Is Knowing Your Procrastination Type the Secret to Getting All Your Sh*t Done?

Whether you have a big presentation at work tomorrow and you’re only just getting started on your talking points an hour before, or you signed up to bake five batches of cheesecake-stuffed chocolate crinkle cookies for your kid’s school bake sale and waited until midnight to take your butter out of the fridge to soften, you’ve procrastinated. We’ve all been there, but did you know that you have a procrastination type? Yep, it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing; there are six procrastination types, and knowing yours can help you understand why you put things off until the last minute—and how to overcome these behaviors. I checked in with Beth Brown, a therapist and health coach, to learn about each procrastination type, plus strategies for being more productive.

 Beth Brown is the Director of Health and Well-Being at ComPsych, the world’s largest provider of employee mental health services. A trained therapist and Certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Brown holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Master of Clinical Social Work. Prior to joining ComPsych, Beth served in roles at Concentrix and WebMD Health Services.

The six procrastination types are: the perfectionist, the dreamer, the worrier, the crisis-maker, the defier and the over-doer. Brown explains, “Procrastination is a behavior that often occurs due to an underlying cause or feeling. Often times, the origination point for procrastination can be a primary human need, whether that be safety, variety, significance, love, connection, growth or contribution.”

She stresses that the procrastination types are not the same as personality types, since when we think of personality, we think of something stable or fixed. “The procrastination types, on the other hand, are linked to underlying beliefs, past experiences and other factors,” she explains. “This means we have the ability to procrastinate in different ways depending on the situation. And, we also have the ability to change our beliefs, work through difficult emotions and change or evolve out of our procrastination type.”

“The perfectionist procrastination type is someone who often becomes overwhelmed with expectations and can struggle with their own unattainable standards,” Brown tells me. “Perfectionists often attempt to avoid embarrassment or criticism, and they sometimes put off work to avoid those uncomfortable feelings.” In practice, this could look like a person waiting until everything feels perfectly organized before starting a task, or, despite wanting a particular job, waiting to pursue an opportunity because they believe they still need more experience, more education or that other external factors need to be perfectly aligned in order for them to be successful in their goal.

How to Overcome It

• Brown says that clear deadlines can help perfectionist procrastinators, because they push them to not spend unnecessary time on any one task or step in a larger process, adding.
• “Perfectionist procrastinators also benefit from support in the form of affirmations or reminders that sometimes getting something done is good enough—that completing the deliverable is more important than perfecting it,” Brown tells me.
• Perfectionists can challenge themselves to overcome their procrastination by saying yes to an opportunity before they know how they’ll fulfill it. Per Brown, “This will certainly feel uncomfortable and will require reassurance and support, but it will begin to show the perfectionist that they’re capable of doing things that produce the desired results, even if they aren’t perfect.”

The dreamer is someone who can often become bored with tasks, seeks variety in their responsibilities and tends to underestimate the amount of time a task may take. “Dreamers often have very big ideas, but little motivation to do the necessary legwork to achieve them,” Brown notes. “For example, a dreamer might be highly creative and enjoy creating an elaborate project proposal. However, when it comes to implementation, a dreamer may avoid getting started or may pause in the middle of execution.”

How to Overcome It

• When it comes to overcoming this procrastination type, Brown recommends having attainable, realistic goals, being held accountable to specific milestones and timelines and celebrating the completion of these goals with small rewards that can help incentivize dreamers to stay engaged and motivated.

The worrier often procrastinates out of fear of failure or being judged negatively, and Brown tells me that at times, imposter syndrome can drive this type of procrastination. “Worrier procrastinators tend to believe that if they don’t attempt a task, they can’t fail at it,” she says. “This can feel like a relief to someone who doesn’t want to navigate the difficult emotions that can accompany not succeeding at something.” For example, if a person may want to quit smoking, but fears they won’t be able to successfully stop, they’ll put off or procrastinate trying to quit altogether.

How to Overcome It

• Exploring the root cause of the fear or anxiety they feel, Brown explains, can help them better understand and overcome their procrastination. “Thinking through worst-case scenarios can be useful for a worrier, as they may realize that the anticipated feelings are not as dreadful as they assumed.”
• The worrier can also benefit from stress-relieving exercises that help regulate the nervous system—meditation, breathwork or a simple stretching session can help a worrier calm their anxiety enough to get out of their own way.

“The crisis maker often intentionally puts off work until the very last minute,” Brown describes. “They often find the adrenaline of just hitting deadlines to be exciting and motivating.” These types typically believe that they perform their best when working under pressure, but crisis makers are often not able to effectively manage their time, and can cause others unnecessary stress.

How to Overcome It

• To overcome this procrastination style, Brown says a crisis maker can benefit from productivity strategies that help keep them on task when it feels difficult to focus. (She likes The Pomodoro Technique, which focuses on timing work in intervals and taking breaks, pushing a person to get started.)

The defier doesn’t like being told what to do or how to do it, and Brown tells me that underneath the behavior of the defier are often feelings of frustration or anger. She explains, “The person may not believe they should have to do a specific task, or that other tasks are more important. As a result, the defier puts off attempting the tasks they’ve been given.” For example, a defier may receive a deliverable from a boss that they don’t feel is worth their time, and in order to feel they are “in charge,” they’ll avoid doing this work for as long as they can until they wind up having to complete the assignment at the last minute. “Defiers often lack self-awareness,” Brown notes.

How to Overcome It

• Understand why you feel resistance about the assignment or why you want to assert your independence in your work. “Taking a unique, personal approach to a task may help the defier feel like they have preserved some autonomy in their work," Brown says.
• Seek to empower yourself by balancing your requested tasks with other work that excites them more.

Do you often make too many commitments and struggle to set priorities? You might be an over-doer, who frequently has too much on your plate and finds it challenging to tell others no. “As a result, they avoid or push tasks off because they feel overwhelmed and aren’t sure where to start,” per Brown. “In practice, over-doers often assign the same importance to every task or deliverable and can find themselves feeling paralyzed as work stacks up.”

How to Overcome It

• This type can benefit from taking intentional time to assess their workload and assigning levels of priority to each task. Identifying the expected outcome of each deliverable is another helpful way to know which are most important.
• As natural people-pleasers, over-doers often thrive when working with a coach or other forms of support to help them navigate through the challenges of saying no constructively, Brown tells me.