Welcome to the second part of my procrastination blog. It was originally going to all be in one big blog but I kept getting distracted from my task and so it has become two blogs instead.
As you may recall (or in case you haven’t read it yet), part 1 was a more general look into the possible types of procrastination based on whether your patient was a Xū (Deficient/虛), Zhì (Stagnation/滯), or Shí (Excess/实) pattern. In order for this to be a little clearer I gave each patient type a label:
- Twice (Sometimes Thrice) Daily Naps Are My Thing Baby
- The Proactive Autopilot
- I Am Getting So Much Done – Just Not The Thing I Should Have Done
- The Shop Till You Drop.
These labels were briefly discussed and were given an acupuncture point combination treatment, with reasons for why the points were selected.
In part 2 I am going to get a little more specific and look into each element/archetype/spirit/organ. It will look something like this:
- Wood Element and Archetype/Hún Spirit/Liver and Gall Bladder
- Fire Element and Archetype/Shén Spirit/Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestine, Triple Energiser
- Earth Element and Archetype/Yì Spirit/Spleen and Stomach
- Metal Element and Archetype/Pò Spirit/Lungs and Large Intestine
- Water Element and Archetype/Zhì Spirit/Kidneys and Urinary Bladder.
Wood Element Procrastination
Organs = Liver and Gall Bladder.
Spirit = Hún.
If they are Excess/Shí, they are likely to:
- Come up with new ideas but run out of puff before full implementation.
- Be impatient/make hasty decisions rather than setting and achieving goals/plan poorly.
If they are Deficient/Xū, they:
- Can’t come up with new ideas.
- Are indecisive/vague/unclear/habit-bound/exhibit a total lack of confidence/can’t or won’t set and achieve goals/plan poorly.
Table 1 is an acupuncture point combination for the Excess/Shí Wood Element and table 2 is for the Deficient/Xū Wood Element.
Table 1. Wood Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GB 20 | Clears Excess from the head, Shén and Hún |
Trunk (Front) | LR 14 GB 24 | Front Mù Collecting point of the Liver Front Mù Collecting point of the Gall Bladder |
Legs/Feet | LR 1 LR 2 GB 38 GB 41 | Horary point (Wood on Wood) Child (sedating) point on the Liver channel Child (sedating) point on the Gall Bladder channel Horary point (Wood on Wood) |
Total points needled | 14 points used bilaterally |
Table 2. Wood Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Trunk (Back) | BL 18 BL 19 | Back Shù Transporting point of the Liver Back Shù Transporting point of the Gall Bladder |
Legs/Feet | LR 1 LR 8 GB 41 GB 43 | Horary point (Wood on Wood) Mother (tonifying) point on the Liver channel Horary point (Wood on Wood) Mother (tonifying) point on the Gall Bladder channel |
Total points needled | 12 points used bilaterally |
Fire Element Procrastination
Organs = Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestine, Triple Energiser (Sān Jiāo)
Spirit = Shén
If they are Excess/Shí, they are likely to:
- Be too manic to take the time to sit down and complete a task.
- Want to be out in the world having fun.
- Want to feel stimulated from completing their tasks.
- Suffer from insomnia – leading to poor brain function/limited mental capacity.
If they are Deficient/Xū, they:
- Are too depressed/dazed/confused/disoriented/apathetic/disinterested/lethargic.
- Suffer from insomnia – leading to poor brain function/limited mental capacity.
Table 3 is an acupuncture point combination for the Excess/Shí Fire Element and table 4 is for the Deficient/Xū Fire Element.
Table 3. Fire Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GV 20 | Drives Excess down from the head and Shén |
Trunk (Front) | CV 14 CV 4 | Front Mù Collecting point of the Heart Front Mù Collecting point of the Small Intestine |
Arms/Hands | HT 7 HT 8 SI 5 SI 8 | Child (sedating) point on the Heart channel Horary point (Fire on Fire) Horary point (Fire on Fire) Child (sedating) point on the Small Intestine channel |
Legs/Feet | KI 1 | Draws Excess away from the head and Shén |
Total points needled | 13 points used bilaterally |
Table 4. Fire Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GV 20 | Draws Vital Substances up into the head and Shén |
Trunk (Back) | BL 14 BL 22 | Back Shù Transporting point of the Pericardium Back Shù Transporting point of the Sān Jiāo |
Arms/Hands | PC 8 PC 9 TE 3 TE 6 | Horary point (Fire on Fire) Mother (tonifying) point on the Pericardium channel Mother (tonifying) point on the Sān Jiāo channel Horary point (Fire on Fire) |
Legs/Feet | KI 1 | Drives Vital Substances up into the head and Shén |
Total points needled | 15 points used bilaterally |
Earth Element Procrastination
Organs = Spleen and Stomach
Spirit = Yì
If they are Excess/Shí, they are likely to:
- Have scattered thinking.
- Obsess about the future/don’t stay in the now/don’t stay on task.
- Be pensive.
- Have poor memory/are a slow learner.
If they are Deficient/Xū, they:
- Are unmotivated/stuck/can’t be bothered/’it’s all too hard’.
- Are too tired to study/can’t concentrate or retain information/vague.
- Reflect on the past/ don’t stay in the now/don’t stay on task.
- Are pensive.
- Have poor memory/are a slow learner.
Table 5 is an acupuncture point combination for the Excess/Shí Earth Element and table 6 is for the Deficient/Xū Earth Element.
Table 5. Earth Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | ST 8 | Clears Excess from the head, Shén and Yì |
Trunk (Back) | BL 20 BL 21 | Back Shù Transporting point of the Spleen Back Shù Transporting point of the Stomach |
Legs/Feet | SP 3 SP 5 ST 36 ST 45 | Horary point (Earth on Earth) Child (sedating) point on the Spleen channel Horary point (Earth on Earth) Child (sedating) point on the Stomach channel |
Total points needled | 14 points used bilaterally |
Table 6. Earth Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GV 20 | Draws Vital Substances up into the head, Shén, Yì |
Trunk (Front) | CV 12 LR 13 | Front Mù Collecting point of the Stomach Front Mù Collecting point of the Spleen |
Legs/Feet | SP 2 SP 3 ST 36 ST 41 | Mother (tonifying) point on the Spleen channel Horary point (Earth on Earth) Horary point (Earth on Earth) Mother (tonifying) point on the Stomach channel |
Total points needled | 12 points used bilaterally |
Metal Element Procrastination
Organs = Lungs and Large Intestine
Spirit = Pò
If they are Excess/Shí:
- Everything needs to be ‘just so’ before implementation.
- Old systems get in the way when they used to be reliable and consistent.
- They exhibit scattered or weak thought/numb sensation, feeling, hearing and sight.
If they are Deficient/Xū, they:
- Come up with new ideas but run out of puff before full implementation.
- Feel disillusioned/dispirited/resigned to failure/pessimistic/sloppy/’why bother’.
- Exhibit scattered or weak thought/numb sensation, feeling, hearing and sight.
Table 7 is an acupuncture point combination for the Excess/Shí Metal Element and table 8 is for the Deficient/Xū Metal Element.
Table 7. Metal Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GV 20 | Regulates energy flow up into the head, Shén, Pò |
Trunk (Back) | BL 13 BL 25 | Back Shù Transporting point of the Lungs Back Shù Transporting point of the Large Intestine |
Arms/Hands | LU 5 LU 8 LI 1 LI 2 | Child (sedating) point on the Lung channel Horary point (Metal on Metal) Horary point (Metal on Metal) Child (sedating) point on the Large Intestine channel |
Legs/Feet | KI 1 | Regulates energy flow up into the head, Shén, Pò |
Total points needled | 15 points used bilaterally |
Table 8. Metal Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Trunk (Front) | LU 1 ST 25 | Front Mù Collecting point of the Lungs Front Mù Collecting point of the Large Intestine |
Arms/Hands | LU 8 LU 9 LI 1 LI 11 | Horary point (Metal on Metal) Mother (tonifying) point on the Lung channel Horary point (Metal on Metal) Mother (tonifying) point on the Large Intestine channel |
Legs/Feet | ST 37 | Lower Hé (Uniting) Sea point of the Large Intestine |
Total points needled | 14 points used bilaterally |
Water Element Procrastination
Organs = Kidneys and Urinary Bladder
Spirit = Zhì
If they are Excess/Shí, they:
- Are constantly getting distracted from a task by anxiety and fear of failure/quits when afraid.
- Rarely finish what they start – likely to fall in an exhausted heap if they go to the trouble of finishing a task; alternatively, they never give up and keep searching, which still results in them rarely finishing what they start.
- Are forgetful.
If they are Deficient/Xū, they are:
- Constantly getting distracted from a task because they feel like giving up.
- Dull/stupid/dim-witted – never completes anything/lacks stamina/easily distracted.
- Forgetful.
Table 9 is an acupuncture point combination for the Excess/Shí Water Element and table 10 is for the Deficient/Xū Water Element.
Table 9. Water Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GV 20 | Draws energy up into the head, Shén and Zhì |
Trunk (Front) | GB 25 CV 3 | Front Mù Collecting point of the Kidneys Front Mù Collecting point of the Urinary Bladder |
Legs/Feet | KI 1 KI 10 BL 65 BL 66 | Child (sedating) point on the Kidney channel Horary point (Water on Water) Child (sedating) point on the Urinary Bladder channel Horary point (Water on Water) |
Total points needled | 12 points used bilaterally |
Table 10. Water Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency | ||
Location of Point | Point Name | Reasoning |
Head/Face/Neck | GV 20 | Drops energy out of the head, Shén and Zhì |
Trunk (Back) | BL 23 BL 28 | Back Shù Transporting point of the Kidneys Back Shù Transporting point of the Urinary Bladder |
Legs/Feet | KI 7 KI 10 BL 66 BL 67 | Mother (tonifying) point on the Kidney channel Horary point (Water on Water) Horary point (Water on Water) Mother (tonifying) point on the Urinary Bladder channel |
Total points needled | 13 points used bilaterally |
Well, I hope you enjoyed my two-part series on procrastination. In the end I sat down, was focused, and totally smashed it out. Not part 1. Part 1 sucked. Not the finished product mind you. Just my inability to stay focused and write the damn thing. But part 2 was much smoother.
I am following it up with another two-part series on depression. Keep an eye out over the next fortnight as that arrives at davidhartmanntcm.com
Let me know your thoughts and, of course, love and light to you all
David Hartmann
P.S. More puppies! They are SO CUTE!

