To Procrastinate or not to … oh whatever!

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/), Zhì (Stagnation/), or Shí (Excess/) 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/Spirit/Spleen and Stomach
  • Metal Element and Archetype/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/Wood Element.

Table 1. Wood Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning
Head/Face/NeckGB 20Clears Excess from the head, Shén and Hún
Trunk (Front)LR 14 GB 24Front Collecting point of the Liver  Front Collecting point of the Gall Bladder
Legs/FeetLR 1 LR 2 GB 38 GB 41Horary 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 needled14 points used bilaterally
Table 2. Wood Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning 
Trunk (Back)BL 18 BL 19Back Shù Transporting point of the Liver Back Shù Transporting point of the Gall Bladder
Legs/FeetLR 1 LR 8 GB 41 GB 43Horary 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 needled12 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/Fire Element.

Table 3. Fire Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning
Head/Face/NeckGV 20Drives Excess down from the head and Shén
Trunk (Front)CV 14 CV 4Front Collecting point of the Heart Front Collecting point of the Small Intestine
Arms/HandsHT 7 HT 8 SI 5 SI 8Child (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/FeetKI 1Draws Excess away from the head and Shén
Total points needled13 points used bilaterally
Table 4. Fire Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning 
Head/Face/NeckGV 20Draws Vital Substances up into the head and Shén
Trunk (Back)BL 14 BL 22Back Shù Transporting point of the Pericardium Back Shù Transporting point of the Sān Jiāo
Arms/HandsPC 8 PC 9 TE 3 TE 6Horary 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/FeetKI 1Drives Vital Substances up into the head and Shén
Total points needled15 points used bilaterally

Earth Element Procrastination

Organs = Spleen and Stomach

Spirit =

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/Earth Element.

Table 5. Earth Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning
Head/Face/NeckST 8 Clears Excess from the head, Shén and
Trunk (Back)BL 20 BL 21Back Shù Transporting point of the Spleen Back Shù Transporting point of the Stomach
Legs/FeetSP 3 SP 5 ST 36 ST 45Horary 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 needled14 points used bilaterally
Table 6. Earth Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning 
Head/Face/NeckGV 20Draws Vital Substances up into the head, Shén,
Trunk (Front)CV 12 LR 13Front Collecting point of the Stomach Front Collecting point of the Spleen
Legs/FeetSP 2 SP 3 ST 36 ST 41Mother (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 needled12 points used bilaterally

Metal Element Procrastination

Organs = Lungs and Large Intestine

Spirit =

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/Metal Element.

Table 7. Metal Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning
Head/Face/NeckGV 20Regulates energy flow up into the head, Shén,
Trunk (Back)BL 13 BL 25Back Shù Transporting point of the Lungs Back Shù Transporting point of the Large Intestine
Arms/HandsLU 5 LU 8 LI 1 LI 2Child (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/FeetKI 1Regulates energy flow up into the head, Shén,
Total points needled15 points used bilaterally
Table 8. Metal Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning 
Trunk (Front)LU 1 ST 25Front Collecting point of the Lungs Front Collecting point of the Large Intestine
Arms/HandsLU 8 LU 9 LI 1 LI 11Horary 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/FeetST 37Lower (Uniting) Sea point of the Large Intestine
Total points needled14 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/Water Element.

Table 9. Water Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Excess
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning 
Head/Face/NeckGV 20Draws energy up into the head, Shén and Zhì 
Trunk (Front)GB 25 CV 3Front Collecting point of the Kidneys Front Collecting point of the Urinary Bladder
Legs/FeetKI 1 KI 10 BL 65 BL 66Child (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 needled12 points used bilaterally
Table 10. Water Element Acupuncture Point Combination – Deficiency
Location of PointPoint NameReasoning 
Head/Face/NeckGV 20Drops energy out of the head, Shén and Zhì
Trunk (Back)BL 23 BL 28Back Shù Transporting point of the Kidneys Back Shù Transporting point of the Urinary Bladder
Legs/FeetKI 7 KI 10 BL 66 BL 67Mother (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 needled13 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!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *