Procrastination Test: Find Out Your Procrastination Style (and What to Do Next)
Written by
Viktoria Samokhval, Сertified Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist
Published on 16 Oct, 2025
•4 min read
We all occasionally put off scheduled work and leave tasks to the very last minute. But if this behavior makes you feel overwhelmed and anxious, it might be time to take a closer look.
Do you procrastinate more than other people? There are plenty of ways to explore your procrastination habits, but a simple first step is to take this free test. It can give you clarity on your tendencies and help you discover your procrastination type 👇.
Key Learnings
- Understanding your procrastination type helps identify patterns and triggers.
- Online procrastination quizzes do not equal a medical diagnosis and can’t replace a professional assessment.
- Science-based interventions, like mindfulness, structured schedules, and mini-deadlines, can improve self-regulation, reduce delays, and increase productivity.
Your Free Procrastination Test Is Waiting Here
Disclaimer: This test is designed for self-reflection and educational purposes only. It is not a clinically validated assessment and should not be used to diagnose, treat, or replace professional mental health evaluation. If you have concerns about your mental health, consider reaching out to a qualified therapist or healthcare provider.
This short 3-minute quiz will help you identify your unique procrastination patterns and see how they’re linked to things like motivation, stress, or even fear.
There are no right or wrong responses, and you won't pass or fail the test — just answer questions wholeheartedly to get the most accurate results.
For every question, you have four response options to choose from:
- Rarely – This happens to you very infrequently.
- Sometimes – This happens occasionally, but not all the time.
- Often – This happens regularly, more often than not.
- Almost always – This happens nearly every time or consistently.
1. Do you ever put off tasks in school or work until the last minute, even if you had plenty of time?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
2. Do you often start something but fail to complete it because you get distracted?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
3. How often do you delay tasks you find boring or tedious, even when you know the negative consequences?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
4. Do you often find yourself scrolling or doing random chores instead of working or studying?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
5. Is it challenging for you to initiate a task once it’s on your to-do list?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
6. Do you put off tasks and chores because you’re afraid of not meeting your own high standards?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
7. Do you struggle to complete tasks even when the steps are clear?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
8. Do you often make excuses to avoid responsibilities, even small ones?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
9. When a task is unpleasant, do you spend more time planning instead of putting it into action?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
10. Do you delay tasks because you tell yourself you “work better under pressure”?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
11. How often do you wait for the right moment to start the task?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
12. How often do you plan to “finally change” your habits, but never actually start?
a. Rarely b. Sometimes c. Often d. Almost always
How to score your answers? Assign points for each question:
- Rarely = 1
- Sometimes = 2
- Often = 3
- Almost always = 4
Maximum total score = 48 (12 questions × 4 points)
Minimum total score = 12
Now when you know the number of points, let’s see what they mean.
Your Procrastination Test Scores Explained
| Total score | Procrastination level | Description |
| 12-19 | Low | You rarely delay important work tasks or chores and usually complete what you set out to do. Though occasional procrastination happens, it doesn't tremendously affect your productivity or life in general. |
| 20-31 | Moderate | You often struggle to initiate tasks, even when they’re on your list, and get easily distracted. |
| 32-48 | High | You delay until the last minute all the time and often feel overwhelmed by deadlines and the number of tasks. Your productivity suffers, and so do your motivation and a sense of control. |
What Your Procrastination Type Means: Tips and Strategies
Here are more details on what your procrastination type means and anti-procrastination strategies that might work for you. Please keep in mind that the types described below are based on the results of this self-test, not an official psychological classification.
#1: Occasional Procrastinator
If you scored in the lower range (12-19), no need to worry. Occasional procrastinators rarely delay plans or chores, and when they do, it usually doesn’t cause an avalanche effect in their life. For instance, one might choose to take a longer walk in the park before going back to work. Typically, they complete tasks on time and balance school, work, and other responsibilities only with the occasional slip.
Strengths of Occasional Procrastinators
- Good at focusing and sticking to a schedule
- Solid sense of responsibility and strong productivity
- Rarely fall into avoidance or make excuses
- Find ways to keep tasks enjoyable instead of overwhelming
- Meet deadlines without panic
Tips & Strategies for Occasional Procrastinators
- ‘Eat the Frog’ rule. The method comes from the book of the same name by Brian Tracy and means tackling the most unpleasant, challenging, or important task first. Here, the ‘frog’ is the task you dislike so much;
- Mini-reward yourself. We understand that it’s difficult to pick a salad over pizza because the benefits feel far away, and that’s exactly why we procrastinate with actions or choices related to our long-term goals. Try to create mini-rewards now that connect to your intended outcomes later in order to beat the temptation to delay;
- Prioritize wisely. Even if you rarely procrastinate, it’s easy to fall into the trap of doing small, easy tasks first. To stay on track, ask yourself a simple question '"Which task will create the biggest impact today?"
#2: The Last-Minute Sprinter
If you scored in the moderate range (20-31), you’re among those procrastinators who frequently rely on deadlines and external pressure to get things done. Last-Minute Sprinters might delay until tomorrow, as they love the last-minute adrenaline rush that brings them sudden motivation and, eventually, productivity.
Strengths of Last-Minute Sprinters
- The ability to work better under pressure often makes a last-minute sprinter a savior in a crisis, which might be helpful in industries like emergency medicine or cybersecurity
- Can generate strong bursts of motivation and high productivity when needed
- Know what truly matters when the deadline is close, which helps with focusing
- Despite the delay, often manage to complete projects on time
Tips & Strategies for Last-Minute Sprinters
- Create artificial mini-deadlines for motivation. You don’t have to wait for the last day to start the task — try a Pomodoro session technique (25-and-5 or 50-and-10 as work-and-rest periods respectively). Try YouTube Pomodoro sessions. There are themed ones like Harry Potter or cozy coffee shop vibes;
- Limit distractions like social media or overall screen time with tools like Forest, Freedom, or RescueTime. These anti-procrastination apps also give you an accurate assessment of where your minutes are going;
- Time-block your day. Assign tasks to specific periods to improve focusing and reduce delay. Divide your day into dedicated chunks — for example, 9–11 a.m. for research, 11–12 for emails, 1–3 p.m. for writing. Then, use tools like Notion or Google Calendar to automatically create schedules from your to-do list.
#3: The Avoidance Expert
Avoidance Experts are often long-term procrastinators who, at their core, struggle with perfectionism and a fear of failure and judgement. Despite their careful, endless planning, tasks often get done long after the deadline. Why? Because the weight of high standards makes it harder to begin — and Avoidance Experts care too much about the results.
Strengths of Avoidance Experts
- Perfectionism makes you reflect carefully before acting, which leads to a better outcome
- High potential for excellence when channeled well
- You want your work and life to be meaningful, not just “done”
Tips & Strategies for Avoidance Experts
- Use a structured schedule and task reminders. Your brain gets a sense of control when you put your tasks on paper. Plus, you don’t have to worry about forgetting meetings, deadlines, and other things if you use paper notes or digital reminders in apps like Todoist or TickTick. Or you can use the Liven app to create mindful routines, schedule chores, and journal about your daily progress;
- Add a sense of accountability. The biggest procrastinators score low in conscientiousness, so having a study buddy or accountability partner can create the extra push you need to follow through. Even a simple 'Study with Me' Pomodoro session on YouTube can be a helpful way to motivate yourself;
- Engage in mindfulness. Avoidance Experts often can’t initiate tasks due to the fear of failure or perfectionism. Meanwhile, mindfulness techniques, such as breathing exercises, guided focus practices, or non-judgmental awareness improve self-regulation and, when done long-term, can help you reduce procrastination behaviors.
How to Test Your Procrastination Level with Liven
There are countless tools and quizzes out there to explore procrastination, but trying too many can leave you distracted and overwhelmed. The ideal solution is a single, all-in-one assistant that helps you track your habits, send reminders, suggest personalized strategies, and even guide you with music or mini exercises to calm your mind.
That’s exactly what Liven offers. The short version of the Liven procrastination self-test above gives you quick insights. But the longer version dives deeper: it includes questions designed to create a personalized plan that matches your unique challenges and goals.
Curious how it works? Start with the free test. At the end, you’ll get a personalized plan tailored to your psychology. What makes it powerful is that the plan is based on leading research in behavioral psychology and comes with daily exercises designed by medical doctors and mental health specialists. These exercises teach you how to set priorities, build a distraction-free environment, and avoid the pitfall of overthinking.
Procrastination Quiz vs. Clinical Assessments
A procrastination type test is a great tool to see whether you’ve got specific behavioral tendencies. However, you can’t get a proper medical diagnosis, let alone a treatment plan, professional guidance, or medical prescription with a procrastination types test, even if it’s a procrastination depression test online.
These quizzes are designed to give you insights, feedback, and ideas about your habits and the patterns that keep you stuck or prone to delay, but they cannot fully replace a professional psychology assessment.
Final Thoughts: Awareness Is the First Step
Procrastination is a habit you can unlearn. Once the test results show you the patterns and why you tend to delay important tasks, we advise you to choose small, actionable steps and track what works and what doesn’t.
You can get more advice on how to overcome procrastination on our blog, retake Liven’s test on procrastination again in a month or download our app on Google Play or Apple Store and use tools like Liven’s routine builder to build accountability and engage in short bite-sized anti-procrastination courses with daily exercises (all in the app).
References
- Rad et al. (2023). Mindfulness intervention for academic procrastination: A randomized control trial. Learning and Individual Differences, 101, Article 102244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102244
- Manson, M. (2025, [Month Day if known]). Your procrastination, solved [Video]. YouTube. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b77XuGU52To
- Meng, X., Pan, Y., & Li, C. (2024). Portraits of procrastinators: A meta-analysis of personality and procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 218, Article 112490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112490
Methodology
Liven's test on procrastination levels is a quick self-assessment designed to give you practical insights into your procrastination habits. It draws on well-established psychological research to identify three common procrastination types and provide personalized feedback and actionable ideas.
Please note that this test is not a clinical diagnostic tool. If procrastination is severely impacting your daily life or mental health, consult a licensed professional for a full assessment and guidance.
FAQ
Procrastination
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