I think people generally fall into two categories - those who plan ahead and those who work better with a looming deadline. It can be tricky working with someone who works with a different mental timeframe.
I tend to plan ahead and leave enough time to make changes to a project, feeling that I have done a thorough job before it's due. Sometimes, I'm on a walk over the weekend and a new thought rises to the surface. Another change. The work is done even if something unexpected happens in my life at the last minute. I'm not scrambling.
Other professionals don't have the mental light switch turned on until the day before the deadline. Their great ideas surge through and get tweaked during late night hours. Perhaps this individual feels a sense of exhilaration and satisfaction. They didn't overspend their time on this - and the product is still done well.
It can be hard to work together. I hate working at the last minute and staying up late the night before it's due when it can be avoided. Another colleague might hate wasting time planning a project until it's absolutely necessary. Two very different ways of looking producing the similar results.
Which one are you?
Firmly in the procrastinator slot. I need the terror of a looming deadline to propel myself into action. I'm the colleague that planners dread working with. However, I rarely do it late at night. I wake early and tackle things when I'm fresh in the morning.
Absolutely a planner! I have had nightmares about feeling unprepared. I also tend to think up new ideas while on a walk. That is also when I mentally run through my to-do lists, making sure I don't miss anything!
Thank you for posing such a reflective question!
I am a planner. I like having it done with the ability to make changes if I want to take things in a different direction or I get a new idea. I hate when things get left to the last minute.
Oh, planner for sure. It is stressful to work with procrastinators too.
I think I am definitely a middle person as well. I love the idea of planning ahead but I will wait till the last minute to do that.