Severe procrastination can mess up your productivity and make you look bad. One time, I had a movie presentation at work to create. I worked on it a little here and there, but not to the intensity that I needed to UNTIL THE LAST DAY! On the last day, I was ON IT! However, nothing else got done that day. It was a mess! I had my blinds down, and my attitude was… don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, I don’t exist today! By the time of the presentation, I was messed up. I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink all day… shoot I probably didn’t even go to the bathroom that day.
An Embarrassment
My movie was beautiful though…on my computer screen… that is. On the big screen in the auditorium with a couple of hundred people watching, it had no sound. It was too late to troubleshoot. I was soooooo embarrassed but had I not waited until the last minute to send the movie to the big screen, I could have caught that problem.
One of my bosses once told me, “You do great work, Leeann. You’re just so slow!” What they didn’t understand was why. I didn’t want to present anything that was not “perfect”. So I would take FOREVER making decisions and even longer to execute them. This affected my health (stress, not eating, drinking, etc.), relationships (people getting upset with me/arguments), and reputation.
Something Bigger at Stake
Deadline procrastination can be stressful, and mess up your health, relationships, and reputation. Non-Deadline procrastination is even worse because there’s no pressing time constraint. Think: starting a business, writing your book, traveling the world, etc. These are things that have no clock deadline. To put it bluntly, death is your only deadline. These are the things that people lying on their deathbeds have regrets about.
Putting off your goals, hopes, and dreams is toxic to yourself and other people. Your book could have saved someone’s life. Your business could make your family’s quality of life better, but if you put it off, it won’t.
Death is your only deadline.
Leeann Booker
The Solution
There are no easy solutions to chronic procrastination.
I do believe that it can be solved though if you work at it. First, name it for what it is, and reflect on your “why”. Then create a plan, and execute it. Use accountability partners if you need to. Whatever you do, don’t wait. You don’t want to live with messed up relationships, ruin your self-esteem, or live with regrets. You owe it to yourself 🫶🏾.
Resources
- While a little lengthy, this article gives a lot of detailed information on why we procrastinate and suggestions on how to solve it – https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/
- Tim Urban does a wonderful Ted Talk explaining the difference between a deadline procrastinator and a non-deadline procrastinator, and it’s funny!
