Take a free 20 question test on , know where you stand, then learn how to eliminate your procrastination hot spots.

The Procrastination Test is a set of self-assessment questions that spotlight areas of changeable procrastination thinking, emotions, and behavior. After you identify your procrastination hot spots I'll give you to links to remedies.

Use the test to establish a baseline for where you currently stand on procrastination. A baseline is a standard for comparing future measures. After you've tested some of the remedies, use the test to identify where you've progressed and where you still have work to do.

After making satisfactory progress, use the Procrastination Test bi-monthly as an early warning system. With a regular reminder system, it is easier to stay on a productive track. Procrastination prevention, for example, is easier than stopping procrastination once it is in motion.

Instructions

Each procrastination question points to different but overlapping procrastination activities. Your answer is on a three point scale: not me, somewhat like me, like me. Score zero for not me, one for somewhat like me, and two for like me. When you finish the test, total your score.

For quick tip(s), for addressing a hot spot, you can go to the links at the end of this blog and click the link(s) that addresses your area of interest.

The Procrastination Test

Not me Somewhat like me Like me

1. Procrastination comes naturally to me. ___ ___ ___

2. I have responsibilities that I'm not doing. ___ ___ ___

3. I have plans that stay on the drawing board. ___ ___ ___

4. I sidestep uncomfortable priorities. ___ ___ ___

5. I tell myself that later is the time to begin. ___ ___ ___

6. I start things that I don't finish. ___ ___ ___

7. I have a habit of showing up late. ___ ___ ___

8. I delay acting to meet a deadline. ___ ___ ___

9. I find ways to extend deadlines. ___ ___ ___

10. I come up with excuses to explain delays. ___ ___ ___

11. I put off hard decisions. ___ ___ ___

12. When I'm not sure, I'll avoid the situation. ___ ___ ___

13. I put off making a needed lifestyle change. ___ ___ ___

14. My causes delays. ___ ___ __

15. My emotions affect what I do. ___ ___ ___

16. My intimate relationship is going nowhere. ___ ___ ___

17. I avoid what frustrates me. ___ ___ ___

18. I get side-tracked by conflicts. ___ ___ ___

19. My doubts and fears inhibit my actions. ___ ___ ___

20. When I feel , I'll avoid what I . ___ ___ ___

Total "somewhat like me" + "like me" scores: _______.

Interpretation

Some questions won't have the same feel because they have different nuances. Study the subtlety. It says something about how you perceive situations or what you do as result of your perceptions. For example, item six suggests behavior procrastination. This is different from intrigue procrastination (item 18), or procrastination (item11).

Procrastination ranges from an inconvenience, to a hindrance, to disabling. The procrastination test doesn't tell you where you stand in this range. Rather items one to 10 suggest procrastination tendencies. Items 11-20 point to more specific procrastination hotspots. Likewise, the meaning of a total score is suggestive. If you have a zero total score, what are you doing wasting your time taking this test? In the unlikely event you score all zeros and one "two" score that area can be a bane of life worthy of addressing. If you score 30 or more, you have come to the right blog site. But less than that doesn't mean you are home free.

Items you mark as "unlike me" are areas that merit a second look. Look at what you are doing that works well that you can convey to other areas of your life. "Somewhat like me" suggests an opportunity to take actions to put yourself into the position of later answering "not like me." Items you mark as "like me" are probable procrastination hot spots.

Suppose you mark most items "two". Maybe you're too hard on yourself. However, don't despair. Instead of many different types of procrastination to address, what you likely have are many examples of some basic conditions for procrastination. For example, your procrastination may be a combination of (1) self-doubts and hesitation, and (2) tension sensitivity and discomfort dodging reactions. Progress in one area can cause improvements in the other.

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Work to progressively master procrastination and you can: (1) build your reasoning skills and mental muscle; (2) flex emotional muscle and boost your tolerance for discomfort; (3) develop behavioral follow through habits. This formula for psychological wellbeing and accomplishments can yield added joys and satisfactions to the narrative of your life.

Think you procrastinate too much? What do you want to tackle first? (Solutions start on the next page; you'll find links to the free procrastination crash course blogs listed there.)

To avoid information indigestion-and to use reading to divert from action--pick one area and work on that area first. When you've mastered that target area, move on to the next and apply what you've learned. In meeting your second procrastination hot spot challenge, learn a few more things to apply and apply them. This building block approach is likely to get your farther than trying to "do everything at once." This type "multi-tasking" is a formula for feeling overwhelmed and then operating as though you were accelerating your automobile with the emergency brake engaged.

End Procrastination Now (Knaus. 2010. NY: McGraw-Hill) is chuck full with basic and advanced interactive techniques to end procrastination by boosting your effectiveness, , and accomplishments.See:

http://www.amazon.com/End-Procrastination-Now-Psychological-Approach/dp/...

If you prefer to start with my crash course in overcoming procrastination, to address procrastination the hot spots you marked "one" or "two," click on the link and go directly to the source for added information and quick-tips for addressing your procrastination hot spots. The following numbers refer to Procrastination Test items:

1. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/why-you-procrastinate-and-what-do-about-it

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201006/ten-top-tips-end-writer-s-block-procrastination

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201007/what-can-you-learn-squirrels-about-motivation-procrastination-an

2. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/stop-procrastinating-and-beat-deadlinenow; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201004/use-time-productively-you-d-ordinarily-spend-procrastinating

3. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/what-s-your-procrastination-style

4. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201004/use-time-productively-you-d-ordinarily-spend-procrastinating; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/why-you-procrastinate-and-what-do-about-it

5. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201002/stop-procrastinating-now-0; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201006/uncover-procrastination-thinking-drives-procrastination-behavior

6. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/what-s-your-procrastination-style

7. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/what-s-your-procrastination-style

8. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/stop-procrastinating-and-beat-deadline-now

9. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/stop-procrastinating-and-beat-deadline-now

10. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/stop-procrastinating-and-beat-deadline-now

11. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/emotions-decision-making-and-procrastination

12. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201004/advanced-techniques-end-decision-making-procrastination

13. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201004/how-start-and-sustain-life-style-change

14. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201004/defeat-depression-and-procrastination-simultaneously

15. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/emotions-decision-making-and-procrastination

16. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/how-get-out-love-rut

17. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/stop-frustrating-yourself-and-cut-the-emotional-roots-procrastin

18. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/what-s-your-procrastination-style

19. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/break-perfectionism-and-procrastination-connection-now; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201005/why-you-procrastinate-and-what-do-about-it;

20. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-and-sensibility/201003/stop-procrastinating-and-overcome-your-anxieties-and-fears

Dr. Bill Knaus