I also believe in preparedness.
I feel confident asserting it is usually best
to be prepared. In fact, I preach this philosophy to my students. When a paper is due, you should start early. To ensure success, when
you have an exam, you should study days, even weeks in advance. When you have somewhere to be, you should get there on time.
I think of myself as a planner, as someone who
is on the ball, an organized type-A personality. And I am. Usually.
But if I am honest, some of my work has been
done last minute, in the wee hours of the morning just before the project is
due. In those moments, I have told myself I work best under pressure.
And sometimes I do.
I prepare early when I am excited about the
task, or if it is out of my comfort realm, or if I expect to be judged on my
performance. But I procrastinate when I view the task as mundane or as a
burden. I leave those responsibilities until the last minute, until the
deadline (real or self imposed) is near.
Grading is perhaps the most common job I own
that I put off...as long as I can. I always plan to get those dreaded
papers done quickly, but I don't. Instead, I postpone and avoid
until I feel shame. At that point, I set a deadline for myself. A
drop dead date. And still I wait. I grade one or two, cognizant of the
time it takes to grade one paper; I can't help but calculate the exact amount
of time I will need to finish. That calculation is sacrosanct. It
represents the moment when time is no longer mine--the moment I must get to
work. And I do. I always finish on time. As I check the task
off my to-do list, I feel the joy and satisfaction of completion.
Written 14 April 2015 (after an all-nighter)
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