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It’s About Time: The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them
By Linda Sapadin with Jack Maguire. Viking, 1996, 258 pages, $15.95.
It’s About Time: The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them is a practical book that one may use to identify self-defeating styles of procrastination. This book utilizes a cognitive-behavioral perspective to help guide a person through the process of changing one’s styles of procrastination.
The book begins by exploring the varied ways in which one may procrastinate. To help readers identify their major and minor styles of procrastination the authors include six self-assessment quizzes that correlate with their six identified styles of procrastination. The quizzes consistent of 10 questions that ask the participant to rate a specific behavior as occurring “frequently,” “sometimes,” or “rarely.” It is recommended that the reader or client complete all six quizzes, as they are short in nature, and may help the client identify areas of procrastination that he or she had not previously considered. The psychotherapist may review the results with the client to help identify problematic areas in one’s life.
Chapters 2 through 7 are devoted to the six styles of procrastination: the perfectionist, the dreamer, the worrier, the defier, the crisis-maker, and the overdoer. The authors define perfectionists as idealists who are typically unrealistic in their use of time and energy. Perfectionists tend to be extreme in their thinking, which differentiates them from high achievers. They typically delay initiation or completion of tasks because of their fear of failure. Finally, perfectionists tend to see their tasks as burdensome, which makes it more difficult to complete tasks in a timely manner. Dreamer procrastinators typically avoid conflict or anything that might be difficult because of their desire to maintain an easy life. They tend to be passive rather than active. They often pay too little attention to facts and details, which makes it difficult to perform specific tasks. Finally, dreamer procrastinators tend to think of themselves as special people for whom fate will intervene.
The authors define worriers as lacking in confidence in their own abilities. They are indecisive in general and tend to depend on others for advice, reassurance, and assistance. Worriers prefer what is “known” versus the risk of the “unknown” and as such, tend to resist change. Defier procrastinators see life in terms of others’ expectations and/or requirements, rather than what they personally want or need to do. Defiers typically avoid expressing negative feelings directly in an attempt to appear nice. This contributes to expressing negative feelings indirectly by procrastinating. Defiers tend to be pessimistic in nature and may use procrastination as a means of defying authority. Finally, defiers tend to resist self-assessment, which would help them to identify their problems more clearly.
Crisis-maker procrastinators tend to vacillate between behavioral extremes (e.g. ignoring the task and then feeling intensely caught up in it). They tend to dramatize situations and are easily bored. They may resist doing things rationally and methodically. In addition, crisis-makers tend to feel a need to prove themselves by living on the edge. The sixth identified procrastination style is the overdoer procrastinator. Overdoers may suffer from low self-esteem which leads to them taking on more than they can handle. Overdoers typically have trouble saying “no” or asking for help. They tend to assume may different roles and responsibilities, but lack true self-discipline. Finally, overdoers find it very difficult to relax without feeling guilty or ashamed.
A client’s procrastination behaviors may represent a primary or secondary reason why one might seek out psychotherapy. Feelings of frustration and being overwhelmed, as well as difficulty coping with day-to-day stressors often lead a person to pursue psychotherapy. A psychotherapist could have a client take the self-assessment quizzes and then use the results to supplement the interventions suggested by the book or to tailor their own interventions. After identifying one’s major and minor styles of procrastination by using the self-assessment quizzes, a psychotherapist may choose to have their client utilize only those chapters that pertain to them. For example, if one identifies worrying as one’s major style and crisis making as one’s minor style, one may focus on those areas. In this respect, the book may be a good choice for a client who is not likely to read a book cover-to-cover. The salient aspects of the different styles are presented in a concise, easy-to-refer-to manner.
The last chapter is devoted to the process of change. The authors use three levels to operationally define the process of change: (1) “On Your Mark” Stage from denial to awareness; (2) “Get Set” Stage from awareness to commitment; and the (3) “Go” Stage from commitment to making it happen. In the first stage, the emphasis is on helping clients to gain insight and take responsibility for their behaviors. A psychotherapist could use this stage to address problems in thinking that contribute to procrastination. The second stage addresses the ambivalence that one is likely to experience in the change process. A psychotherapist could use this stage to address ambivalence by the client, such as “part of me wants this, but . . .” The third stage offers specific guidelines to assist a person in making change, such as thinking positively, speaking positively, and acting positively. It is in this stage that actual changes in behavior are emphasized. In their descriptions of the change process, the authors use cognitive behavioral components that address the need to change one’s thoughts and behaviors.
While this book is not intended to be used in place of psychotherapy, it does provide a concise self-help guide to identifying self-defeating patterns of procrastination. A person reading this book should expect to gain some level of insight into his or her patterns of procrastination with clear and structured suggestions for ways to change one’s thinking and behaviors.
One of the major strengths of this book is the manner in which the authors operationally define the concept of procrastination. For example, I do not tend to put things off, which is how I have typically thought of the process of procrastination. I was surprised to discover that by over-committing myself in many arenas by assuming many different roles and responsibilities, I spread myself too thin, leading to difficulty prioritizing! The self-assessment quizzes, as well as the explanations of the different manners of procrastination were clearly written and easy to use. The book would be appropriate for use with adolescents and adults.
A potential limitation of this book is the cognitive-behavioral theoretical perspective from which the book is written. While a psychotherapist could easily include this book in their library to be used as a bibliotherapy adjunct, it seems to lend itself more to those who utilize a cognitive-behavioral orientation. A psychotherapist could prescribe the quizzes, as well as readings from the chapters as assignments and then discuss the results during sessions.
I would recommend this book as a bibliotherapy resource for a psychotherapist working with clients who are struggling with procrastination. Because the authors so clearly operationally define procrastination, the book is appropriate for those clients who experience feelings of being overwhelmed and have difficulty coping with day-to-day stressors. The client and the psychotherapist might be surprised to learn that procrastination plays a role in the client’s difficulties. This book should be useful for assisting clients identify self-defeating behavior patterns while providing helpful suggestions for change.