Ok, so you procrastinate. You find hundreds of things to do that suddenly became so important now that you wanted to write. Before you know it, it’s time to go to bed…but you didn’t get any writing done!
Dr. Linda Sapadin, a clinical psychologist and author of, “It’s About Time! The Six Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them,” said in a recent article on MSN that there are six types of procrastinators:
- Perfectionists–”They want every project to be perfect, and this often causes them to be frozen in fear that they cannot meet such an unrealistic goal, even though they set the goal themselves.”
- Dreamers–”These people suffer from magical thinking. ‘It’ll all work out,’ they say, while they do nothing to advance their goals.”
- Crisis Makers–”They often say they do their best work under pressure, but more accurately, they prefer uproar and crisis to do any work at all.”
- Worriers–”Their fears consume their thought processes and prevent any real work being done, as they imagine and dwell upon every possible scenario for disaster and failure.”
- Defiers–”These people may resent the assignments in the first place, and retake control over their lives by refusing to do the work in a timely and cooperative manner, or at all.”
- Overdoers–”Also known as ‘the pleasers,’ these people can’t say no, and so take on more and more responsibility without any reasonable expectation of being able to deliver on their obligations.”
So…what kind of procrastinator are you? (I’m mainly a perfectionist, but I dabble in overdoing it as well.)
The good news is, Dr. Sapadin said procrastinators can overcome their need to put things off, it’s just going to take some reprogramming.
Whenever you feel your procrastination arising, kill it with kindness. For example, if you’re a perfectionist, and that’s what keeps you from writing, you need to tell yourself things like, “Nothing can be perfect” or “Hitting my deadline is more important than turning in a perfect article.” If you’re an overdoer, take a step back anytime a project comes up and ask yourself, “Can I handle another project?” or “Am I taking on too much?”
By doing this, you will program your mind to accept these thoughts, which will help you procrastinate less.
I’ve had personal experience with daily affirmations, and I have to say, they really work. If you tell yourself something for long enough, you start to believe it.
And if it can work with self-confidence, it can definitely work with overcoming procrastination.
What tips and tricks do you use to stop procrastinating?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d have to say that I am a Dreamer/Overdoer. I always think it’ll get done somehow someway in the end and not worry about it too much. I also can never say no to a boss, friend, or family member.
Hi,
I’m Dr. Linda Sapadin, the author of the book It’s About Time! Thanks for writing the article and hope you find my book helpful.
To discover more about your procrastination style(s), take a quiz at http://www.PsychWisdom.com. Then read tips (tailor-made for each style) for overcoming procrastination.
Once you are at the website,you can also sign up for the free newsletter and access archived articles.
To productivity AND fun!
Dr. Sapadin
Hello Dr. Sapadin,
Thanks for writing to us! I’m glad that you liked the article, and I will definitely check out your site for more tips to avoid procrastination.
Any chance you’d be willing to do an interview with me? If so, send me an e-mail to: jlblanchard3@hotmail.com. I’m sure my readers would love to hear more from you!
jennifer
I am both, the wanna be perfectionist and the dreamer. I’l start something but never finish because I want things to be perfect. I set goals out of my boundaries and just dream of the outcome lol. Not productive, huh? Anywhoo I have no tips to offer but the daily affirmation sound like something I’m willing to do.
kuppakoffy, i think it’s good to set your goals a little ou of your boundaries because it gives you something to truly aim for and work hard for, but at the same time, you need to make sure your writing goals are attainable.
setting your goals too high will cause the opposite to happen, instead of reaching them, you’ll give up right away.
next time, shoot for something you know you can actually hit. once you hit it, move on to something a little more challenging.
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