In honor of me procrastinating on this post until it should’ve at least been started, here are the top ways that I and many other people procrastinate. This is my personal experiences and some online “research” via social media, enjoy.
Type 1: “The Sleeper” method 7/10
This is usually done at night when a big project or assignment is due and is honestly a top tier form of procrastination. In most situations sleep is needed anyway so at least if the thing being procrastinated on doesn’t get done you might have energy to get it done eventually. This also eliminates the anxiety and guilt associated with knowing what you're supposed to be doing and still avoiding it at all costs. The deduction of three points come from the usual accusation of “laziness” and the fact that the anxiety could affect the quality of sleep.
Type 2: the “Anything But” method 9/10
This strategy is almost perfect because not only is this a way to stop procrastinating on previously ignored tasks, but it sometimes creates motivation to stop procrastinating altogether. This method also dodges a problem presented in the “The Sleeper” method: laziness. By doing literally anything but what needs to get done you can’t be accused of laziness; you’re being productive just not prioritizing. This type doesn’t alleviate much of the anxiety around needing to get the procrastinated task done but it does help with the guilt by keeping busy. Of all the methods I would have to say this one gets used the least by me because I do have a habit of laziness from time to time… the only point deducted was due to it taking a lot of effort and willpower to get stuff done.
Type 3: “Doomscroll” method 4/10
Arguably the most guilt and anxiety inducing strategy is the “Doomscroll“ method. You know you should get up… but one more video. Your thumb most likely moves by itself and you just have no will to move from wherever you are. There’s not much to say here because every procrastinator knows the feeling, the more times you scroll the deeper the guilt burrows and the more you just want to give in to the force pulling your thumb upwards. I think my rating and explanation speaks for itself on how much I dislike this feeling. This method also applies to any form of electronic simulation like games or texting.
Type 4: The ”Forgotten Hobbies“ method 6/10
Of the methods, I’d rate this one the most fun. Essentially this one consists of digging up every phase you went through in middle school. For example, mine consist of candle making, cardboard/hot glue crafts, baking, etc. This method takes you on a walk down memory lane and can sometimes result in a resurrection of these hobbies. Often times, this ends in a mess to clean which will lead to more procrastination on cleaning. Overall a fun but quick distraction. Points are lost at the mess that is resulted and from the fact that it usually doesn’t take away any anxiety or guilt.
Type 5: “Nature Reconnection” method 7/10
This method might just be a me thing but I always find myself on walks when I’m procrastinating. Fresh air might be too tempting and suddenly my shoes are on and sun or moon is judging my poor choice. Maybe this should fall under the “Anything But” category however, I consider them different enough to be their own categories. I love a good touch grass moment when I’m stressed or anxious but it doesn’t always help and can lead to another method. This short and sweet strategy is nice but only if it’s good weather conditions, or else it’s almost as miserable as forcing yourself to do what is being procrastinated. Out of the methods it’s a very middle tier distraction. Points are lost at the time for thinking which usually leads to stressing about what isn’t getting done as well as the fact that walking for a long time gets boring and/or sweaty.
To wrap up I think it’s only fitting to give a short and sweet ranking of activities to procrastinate on. These are ranked from worst to most tolerable:
- Cleaning- the worst feeling ever is coming home from either the best day out or the worst day of school and realizing past you decided a huge mess was a future problem. Now the future is here and not an ounce of your soul wants to clean.
- homework- a universal pain is having a great weekend and remembering on Sunday night that you told yourself you would do an assignment “later”. Now it’s 10 pm and you‘re telling yourself you’ll do all your homework on Friday next time.
- Waking up- allow me to paint a picture: October, crisp 55° outside, Thursday morning, 6:29… 6:30. Your alarm blares, but the blankets are wrapped around you and the bed is the closest to heaven you’ve ever been. The last thing anyone wants to do in this situation is get up and spend the day dreaming of cuddling right back under the covers.
- Events planning- with homecoming sneaking up on me, this has definitely been on my mind. Having to coordinate with people sucks. Who’s driving, what time, who’s house. It’s always a mess to put together and gets ignored until the last minute. Not just dances either, but anything that requires more than one schedule to consider.
- Meals- this is in the spot of most tolerable because of the payout in the form of food. The hassle of cooking, cleaning, and eating is sometimes such a chore and will get put off until my stomach resorts to shouting loud enough for anyone within a mile radius to hear. But getting a nice warm meal is sometimes satisfying enough to compensate for everything else.