I often put things off until the last minute. A year or two ago I began to wonder if I actually liked the stress and fear of last-minute work. It is a dangerous gamble that is exhilarating when it pays off, and when it doesn't, it adds more feelings of risk and stress, raising the stakes.

One of the most egregious cases of procrastination was the weekend before a test on Monday. Already sleep-deprived, I stayed up late on Saturday night, watching TV, playing video games, and staring at websites until my eyes stung. Sleep meant waking up and having to cram the next day. I stayed up late, finally turning in at 3-4 A.M. Forgetting to set my alarms to a reasonable wake-up time, I woke up at 4:00 P.M. When that happened, I immediately knew that I would have to pull an all-nighter in order to salvage my sleep cycle and get my studying done. After pulling off a caffeine-free all-nighter, I went to class late Monday afternoon and aced the test. I felt utterly invincible.

Episodes like this one tend to create favorable "war stories" in my mind, things that I can take strength from whenever I am in similar situations. They have also created a dangerous Favre-like self-image that is comfortable in putting things off until the last minute. Fear seems to be my motivator, and unfortunately, instructors these days do not use it enough.