Read This Later.

“Yesterday you said tomorrow.” 
- Nike

“Alright brain. You don't like me and I don't like you. But let's just do this and I can get back to killing you with beer.” 
- Homer Simpson

Studies show procrastination increases stress, makes us lose sleep, compromises our health, our finances, our relationships and our careers. So why do we do it to ourselves?

Our brains don’t make sense. 

Case in point: Clocky, the loudest alarm clock that runs away beeping.

“You set it at night, and in the morning, when the alarm goes off, it rolls off your nightstand and scurries around the room, forcing you to chase it down. Picture the scene: You’re crawling around the bedroom in your underwear, stalking and cursing a runaway clock. The success of this invention reveals a lot about human psychology. Let’s be blunt here: Clocky is not a product for a sane species.”  

-From Switch by Chip and Dan Heath

If we were rational, we’d be productivity machines. We'd never hit snooze. We’d go to the gym 4 times a week. We’d have the side salad instead of the fries. We’d make a to-do list and it would be to-done. There would be no Timesheets Mail Jail. 

But we’re not rational. We have a feeling side. And that feeling side is easily distracted by snacks, a paralyzing fear of failure, @animalsdoingthings, or the sweet, sweet dopamine hit of a Microsoft Teams emoji ding.   

While working on the Prudential account, my team worked with Dr. Piers Steel, an actual PhD of Procrastination at University of Calgary to develop ways to help people understand how procrastination gets in the way of saving for retirement, and what we can do to fight it. 

It turns out, there are six unique “Procrastination Personality Types”. And if you understand your procrastination style, you can take steps to reign it in (at least a little). 

Depending on the day, your mood, or the task at hand, you may be a combination of two, three (or, in my case), all six of these: 

1. THE PEOPLE PLEASER. 

You’re nice. Sometimes too nice for your own good. When people ask for favors, you almost always do them. Even if it means spreading yourself thin, or putting off important stuff for later, like going to the dentist, or working on that big presentation that’s due on Friday. 

Advice: 

The trick is to get more comfortable with saying no. You can still be nice about it. Just blame it on your workload. You can try things like “I’d love to help, but I don’t even have enough time for all the commitments I’ve already made.” Or “I don’t have the bandwidth to give it the attention it deserves.” Or even “I may be able to help later, but I need to finish some other stuff first.” In the eloquent words of Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, “You have limited fucks to give. Very few, in fact. And if you go around giving a fuck about everything and everyone without conscious thought or choice—well, then you're going to get fucked.”  

2. THE BIG DREAMER 

You’re so great at coming up with ideas, you don’t have time to make them all happen. You’re passionate, motivated, and follow your interests wherever they take you. (Even if that’s away from the task at hand.) This can make it especially hard to stay on top of the work you need to do right now. You know you need to write the manifesto or finish the layout or prep for the meeting. But as soon as something more interesting comes along, you put them aside for later. 

Advice:
Next time you get excited about a new idea, think about what you’ll need to do to make it happen. Imagine the outcome you want and compare that to where you are right now. Then think about all the steps you’ll need to take to close the gap. If you still feel excited about the idea, go for it. If you don’t, set it aside. Your energy will be better spent on other pursuits. 

3. THE DISTRACTED 

Sometimes it seems like the whole world is trying to distract you. You try your best to multitask, but there are far too many tasks and not nearly enough of you. To make matters worse, your attention is easily swayed by shiny objects. So it’s especially hard to focus on your to-do list. You know your tasks are important, but when it comes to holding your concentration, they just can’t compete with all the distractions. How does anyone expect us to get work done when there is so much internet?

Advice: 

First, prioritize your to-do list. If any of the smaller things can wait, put them aside and tackle the important stuff first. Then try to block out as many temptations as possible. Switch off the ding on email and Teams. Power-down your smartphone. Put your work in a different browser window and hit that green button to make it full-screen. Turn off your Wi-Fi and work in airplane mode if you have to. If you work in a place with a lot of activity, put on headphones and turn up the music. The problem isn’t you - it’s your environment. And the more you can take control of your environment, the less tempted you’ll be to procrastinate. In the words of Coke Zero, “It’s not your fault.” 

4. THE UNMOTIVATED 

You tend to procrastinate because you don’t have the energy. Just thinking about your to-do list can be exhausting. You may not be that excited about the work. Or you might just feel too tired. Either way, you put things off, thinking you’ll be more motivated to do them later. This is especially true when it comes to longer timelines. Since there’s no immediate deadline or urgency, it’s hard to get fired up to do it. 

Advice: The first step is recognizing you’re running on low. You can get a boost by exercising, getting a good night’s sleep, or going for a strong cup of coffee. Next, figure out what times of the day you’re most productive and use that time to tackle the most important stuff on your list. For the more mundane tasks, give yourself a reward for completing them and you’ll be more motivated to get them done. 

Everyone’s motivation ebbs and flows. If you can knock out some of the easy stuff when you just aren’t feeling it (do your timesheets, respond to those emails), it will free you up to take on the bigger, harder, more important things when your motivation tide comes back in.   

5. THE WORRIER 

You set high goals for yourself. You may even be a perfectionist. So when you get an important new assignment, it can come with a lot of anxiety. You don’t want to let anyone down, or worse, fail. So you put the task aside and focus on something easier and less ulcer-inducing. A blank page can be terrifying. So you put it off for later. 

For you, procrastination is a mechanism to cope with some really big feelings (albeit not a very good one). When you procrastinate, you’re not just putting off the actual work - you’re putting off the emotional work too. Sure, it gives you a little relief now. But you do it at the expense of Future You, who you throw right under the Anxiety Bus. 

Advice: How many times have you started a task only to find out that it wasn’t so bad after all? The best thing you can do is just get started. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be decent. It just has to get you going. Even 10 minutes of work can give you the momentum you need to get past your anxiety and get the work done. Don’t stress about the next internal review or client meeting. Just focus on the slide you need to work on right now. If you’re still struggling, you can even ask ChatGPT to start for you. Once you have something on paper, (even if it completely sucks), you’ve gotten over one of the biggest hurdles. And you can move on to worrying about literally everything else.  

6. THE BUZZER BEATER 

For you, procrastination isn’t a problem. It’s a strategy. You manage your time well, multitask like a pro and know exactly how much time you need to get the job done well. You put things off knowing that you always thrive under the pressure of a looming deadline. Your tendency to procrastinate, and your motivation to act are directly related to your perception of time. 

Advice: Putting things off usually works to your advantage. Except when things don’t go according to plan. If there’s an unexpected emergency right before the deadline, your buzzer-beating can backfire. If you truly thrive under pressure, make sure you do everything you can to control the clock as it winds down. Block time on your calendar in advance for focus time. Set a one-day earlier fake deadline for yourself to trick yourself into clutch performance mode early. 

I hope this is helpful ammo in the daily battle against procrastination. Now do your timesheets!