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Which Type Of Procrastinator Are You?

* I generally write using the pronouns he/him when referring to narcissists, but females are just as likely to be narcissists or exhibit narcissistic traits. So please don't think just because article uses the word him or he that it could not be a woman in that same role.

Before we talk about the science behind procrastination, we would have to talk about the types of procrastination.

You have to determine which kind of procrastinator you seem to be so that you can get to the underside of why you’re not performing various tasks or getting things finished. Or you’ll need to understand why you are doing different things instead of making a plan and working the plan.

Table of Contents

There are basically five types of procrastination according to psychologist Neil Fiore the author of Awaken Your Strongest Self,

Perfectionist:

Perhaps, this type of procrastinator is the most common type. They strive for the best and are their own worst critic.

Researcher, Gwen Moran, explained that you can spend too much time on one component of the project and not manage your time properly, or you can really avoid the project and hurry to finish it at the last minute.

You may be afraid that you make mistakes in your work and show weakness. The fear of making mistakes is real and can cause people to give up before they have even started the project.

This way of thinking was discussed in Carol Dweck’s book,  Mindset: The New Psychology of Success In this book, Carol S. Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, describes the power of the mind. Dweck combines success in school, sports, work, art, and other fields of human endeavor with thinking about one’s talents and abilities.

Dweck explained that people have a fixed mindset or growth. People with a strong mindset believe that they are born with their skills, and therefore only focus on their current thoughts or talents. They believe that they cannot develop new skills. They believe that they are born with what they have and cannot improve their abilities.

People with strong attitudes also believe that no effort is needed to succeed if you have talent. They also believe that talent only comes naturally.

Why is thinking this dangerous?

It inhibits a person’s ability to grow, learn and make positive changes.

On the other hand, a growth mindset enables an individual to believe that their skills can flourish and be improved through commitment and hard work.

They accept that individuals’ minds are only at the beginning stages. They are brought into the world with their individual qualities, yet there is no restriction to what one can achieve. The growth mindset encourages the craving to learn and a capacity to conquer issues so as to be fruitful.

Dweck clarifies that one’s attitude uncovers how extraordinary instructors, guardians, and directors can progress in their vocations and accomplish incredible achievements. With the right outlook, one can spur, lead, and educate in a way that can emphatically transform them and the lives of others.

This implies they abstain from carrying out specific responsibilities since they dread the danger of committing an error and looking anything short of immaculate. They need their work to be flawless. Since they accept that they will unavoidably fall flat if the undertaking isn’t in accordance with their given gifts, it is ideal to save it for some other time.

While some may feel that being a perfectionist is a positive characteristic, it is very adverse.

It is a hazardous blend of against profitable propensities and frames of mind that debilitate movement. Albeit frequently misjudged as having elevated expectations, compulsiveness restrains the meaning of achievement to a ridiculous standard.

This standard will never be accomplished, so why attempt it?

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Imposter:

This individual or person worries that he will not be exposed as unskilled or inferior shifts, he does everything to avoid this risk, Moran explained. Often, this type of procrastinator has learned to feel standoffish when surrounded by people who are difficult to satisfy.

Let’s say you notice one day that a new mole has appeared on your skin. You start to worry that it might be cancer, so avoid checking it and hope it will disappear by itself. Does that sound like you? Sometimes people are afraid to do something because they can reveal the truth they don’t want to hear.

As it turns out, the old phrase “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” isn’t true. In almost all cases, the hope that something disappears will only get worse if you ignore it for a long time.

Researchers have found that a person’s personal beliefs and views can be a significant barrier to changing misinformation. In addition, trying to confront someone with unwanted truth that conflicts with previous beliefs can even ignite a fire and spread wrong ideas. For personal health problems, ignoring the problem, rather than facing the truth, can certainly lead to more serious problems and even death.

Ask yourself these important questions when thinking about change:

  • What am I afraid of?
  • What are the worst consequences that can occur?
  • What can happen if I ignore the situation?
  • Why am I showing this?
  • What will I win in the long run if I postpone it?
  • How often do people get affected from it?
  • Am I trying to convince myself of something that isn’t true?
  • Am I afraid of the process or the result?
  • Can I handle the results?
  • Am I trying to defend myself against certain results?
  • Am I really scared or am I just saying that it’s scary?

The Dread-filled:

Of all the kinds or types of a procrastinator, this person is the most rational. Because if you can’t stand what you are doing, finding the motivation to start is almost difficult. Have you ever thought that life is getting in the way and you can’t do what you are supposed to do?

This lack of motivation can have several main reasons:

  • Lack of energy
  • Exhaustion
  • Shock
  • Another important priority
  • Unexpected urgency
  • Problems finding new ideas
  • In the past, you did not succeed with this task
  • You are encircled by negativism
  • Lack of confidence
  • Working in the wrong environment
  • The purpose is not clear

A study at Carnegie Mellon University found that people lack motivation if they find little value in the results of planned work. However, when people can clearly see how their work is related to their interests, goals, and concerns, they will be more likely to value their work and be motivated to invest their energy in it.

In another study, published in the journal National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, it was found that motivation has two components: self-esteem and target selection. Self-confidence is not motivation itself, but an assessment of one’s ability to achieve goals. Therefore self-esteem is considered as part of a broader conceptualization of motivation to achieve the ultimate goal.

The Overwhelmed:

The overwhelmed person is a more modern type of procrastinator and most types of individuals that fall into this classification are entrepreneurs.

“Sometimes, there’s just too much to do, and it’s hard to figure out where to start—so we don’t do anything,” Fiore clarifies as he referred to  Moran quotes.

Consider the possibility that the job needing to be done is excessively unpredictable, one of a kind, or troublesome. Imagine a scenario in which it has a lot of moving parts, making it hard to even know where to start.

What’s the most ideal approach to beat this? A successful technique is to utilize the “completing things” approach. This will help separate your mind-boggling task into a progression of littler tasks.

There are five stages to doing this:

  • Record the particular tasks that have you have to complete.
  • Choose which tasks can be taken care of immediately, and do them.
  • Sort out the remainder of the tasks.
  • Continually survey your breakdown of tasks.
  • Carry out every responsibility, individually, until they are altogether completed.

Regularly we will chip away at “filler” tasks since they are brisk and simple to achieve. This may incorporate browsing your email, conversing with a collaborator, or doing some light administrative work.

While these assignments may make you look and feel occupied, and make you believe that you are completing a ton, it is really only an inventive type of procrastination. Little tasks are anything but difficult to do and give you a brisk feeling of achievement, so by doing them first, you can get moment of satisfaction.

The Inconsistent:

Some people think they do their best work under pressure and wait until their backs are pushed up to the wall, this was determined by Nicole Bandes, Founder of Consultancy and Productivity Expert.

If those Inconsistents, have a history of doing this without negative consequence, they’ve essentially been rewarded for procrastinating.

One thing that these Inconsistents all experience is personal conflict. At some point before the deadline is reached, the inconsistents all start for feel bad, anxious, or panicked about their own decision to procrastinate.

For instance, the night before a big test, students will in general wish they had one more day to study. On the off chance that the student had the chance to delay the test one day if they paid $10..most will pay that $10 to have one extra day to study. .

Then again, whenever asked a very long time before the test date, students, for the most part, don’t want to delay the test. Subsequently, they would not pay $10 to change the date of the test.

While the decision is the equivalent in the two occasions, it is made at different points in time. Since the choice of the student changes, they are showing time irregularity (contextual investigation).

Are you still with me?

Individuals’ psyches change after time, and the result of their choices in connection to the point in time that the choice is being made can strongly affect how individuals think.

People decide what to do depending on how it will affect them in the direct future than what will affect them in the distant future.

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Curing your procrastination

OK, if you’ve determined which type of procrastination you use the most, what’s next?

One more thing you need to determine is if your problem could be more related to perfectionism. Procrastination and Perfectionism are easily confused with each other.

There are even some Hidden Benefits of Procrastination that you can learn about here. Check this out if you want to truly learn how to beat procrastination for good.

Which type of procrastinator are you?

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