Use the Enneagram to Bust Procrastination

by Rochelle Melander

This summer, I became a certified IEQ9 Enneagram Consultant. But that wasn’t the beginning of my enneagram work. I have been studying the enneagram for twenty years. Back in 2008, when I was doing my Always Write Podcast, I interviewed Herb Pearce, a Boston-based, individual, couples and family therapist, with over 26 years experience. He’s the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Power of the Enneagram.

Despite the stacks of books I read and collected, I didn’t understand the enneagram—until I listened to Richard Rohr teach it.

I was hooked.

But I still didn’t know my type. Then I took the IEQ9 Enneagram Assessment, and discovered it. The IEQ9 assessment boasts a 95 percent accuracy rate, which is higher than most enneagram assessments.

After taking the enneagram class, I’ve been on a mission to understand how the enneagram can support writers.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Many writers I work with deal with a common problem: they desperately want to write and be published but they continually sabotage themselves:

They don’t set aside time to write.
When they do have time, they procrastinate.
They compare themselves to others.
They wait until their work is perfect before submitting.
They don’t do the research.

Here’s how the enneagram can help writers who self-sabotage.

Understand your behavior

Why do you do these things? Let’s say you procrastinate. Why? My friends who are type ones—the Reformer—want to make the world a better place. They also struggle with perfectionism, so they might work tirelessly on the first three chapters of a novel while never getting to the rest of the book. If you’re a type two helper, you want to be loved and needed, so you prioritize relationships. You might procrastinate because you feel like other people’s work is more important than your own.

Understand your past choices

Once I got my enneagram results, I had a whole new appreciation for my life. I am a type four—the Individualist—someone who always seeks meaning. Now I know why I rejected a traditional career. As a writer and coach, I’ve spent my career creating books and programs to help people make meaning out of their life experiences. My colleagues who are type sixes, the loyalists, are motivated by security and support. They are good at seeking guidance and preparing for potential disasters. They tend to write books that will help other people do the same. The enneagram expert Helen Palmer was a type six, as is President Joe Biden.

Move forward more effectively

What if you want to overcome self-sabotage and get stuff done? Could knowing your enneagram type help that. Of course it can. Here’s a quick guide to how each type might try to overcome procrastination and write forward:

Type One: The Reformer. You will delay anything that isn’t good enough yet or doesn’t make you look good. Figure out what might be “good enough” for you and move from revising to writing forward or from writing to submitting when you hit that point.

Type Two: The Helper. You love to help others, so you put everyone’s needs before your own. Block out time to write for the good of your future self. After all, they need your help, too!

Type Three: The Achiever. I know you want to avoid failure, but that’s how you learn. Make a commitment that your next achievement is to fail 3-5 times. Whether you fail at creating a good scene or getting published, it doesn’t matter. Don’t forget to reflect on what failing teaches you.

Type Four: The Individualist. You don’t like to do things that feel ordinary—if anyone can do it, why should you? You tend to procrastinate when you’re bored. Challenge yourself! Play with combining three new ideas.

Type Five: The Investigator. You are the best researcher around. But don’t get stuck in the stacks. Set a time limit for research and then transition to writing.

Type Six: The Loyalist. You tend to stick to the safe and secure. You get anxious when you have to try new things. How can you build a safe and secure writing routine so that you don’t procrastinate.

Type Seven: The Enthusiast. You may be inclined to ditch today’s agenda for something more fun—researching a new project or hanging out at the beach with friends. How can you make your current project more exciting for you? You could bundle it with something you love (like being outside), work with a friend, or skip to the juicy parts.

Type Eight: The Challenger. You don’t like to follow other people’s rules. You don’t love long stories or deep emotional dives. For that reason, you might procrastinate when your editor or critique partner is asking you to go deeper, say more, tell us what you feel. You need to write with the door shut (Stephen King). Take a deep breath, create a super safe space for yourself, and write—knowing that you don’t have to show anyone.

Type Nine: The Peacemaker. You don’t like conflict, so you will procrastinate anything that might disrupt your current peaceful life. You also don’t want to do anything that will inconvenience others—so you may be one who fears failure and success more than other types. Like type eight, you also need to write away from the eyes of your peers.

Are you curious to learn more? I would love to help you understand your enneagram type and how it could help you with your life and writing. My enneagram packages are here.

If you’re interested, book a consultation to talk about how it might help you.

Write Now! Coach Rochelle Melander is an author and ADHD-trained professional certified coach. She helps wildly creative people get stuff done. From writing and publishing books to finishing that work project–she’s got you covered. If you’re struggling to start or finish a project, connect with Rochelle to create a personalized plan for overcoming procrastination, dealing with distraction, and staying focused. Book a private consultation: https://writenowcoach.com/consultation/