Procrastinators are very creative in the ways they put off getting things done. Listed here are only a few examples of the most common methods. Search yourself to see if you have developed your own strategies for avoiding unpleasant tasks.
Procrastinators frequently spend more time preparing for the tasks than actually completing it. A student who has to write a paper will try to read everything on the subject before starting to write a single page. A person who has to grout the bathtub will spend a long time purchasing the supplies, reading up on techniques, and organizing the materials without ever actually starting to grout the tub. Another variation of this technique is to obsess on one part of the task at the expense of the whole. A procrastinator can spend hours cleaning the bathroom sink while ignoring the rest of the house.
Procrastinators frequently substitute a less daunting, less important task for the unpleasant task which needs to be completed. I worked with a student who would suddenly find all kinds of chores around the house which “needed” to be done rather than starting that paper which was due next week. She would find herself grouting the bathtub rather than writing.
Procrastinators are masters of the art of distraction. They can piddle away hours on the computer or watching TV. Distractions are circular. Procrastinators carry around a lot of anxiety because things are not getting done, so they utilize distractions to regulate anxiety created by not getting things done, which creates more anxiety about not getting things done, which creates a need for more distraction.
Procrastinators have trouble telling time. They often overestimate or underestimate the time involved to complete a task. Underestimating the time required to complete a task is the common situation. This creates several problems. They may be only halfway through a task and absolutely exhausted and unable to quit. (Some tasks, like laying tile, require that you finish or the grout will dry up on you, etc.) This makes the task extremely unpleasant and they are now even more likely to avoid it in the future. Getting involved in a task that is running overtime may also prevent them from participating in some pleasurable activity they had planned. This will also create resentment for the task. Procrastinators often have difficulty judging the difficulty of a task as well. Since they typically don’t get around to doing things they are inexperienced at knowing how long it takes to do things. This creates the same types of problems as underestimating how long the task will take.
Procrastinators often have trouble managing breaks. What they intend to be a short break often becomes a long one. For example, they may plan to stop and watch TV for half an hour then return to a task, but end up watching it all night. This habit is often combined with misjudging the difficulty of a task or the time required to complete a task.
Procrastinators often misjudge the long term impact of their behavior. They often believe that failing to do something “just this once” will not affect the long-term outcome. What they often fail to realize is that they don’t usually avoid an activity “just once”. It is usually a pattern of not getting a lot of things done that creates a truly heinous problem in their lives.
Once you better understand how you procrastinate, you will be better able to catch yourself doing it. Too often, we don't even realize that we are procrastinating-until it's too late.