--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was surprised by how many people think…" description: "\"I was surprised by how many people think of themselves as procrastinators, but, like me, seem to get a lot done anyway.\" — John Perry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png" --- # I was surprised by how many people think of themselves as… ![“I was surprised by how many people think of themselves as procrastinators, but, like me, seem to get a lot done anyway.” quote by John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png) > “I was surprised by how many people think of themselves as procrastinators, but, like me, seem to get a lot done anyway.” [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many label themselves procrastinators yet still accomplish tasks, suggesting self‑labeling can be inaccurate. **In simple terms:** People often call themselves procrastinators but still get things done. Key Takeaway Reevaluate self‑labels; focus on results. Themes self‑perception productivity identity Mood thoughtful optimistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - project work - studying - creative pursuits Key Concepts behavioral psychology motivation self‑assessment Questions to Reflect On - What evidence contradicts your procrastinator label? - How can you harness this insight for better planning? A Different Perspective Self‑labels may limit potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Like me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-me/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Procrastinator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastinator/) [Procrastinators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastinators-324761/) [Procrastinators Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastinators-like-586622/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) [Surprised People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-people/) [Think Procrastinators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-procrastinators-586621/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The essence is that many procrastinators are "structured procrastinators," people who, like me, get a lot done as a way of not working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/the-essence-is-that-many-procrastinators-are-structured/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [“Procrastinators often follow exactly the wrong tack. They try to minimize their commitments, assuming that if they have only a few things to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/procrastinators-often-follow-exactly-the-wrong-tack-they-try-to-2/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [The fantasy of doing a task perfectly is common with procrastinators; they set the bar for success very high. Then they are afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/the-fantasy-of-doing-a-task-perfectly-is-common-with-procrastinators/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [A procrastinators willpower lies in the fact that he keeps work pending because he strongly feels he wants to do the same – keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-procrastinators-willpower-lies-in-the-fact-that-he-keeps-work/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I ... practiced all the arts of apology, evasion, and invisibility, to which procrastinators must sooner or later be reduced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/i-practiced-all-the-arts-of-apology-evasion-and-invisibility-to-which/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/lack-of-confidence-sometimes-alternating-with-unrealistic-dreams-of/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Over the years, I developed a theory about why writers are such procrastinators: We were too good in English class. This sounds crazy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/over-the-years-i-developed-a-theory-about-why-writers-are-such/) [Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/) > [I'm really not one of these procrastinators who cleans the house in order to put off writing, but life gets in the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/i-m-really-not-one-of-these-procrastinators-who-cleans-the-house-in/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [While procrastinating is not a flaw, being a structured procrastinator is actually one way of being pretty productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/while-procrastinating-is-not-a-flaw-being-a-structured-procrastinator/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Nothing focuses attention like a real deadline. If you are in a field where life and death, or having a job or not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/nothing-focuses-attention-like-a-real-deadline-if-you-are-in-a-field/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [“Most of us are procrastinators by nature. We will often put off the hardest things until the last possible minute or until the repercussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-soukup/most-of-us-are-procrastinators-by-nature-we-will-often-put-off-the/) [Ruth Soukup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-soukup/) > [Procrastinators who say, 'There's always tomorrow' deny the reality that one day, they will be wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/procrastinators-who-say-there-s-always-tomorrow-deny-the-reality-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Procrastinators often follow exactly the wrong tack. They try to minimize their commitments, assuming that if they have only a few things to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-perry/procrastinators-often-follow-exactly-the-wrong-tack-they-try-to/) [John R. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-perry/) > [“All procrastinators put off things they have to do. Structured procrastination is the art of making this negative trait work for you. The key…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-perry/all-procrastinators-put-off-things-they-have-to-do-structured/) [John R. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-perry/) > [“Urgency makes the difference between practitioners, proclaimers and procrastinators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/urgency-makes-the-difference-between-practitioners-proclaimers-and/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) ## More by John Perry > [Voltaire was a smart cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/voltaire-was-a-smart-cookie/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Nothing focuses attention like a real deadline. If you are in a field where life and death, or having a job or not having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/nothing-focuses-attention-like-a-real-deadline-if-you-are-in-a-field/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Taking a long time to do something not worth doing, that is, doing it inefficiently, seems even more useless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/taking-a-long-time-to-do-something-not-worth-doing-that-is-doing-it/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [The essence is that many procrastinators are "structured procrastinators," people who, like me, get a lot done as a way of not working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/the-essence-is-that-many-procrastinators-are-structured/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [The fantasy of doing a task perfectly is common with procrastinators; they set the bar for success very high. Then they are afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/the-fantasy-of-doing-a-task-perfectly-is-common-with-procrastinators/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [“Procrastinators often follow exactly the wrong tack. They try to minimize their commitments, assuming that if they have only a few things to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/procrastinators-often-follow-exactly-the-wrong-tack-they-try-to-2/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [The anceints devoted a lifetime to the study of arithmetic; it required days to extract a square root or to multiply two numbers together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/the-anceints-devoted-a-lifetime-to-the-study-of-arithmetic-it/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [“The philosopher Ernst Mach once got on a bus, and saw a scruffy unkempt bookish-looking person at the far end. He thought to himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/the-philosopher-ernst-mach-once-got-on-a-bus-and-saw-a-scruffy/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [While procrastinating is not a flaw, being a structured procrastinator is actually one way of being pretty productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/while-procrastinating-is-not-a-flaw-being-a-structured-procrastinator/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [You may lack will power, but that doesn't mean you can't take a lot of steps to make yourself more productive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/you-may-lack-will-power-but-that-doesn-t-mean-you-can-t-take-a-lot-of/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Hope provides comfort, and hope does not always require probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/hope-provides-comfort-and-hope-does-not-always-require-probability/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Plan your day with an eye to your tendency to procrastinate, and put in safeguards to keep it to a minimum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/plan-your-day-with-an-eye-to-your-tendency-to-procrastinate-and-put/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) > [Task triage is the habit of making a realistic assessment of what degree of perfection is required for a task at the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/task-triage-is-the-habit-of-making-a-realistic-assessment-of-what/) [John Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) [Explore all 14 John Perry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/) ## More Done quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua/i-don-t-enjoy-killing-but-when-done-righteously-it-s-just-a-chore/) [Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua/) > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) [Browse all 25,653 Done quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was surprised by how many people think of themselves as procrastinators, but, like me, seem to get a lot done anyway.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Perry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think-of-themselves-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Done" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think-of-themselves-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/john-perry-33804_done_i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think_834305.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was surprised by how many people think of themselves as procrastinators, but, like me, seem to get a lot…” — John Perry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Perry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was surprised by how many...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think-of-themselves-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry/i-was-surprised-by-how-many-people-think-of-themselves-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```