Why Some People Are Go-Getters and Others are Procrastinators

If you’re one of these types of people, you might wonder about the other type. If you’re a go-getter, you might wonder why people procrastinate, are lazy, or leave things to the last minute. If you procrastinate, maybe you wish you could be more of a “go-getter”, but don’t have the time, the motivation or the need.

My definition of go-getter is someone who has everything planned, ready to go and is fully prepared and on time. (That might not mean all the time, but generally, is considered an "on-task’ person). A procrastinator is someone who most likely doesn’t plan regularly and who leaves tasks to the last minute and might be late for appointments and meetings.

Taking into account that everyone is different, there might be different life situations in which you find yourself. A person who leads one type of life might be more of a go-getter than the procrastinator sitting at home watching tv. However, two people could have the same job and you could potentially see the same results from both of them, even if one is a procrastinator and the other is not. Again, take for example two stay at home moms. One of them might be a procrastinator and the other might be a go-getter. The latter might be the member of her kid’s school committee, maybe she volunteers, and has mom get-togethers. But, saying someone is a procrastinator doesn’t mean they still don’t do a good job, or have tasks done on time. However, generally, they will have some of the traits listed below.

Of course, everyone’s personality is different, and people also change throughout their lives. For example, I myself am more of a quiet person, and would rather stay away from large crowds. I don’t like to be out all day; I find it very draining, but then I’m also an empath. I do well with people one-on-one and don’t enjoy being the centre of attention. In human design, I am a generator and have endless energy for the things I enjoy doing. If I have committed myself to a task at home or on my business, I will go until I’m done and you can guarantee I’ve done a good job.

I consider myself a go-getter - if you have seen my daily task lists, generally, I’m able to cross off everything for the day and that list is full! However, I don’t mind moving things to the next day if I know they won’t get done. I do still have limits, and I know what I can handle and what I can’t. However, I wasn't always that way. When I was a teenager, I would have definitely considered myself a procrastinator and I would have driven my today self absolutely crazy. I never wanted to do chores on anyone else’s time but my own, and I would leave school projects to the very last minute instead of being organized and completing them earlier.

I honestly don’t know how I lived that way, because now I find I need to prepare myself early. I find when I do that, it helps me to be in a better mental space for whatever task I find myself doing.

Here are some traits in general of each of these types of people:

Go-Getters

• Needs to plan ahead

• On time for appointments and meetings

• Usually in a position of power

• Set Goals

• Doesn’t live day to day, but more by appointment schedule

• Generally more organized and tidy

Procrastinators

• Late for appointments

• Not organized

• Projects handed in last minute

• Not a planner

• Makes decisions at the last minute

• More spontaneous

• Cancels last minute

• Lives in a more cluttered environment and is not bothered by it

So why would a person choose to be a procrastinator? I don’t think they choose to procrastinate exactly; I think it comes down to what they find important. Perhaps organization and planning have never been their strong suits, but maybe they are more interested in other things. They might also get distracted more easily, so might lose themselves in a tv show or a hobby that they love. They don’t always look at the clock, so tend to lose track of time. Remember, none of these things means that procrastinators do less as good of a job as someone who is a go-getter. It just comes down to time and how important a task is to them.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Sandra