7 ways procrastination could actually help your job hunt

8/3/2016
Nicole Yang

We all know the feeling. You’re applying for jobs and plan to reward yourself with 20 minutes of Snapchat or Pokémon Go (gotta catch ‘em all, right?) for every application you submit. But soon, 20 minutes turns into two hours and before you know it, it’s already the end of the day and you’ve only applied to one job. Sigh. Why is time management so hard?

Well, the good news is, and get ready for this: When done the right way, procrastinating can actually be valuable to your job search (really!). Next time you are tempted to check your social media accounts for the fifth time in one hour (but who’s counting?), try one of these seven productive procrastination moves instead.

Take the Myers-Briggs personality test

Are you an ISTJ? Or ENFP? This famous questionnaire will provide you with a comprehensive overview of your personality in the form of four letters. Knowing your “type” will give you a deeper understanding of your strengths and weaknesses as well as expose you to careers that may be a unique fit. Plus, 89 of the Fortune 100 companies reportedly use Myers-Briggs to analyze prospective employees, so you might as well get ahead of the game.

“I think it’s important to know what your strengths are,” says millennial career expert Smiley Poswolsky. “Realize what you enjoy, what your interests are, what your gifts are, what you want to improve upon and that self-reflection will help determine the type of culture that you would best fit into.”

Tidy your room

According to neuroscience research, clutter makes it harder for you to focus and reduces your brain’s ability to process information efficiently. Having a messy living space or desk could be holding you back from a productive afternoon of job searching. Take 30 min to get organized, and you’ll be surprised at what a difference a clean space can make.

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