Procrastination test (Pure Procrastination Scale)
See what procrastination means as a measured trait, how it is scored, and how a result is read against the population that actually fits you.
The Pure Procrastination Scale is a short, public-domain measure of trait procrastination - voluntarily putting off what you intended to do even though you expect to be worse off for the delay. Built by Piers Steel in 2010 from the best items of several earlier scales, it captures the dysfunctional, "pure" core of procrastination in twelve statements that take about four minutes to answer.
The model
What it measures
The PPS measures one thing: irrational, self-defeating delay. It is commonly used as a single total, though it resolves into three correlated facets - putting off decisions, putting off getting started, and chronic lateness. There are no separately scored subscales required to read it; the score is the mean of all twelve items.
Crucially, the polarity runs the opposite way to most well-being scales: a higher score means MORE procrastination and poorer self-regulation, not a strength. The aspects below are illustrative facets of how delay shows up - not separately scored dimensions - and the result describes a tendency, not a fixed verdict.
- PROProcrastination
Irrational, voluntary delay - putting off intended action even when you expect to be worse off. Higher means more procrastination.
Facets: Decisional delay, Delayed starts, Chronic lateness, Missed deadlines.
The evidence
Science and validity
The PPS is well validated, including a six-country European study by Svartdal and colleagues (2016). Internal consistency is high - Cronbach's alpha runs from about .89 to .93 - and the scale correlates strongly with other procrastination measures and, importantly, with low conscientiousness and low self-control. It relates negatively to satisfaction with life and positively to impulsiveness, which is exactly the pattern the construct predicts.
You rate each of twelve statements on a 5-point seldom-to-often scale. None are reverse-keyed - every item is worded in the procrastination direction - so the items are simply averaged to a 1-5 mean, and a higher mean means more procrastination. There are no official clinical cut-offs (Steel, 2010); the result is read against a comparison group as a percentile rather than a band.
Where you stand
How a score becomes a percentile
A raw score only means something against a comparison group, and on this scale the direction is reversed: higher means more procrastination. For example, on the 1-5 metric a procrastination mean of 3.4 sits well above the adult average (near 2.6), placing it around the 80th percentile - more delay than roughly four in five adults, which signals room to build self-regulation rather than a strength. Drag the slider to see how a score maps to a percentile; your real result is matched to the population that fits you when you take the test.
The reference data
Benchmarked against the population that fits you
We benchmark your result against the population that actually resembles you, across 8 reference groups.
Each reference group is used as its own benchmark, not to rank one country against another.
How it works
What the questions feel like
Illustrative statements showing the style of the items. These are examples, not the official scored items.
I often catch myself saying "I will do it tomorrow."
Illustrative example in the style of the scale, not an official scored item.
Even after I make a decision, I delay acting on it.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I am not very good at meeting deadlines.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
I waste time on trivial things before getting to what actually matters.
Illustrative example, not an official scored item.
Honest strengths and limitations
Strengths
- A short, well-validated measure of the dysfunctional core of procrastination, distilled from several earlier scales.
- Very short (about 4 minutes) and fully public domain, free to use with attribution.
- High internal consistency and a clear single score that is easy to interpret and to track as habits change.
Limitations
- Higher is worse, not better - procrastination is a difficulty to manage, so the percentile is read in the opposite direction to a positive trait.
- Procrastination overlaps heavily with low Conscientiousness and low self-control; much of what the PPS captures is shared with those broader traits rather than wholly distinct.
- Like all self-reports it can be shaped by mood and self-presentation, and it describes a current tendency rather than a fixed, unchangeable trait.
See your full profile
A complete report, matched to the population that fits you, with plain-language interpretation of every trait.
Frequently asked questions
What does the procrastination test measure?
It measures trait procrastination - irrational, voluntary delay where you put off intended action even though you expect to be worse off - using the twelve-item Pure Procrastination Scale. It is used as a single score, with higher meaning more procrastination.
How is the Pure Procrastination Scale scored?
You rate twelve statements on a 5-point seldom-to-often scale. None are reverse-keyed, so the items are simply averaged to a 1-5 mean and a higher mean means more procrastination. There are no clinical cut-offs; the score is read against a comparison group.
Is procrastination the same as low self-control?
Not exactly, but they overlap heavily. Procrastination correlates strongly with low conscientiousness and low self-control, so much of what this test captures is shared with those broader traits. Reading it alongside a self-control or personality measure gives a fuller picture.
How long does it take?
About four minutes - twelve short statements on a 5-point scale.
Related tests
- Steel, P. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: Do they exist?. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(8), 926-934.
- Svartdal, F., et al. (2016). On the measurement of procrastination: Comparing two scales in six European countries. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1307.
The Pure Procrastination Scale is the work of Piers Steel (2010) and is freely usable with attribution; this independent informational page describes the instrument.