3 Types of Procrastinators

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Emily Kwak (G11)

Ah, sweet procrastination — a monster many of us will battle in high school when choosing between gaming and writing that soul-sucking science report. Luckily, Emily is here to help by explaining the “3 Types of Procrastinators” to help us better combat this issue. Are you one of the 3, or are you an entirely different category altogether?

At first, when the deadline is freshly set, I cannot foresee the consequences of my procrastination. Since I always

(Courtesy of Gemma Corell)

(Courtesy of Gemma Corell)

have a million Youtube videos to watch, my priority is binge-watching Youtube, not finishing math homework. Despite the joy from being off-task, every time I procrastinate, I end up criticizing myself for being lazy and not finishing work on time. This is the cycle of procrastinat- ing, reproaching myself, and then barely completing school tasks. However, I know that I’m not the only one who suffers from procrastination; especially students and workers have similar experiences. The question that comes up every time

in my mind when I’m experiencing the aftermath of my mistakes is: Why is procrastination ruining our lives?

 

Before diving deep into the sea of procrastination, let’s first discuss what procrastination is. By the dictionary definition, procrastination is “the action of delaying or postponing something.” You might be thinking, wait, doesn’t that sound a little like laziness? Are the two the same? Well, the common misconception is that procrastination and laziness are the same. This is because people often consider laziness as the reason behind procrastination; however, that is not precisely the case. Procrastination is an active process in which you choose your action, but laziness is an unwillingness to act. Moreover, procrastinators still want to complete work with decent results, while lazy people are unwilling to work at all. Today, we’ll take a look at the 3 types of procrastinators and a bit of the psychology behind why they do this self-sabotaging habit. Can you identify with any of them?

  1. The Perfectionist

Perfectionism begins from their fear of failure. Perfectionists, by definition, like perfection and therefore have incredibly high standards for success, leading them to loathe failure and negative judgments. Due to this fear of failure, perfectionism can actually sometimes lead to procrastination. According to Vik Nithy’s TEDxYouth presentation “Why we procrastinate,” “perfectionists use procrastination as a self-handicapping tool to avoid personal failure.” So, perfectionists would much rather do nothing at all than do something and have it be imperfect.


To reduce damage from the procrastination that stems from perfectionism, here are a few suggestions:

  • Perfectionists should lower their expectations of themselves. As we’ve seen, having high expectations does not guarantee success and can be counterintuitive. For example, maybe you were expecting a 7 on a particular test, but you end up with a 6. Although the grade is not bad, you are still disappointed, which can lower your motivation for studying.

  • Of course, lowering expectations for ourselves is not a piece of cake, especially if we’re brought up in a school where 7s are the norm and 6s are considered low. However, perfectionists can start by identifying extreme expectations (getting 7s on every test) and an attainable, realistic goal (studying 30 minutes every day). Then, try to “embrace” your current status.

  • Accept that your situation might be challenging, and try to make the best of what you’re given. For example, if you’re overloaded with work, it’s okay to complete works that don’t meet your maximum expectation. After all, it’s better to have some average quality work than to procrastinate and show up with no work at all.

2. The Overdoer

The overdoer, as indicated by their name, aspire to do everything, often setting more tasks than they can possibly complete. Evidently, prioritization is not their strong trait. These procrastinators believe that “If I don’t accomplish all of this, then I’m not good enough” (Henderson)!!! It is precisely this thought process that causes the overdoer to procrastinate: they fear not being productive, causing them to feel overwhelmed and end up doing no work as a form of escape from their unnecessary workload.


If you feel like an overdoer, try to:

  • Be sure to set a limited group of small attainable goals. If not, the overdoer will make to-do lists containing the work for today and the next 10 years. After all, there’s simply not enough time in the day to finish 10 week’s worth of work. If you can reduce the amount of work by prioritizing specific tasks, your work period will be more effective, and you’ll feel prouder of their accomplishments after completing a series of small goals instead of dragging your way through large projects.

  • Additionally, like perfectionists, overdoers should know their limits. They cannot work for 24 hours a day without rest. As a human, the overdoer needs rest, food, and sleep, meaning they should be aware of things they can do. You will never be done with work if you plan too much!

  • The phrase “it’s a marathon, not a race” reminds overdoers to plan ahead. You must set larger goals for the long-term instead of trying to cram everything at one time because, frankly, you cannot fit all the work for a semester in one day.

3. The self-deprecator

The self-deprecators blame themselves and believe themselves to be lazy and incompetent. Compared to what I’ve mentioned before (that procrastination is different from laziness), self-deprecators “blame inaction on laziness or stubbornness rather than admit[ting] they are tired”(Schiller and Boisvert). Overall, this constant self-reproaching lowers their self-esteem and reduces motivation; it also leads to a self-belief that they are simply unqualified to finish the work, claiming that it’s too hard when in actuality they can finish it if they tried. However, because they feel tired and incompetent, the work is tossed aside before it’s even looked over.
Now, for those who find themselves to be self-deprecators, here are some suggestions:

  • Try to have a positive mindset about your work. When you are just criticizing yourself for being lazy, you are only “attacking“ yourself, which won’t stop you from procrastinating. Your lack of motivation to do work stems from the belief that you don’t have the abilities to complete the job when you actually can if you just tried. Instead, believe that you’ll figure it out! Even if you cannot solve the problem, find someone, reach out for help because chances are that your problem can be fixed one way or another.

  • Moreover, the self-deprecators are inclined to be more critical of themselves than others, often comparing themselves to others and getting discouraged. Since self-deprecators are constantly trying to destroy themselves, they need to focus on self-love. You are not stupid; you are not incompetent; again, you just need to try.

  • Of course, take a break sometimes. Generally, when you can’t think clearly, and 10*29 somehow equals 300, you simply need a rest, even if it is just a short one.

Personally, I identify myself as a perfectionist and a self-deprecator (yes! you can be both). Not only myself, but I think many of the readers will have a mixed type between the 3 because all the types of procrastinators are somewhat related. As a student, many ambitious peers and I all have lofty goals. I see countless friends suffering from the giant demon of procrastination, which’s often accompanied by a fear of failure, over-planning, and self-reproaching. Overall, I hope that procrastinators in the world can identify themselves and rid themselves of this terrible situation. Perhaps by getting all procrastinators together, we could form a solution that would banish procrastination from our lives for good.

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