What is procrastination? It is putting important tasks off to a later time. Recently this word has become really popular as everybody procrastinates from time to time. There are three main reasons to procrastinate, and there are three different types of procrastinators. Each of them needs to deal with procrastination in a different way. Let’s have a look at these types and the best strategies to fight a specific type of procrastination!
The fear of failure
This is the most common understanding of procrastination. People don’t complete their tasks because they are afraid of many things. Sometimes they don’t plan well because they are afraid that their plans will never work. People are also afraid that they will end up not where they intended to be. They worry about their friends or family’s approval. Whatever it is, the fear holds them back.
Procrastination or exhaustion?
The second type of procrastinator is the overachiever. They have a job, a family, a group of friends, a hobby, they volunteer at an NGO, and still they beat themselves up for procrastination. These are people who cannot accept the fact they are human, and, like every human being, they have only 24 hours a day. No more. No less. This type of person has either a problem with time management, especially with organising time to rest or a problem with selection of tasks. When their bodies scream for a break, they feel guilty for not working and try to push themselves to work more. Instead of getting a nap or going for a walk, they end up watching videos on Youtube or staring at Facebook.
The conflict of needs and desires
The third type of procrastinators make plans that are on one hand attractive, but on the other hand scary. If a thing they are going to do is far away from now, they really want it, but if it is going to happen tomorrow, they feel like running away. The classic example is a wedding plan. There are a lot of couples who plan a wedding for 3, 5, 10 years, and when one of partners wants to get married, the other one breaks up. A part of such a person never wanted to get married and the plan was sustainable only when it was distant.
Each of these types has different reasons for procrastination and they use different coping mechanisms. Each of these types should be recommended a different way of fighting procrastination. If you think that procrastination is your problem for a long time, it is time to see a psychologist.
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