My Theory On Procrastinators: Is This You?

Originally posted on September 9, 2015

Just for the record, I don’t consider myself a procrastinator. I’m an over-planner, which is its own beast!! But I have dealt with many clients who beat themselves up for procrastinating.

Mind you, we all have procrastinating tendencies but some people take this to an extreme.

Who am I NOT talking about with this post:

• People with chronic illness or disease and people struggling with mental illness. If a person is clinically depressed, daily tasks are put aside and isolation becomes the norm. If you have chronic illness, like myself, daily tasks could get muddled down to, “should I shower or not?”

What’s my problem with procrastinators? I wouldn’t say that I have a problem with them but as a sociologist and therapist I observe behavior all day long.

The common thread I notice with most procrastinators is that they don’t know how to relax. Click To Tweet

Procrastinators don’t practice self-care with ease. Having free time can be uncomfortable for them. Operating under stress or a deadline is more comforting. Maybe they feel more valued or important if they are pressured into completing five tasks in one night. And after procrastinating on SO many aspects of their life, it’s exhausting to tackle just one task.

In college I had friends who studied for finals only on finals week. Some friends wrote their papers or exams up until the hour that class started. I saw people stress out over their printer malfunctioning at 7am! I sat quietly and watched in amazement.

Maybe my personality type isn’t cut out for that type of stress. I choose not to work in upper management for that reason. Plus, I find satisfaction in working one-on-one with mental health clients.

I have observed procrastinators during moments of downtime and they look pretty uncomfortable.

Uneasy.

Unsure of what to do.

Maybe they’re addicted to work and routine? Days off might be unsettling for them.

With the popularity of Netflix, they’re likely to be a binge watcher. It’s uncomfortable for me to binge. I want something to look forward to tomorrow, this week, next weekend. I can’t sit that long and go nowhere. If I’m sitting that long I better be landing in New York or Cancun!

I write about procrastinators because I worry about how they may be living in extremes. (I write about the danger of living in extremes .)  Doing too much with too little time leads to burnout. Burnout CAN be avoided!

Let me say that again: Burnout CAN be avoided.

If you feel burnt out after procrastinating on something maybe this is why.

If you want to change these habits change up your schedule.

Talk to a professional. Seek advice from a trusted friend who ISN’T a procrastinator. If you’re a college student your campus’ student resource center or tutoring services may be able to help with this.

In short, if procrastinators are not good at self-care, then this blog will be popular for a long time. Unless they forget to read this!

Do you feel that procrastinating is getting in the way of accomplishing your goals?