Lessons in Procrastination
As accountability coaches, we are very familiar with the topic of procrastination. We are also lucky because the people that we work with seek out accountability coaching, which means they might name procrastination as a pain point, but they have also shown themselves to be proactive solution finders. So their procrastination may be bothersome, but it’s not stopping them from taking positive action.
In an earlier article that we wrote for Business Insider, we broke down the different types of procrastinators. If you want to see what type you are, you can take our quiz here.
The four types include:
- The Performer says, “I work well under pressure.”
- The Overbooker says, “I’m so busy!”
- The Novelty-seeker says, “I just found the best thing!”
- The Self-deprecator says, “I’m so lazy right now.”
This week we were able to revisit some of our earlier procrastination insights and update them on the Future of Work Podcast. We encourage you to listen if you’d like to learn more on this topic.
What I really wanted to share with you is the key skills that we’ve noted each type develops over the course of working with us. At the time of our original article, we were focused on identifying the types and strategies for working with each type; now that five years have passed, we can see that transforming the habit of procrastination looks a little different for each type.
The transformation:
- The Performer: Plans ahead.
- The Overbooker: Sets and maintains boundaries.
- The Novelty-seeker: Embraces commitment.
- The Self-deprecator: Rests and recharges without guilt.
It’s interesting to revisit a topic five years later and see what you’ve learned. We encourage you to listen to the podcast and to take the quiz. If you’ve taken it before and remember your type, it should be helpful to have a sense of what transforming your procrastination habit looks like.
As with all our work, change starts with awareness. Mindful Accountability is all about paying attention and noticing when you are procrastinating, and this is key, without judgment. Remember, when you’ve made a habit of procrastinating, knowing more about how you procrastinate, strategies that have worked for others, and what transformation looks like will help you break the cycle sooner.
