How Procrastinators Get Things Done

Posted Sep 10, 2017

When deadlines are not absolute or clearly defined, procrastinators do successfully meet them. In
my previous post, The Secret Life of Procrastinators and the Stigma of Delay, I promised to
discuss some of the strategies that are used by successful people who procrastinate. All of the
strategies discussed below involve the activation of emotion that motivates getting things done.

Narrowing available time

Scheduling a task around other work or activities gives procrastinators less available time to get
something done, thus creating a time crunch that activates energizing emotions. Some deadline-
driven procrastinators challenge themselves to get something done just prior to leaving the house
for a meeting or appointment. The upcoming deadline to be somewhere else is used as an
immediate deadline for completing a particular task. The emotional activation under such
circumstances may result in a last-minute flurry of activity.

Many self-identified procrastinators find themselves engaged in a “cleaning frenzy” using the
energy they feel as a deadline nears for another task to complete. Unfortunately, they also tend to
reprimand themselves for being “distracted” away from the task at hand. Nonetheless, when
a deadline is imminent, procrastinators can complete expeditiously what a task-driven person
accomplishes over an extended period of time, including cleaning and organizing their living
space.

Deadlines are also constructed by interjecting other tasks that require attention, thereby limiting
available future time. If a report must be completed within a 3-week period, for example, they
may plan business travel for two of those weeks. The deadline for the report would be set within
the remaining week. Purposefully narrowing the time available to complete certain tasks, and
racing the clock in the process, many procrastinators make a list of what they will get done by the
end of the day. Similarly, some procrastinators give themselves a specified amount of time to
work on something. They may, for example, set a timer to a certain interval, such as 30 minutes,
and then challenge themselves to complete various tasks within that given period of time.

Commitment Incentives

Professionally successful people are emotionally attached to their goals. Keeping promises to
themselves regarding their achievement aims is an important aspect of optimizing their
motivational style. To-do lists are popular for a variety of reasons, and successful people also use
them as a commitment tool. A daily to-do list also allows time to do other things until the end-of-
the-day deadline approaches. Some procrastinators create a list of tasks every evening, along with
a commitment to themselves that they will complete them the following day. The excitement of
challenging themselves energizes them and motivates their efforts.

Financial considerations are also effective for establishing an absolute deadline. This is especially
so for those whose income is based on commission or project completion. Regularly assessing
whether or not one is meeting financial goals, and establishing future goals along the way, can
trigger emotions that are action-focused.

As a commitment incentive, procrastinators often note their target dates for projects to another
person whose perception of them is important. In some circumstances, procrastinators simply ask
a partner or manager for an absolute deadline when it is indeterminate. Requesting a deadline in
circumstances that do not have definite cutoff points creates a motivating interpersonal concern
—shame avoidance—such as the possibility of incurring the disappointment or disapproval of a
colleague or partner. A high-achieving student who self-identifies as a procrastinator illustrated
her proficiency at establishing absolute deadlines in this way. Motivated to get through her
doctoral program with minimal cost (determined by time), she created an absolute deadline for
each step and sub-step involved in writing her dissertation: She scheduled consultation meetings
with a mentor where specific steps that she had completed would be discussed, and at various
points she would notify her dissertation chair that she would be sending content on a specific
date.

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Using Working Memory

The procrastinator’s ability to relax or get involved in distracting activities prior to a deadline is an
important and indeed fascinating aspect of their deadline-driven style. Procrastinators organize
data, particularly for written work, as they engage in what others might mistakenly refer to as
“unproductive” activities. In the back of their minds, they are considering the uncompleted task
while they surf the Web, play a round of golf, clean a closet, or engage in any number of unrelated
undertakings. The burst of energy required to finish something appears as the deadline
approaches.

The secret to pulling off excellent work at a deadline has to do with procrastinators’ capacity to
hold subject matter in mind and deliberate. They trust that they can delay and remember well, in
contrast to their task-driven counterparts who do not want to be burdened with having to
remember or are afraid they’ll forget if they don’t do it now. People vary in their capacity to hold
something in mind, although many other factors may influence a person’s comfort level about
needing to remember something. Cognitive scientists refer to working memory as the system by
which the brain temporarily holds and processes information. When they are not tangibly working
on a task prior to the deadline, deadline driven procrastinators are often thinking about it and
passively planning their approach. A news columnist explained, for example, that he absolutely
cannot complete a story until the exact words of the ending appear in his mind, which is always at
the deadline. He mentally constructs the story as time passes, recognizing that others may
perceive him as doing nothing. Similarly, an entrepreneur explained his style of getting things
done, claiming, “I look like I’m lazy and unmotivated, but I’m always thinking about it in the back
of my mind.”

Diverting attention away from a task while holding information in working memory has
been explored in terms of the process of incubation in problem solving.[1] Deadline-driven people
describe such a process as the period in which others may perceive them as being distracted and
doing nothing. However, diverting attention away from the task at hand, according to the theory
of incubation, allows them to passively work on it until they are motivated by emotions activated
by a deadline to actively engage in the project. An internal solving process that is gradual,
continuous, and unconscious occurs during this incubation period, and during this time what’s
going on around them influences the solution process.[2] Problem solving requires both analytic
and nonanalytic processes: Sometimes focus is needed, and sometimes less focus is best—
particularly on creative problem-solving tasks.[3]

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Making Use of Extraneous Circumstances

Notwithstanding their preference to wait until the deadline is near, under certain circumstances
procrastinators are motivated to complete tasks early. For instance, they might choose to
complete a task right away if interpersonal conflict will result from delay. In this case, the motive
has to do with conflict avoidance rather than a true versatility with both styles. A deadline-driven
executive explained that certain tasks led him to think about the possibility of undesirable
consequences and feelings if he didn’t get them done immediately. Thus, wanting to avoid a
negative outcome created some urgency. As he put it, “I initially prioritize tasks as they arise.
High priority tasks are those set by my partner, safety or health issues, and money—the longer I
wait the more it costs. These tasks get done quickly, given how I will feel if I don’t do them.”

Excerpted in part from my book, What Motivates Getting Things Done: Procrastination,
Emotions, and Success (link is external).

For more information about my books please visit my websites:

marylamia.com and whatmotivatesgettingthingsdone.com