A fifth of us are guilty of regularly procrastinating, but the type of procrastinator we are can reveal something deeper, researchers say. Dr Itamar Shatz, a lecturer at Cambridge University who is publishing a book on the subject this week, identifies nine distinct types: dreamers, who fantasise too much about the future; rebels, who procrastinate in protest at a lack of control; hedonists, who care too much about immediate pleasure; thrill-seekers, who enjoy a deadline at their own peril; and zigzaggers, who switch too often between tasks. The other types include worriers, pessimists, perfectionists and burnouts who are tired from working too hard.
Workplace psychologist Ian MacRae, from the British Psychological Society, says labels are fine as long as people understand these are not permanent character traits. "I would recommend people think more in terms of 'oh, I'm acting like a perfectionist today' instead of thinking 'I am a perfectionist'," he says.
“One in five people regularly procrastinate, but identifying your stalling type can help break the cycle, researchers say.”
But Prof Fuschia Sirois, a renowned expert at Durham University, rejects categories altogether. She says the main reason for procrastinating is usually the same: to dodge bad feelings. "We are not procrastinating the task, we are avoiding the unpleasant emotions associated with it," Sirois explains. Brain activity studies with procrastinators reveal noticeable differences in areas involved with emotion regulation, she says. "As soon as we sense a threat the amygdala gets activated, and that threat-sensor is faster than the response time to the rational part of our brain – the prefrontal cortex – that tells us it won't be so bad."
The first step, she says, is to recognise and name the bad emotion, then seek the source – whether it stems from a perfectionist mindset, self-criticism, or the anticipation that the task will be difficult, challenging or stressful. Next, learn how to shut down the anxious cycle using techniques like breathing and mindfulness. Strategies such as managing guilt and being kinder to yourself can help. Get rid of distractions, unpack overwhelming tasks into manageable steps, and start with "easy wins".
Yet MacRae argues that procrastinating can, at times, be a good thing. The key, he suggests, is not to see it as a fixed flaw but as a behaviour that can sometimes serve us – and sometimes not.
