How to Tell What Kind of Procrastinator You Are (and What to Do About It)

You have a big test or project looming, but can’t seem to force yourself to prepare for it at all. You’ll even do other things—like clean your room or call your family—that you normally hate, just to put off studying. You might think you’re just avoiding work, but you’re probably procrastinating for a real reason, and you need to figure out why.

Because as it turns out, there are six procrastination types, and once you figure out which one is affecting you, it will be easier to stop doing it.

What are the different types of procrastination?

The six types of procrastination types have been identified and outlined, all for the purpose of helping you figure out what’s really driving you to avoid doing what you need to do. The factors behind why you’re not working on your impending deadlines can be varied, and are usually a little broader and more complex than just not wanting to do it.

Broadly, here are the six types of procrastinators:

• The perfectionist. You’re worried that your work might not meet a high expectation, so you don’t finish your work or, in some cases, don’t even start it at all.
• The dreamer. You have trouble working on the practical parts of your project, but no issues with planning and conceptualizing.
• The worrier. You avoid making choices, don’t like change, and are afraid of anything unfamiliar.
• The crisis-maker. You rely on the adrenaline rush of last-minute work and insist you do your best work under pressure.
• The defier: You rebel against deadlines set by someone else.
• The overdoer. You feel you can’t work on a specific task because you just have too much else going on as a result of your inability to say no or set boundaries.

How to stop procrastinating

Obviously, there’s a big difference between not studying for a test because you’re concerned you won’t get a good grade and not studying because you have an issue with authority. The first step to getting back on track is figuring out which of the above definitions you relate to most, especially in the current situation. The next step is to take specific actions to counteract your unproductive impulses.

If you’re the perfectionist, remind yourself that it’s your own personal standards that are stressing you, not necessarily the work itself, and you can do the work by setting realistic, incremental goals before getting started. I struggle with this one, and a tactic that helps me is working out what the absolute worst possible outcome might be if I don’t do well on a task. Even if I get a zero on a test, what will it do to my overall grade? When I think realistically about how I’m almost certainly going to get way higher than a zero—but even if I didn’t I’d be okay—I feel better, and get to work.

If you’re the dreamer, work to make your goals more concrete. Set actionable benchmarks that you’ll be able to see the results of, like acing a practice quiz on a certain chapter, and meet those goals one by one until you’re done, focusing on one at a time.

If you’re the worrier, remind yourself that not making a decision is actually still just making a decision, and you’re making the least helpful one. Bad things aren’t guaranteed to happen if you do your work, but they are more likely if you don’t

If you’re a crisis-maker, first familiarize yourself with the research that shows cramming doesn’t actually work, then experiment with doing your work in a timely manner and seeing if getting it done and not having to stress about it produces a similar adrenaline rush. (Spoiler alert: It probably will.)

If you’re a defier, on the other hand, it’s time to choose your battles. Negotiate on the things you can, if it will make you feel more in control, like asking for an extension on a project. That can help you feel better about having to buckle down when deadlines are more concrete, like when you have an unavoidable test.

Finally, if you’re an overdoer, start by figuring out why you don’t say “no” to requests and how you can start doing that more. For the time being, make an inventory of everything you need to do and prioritize it using a system like the Eisenhower Matrix or Kanban. Tackle the most important and pressing things first and move on to others with the understanding that your workload will decrease not only as you get things done, but as you learn to say “no.”