Maybe a week ago, give or take a couple of days, my roommate Sarah linked me to this article on CNN: Are you a procrastinator or an incubator? Her commentary as she linked me the post?  “Oh my god, it’s SO US.”

I’m a graduate student.  I know the pressure of deadlines.  As I read the article, I found myself nodding along.  I put my assignments off to the last minute, but when I do them, my work is solid.  My completion of my tasks is never in question — everything always gets done, and it always gets done well.  I just have trouble doing anything ahead of time.

What’s interesting to me is how I spend my time leading up to the point where I finally buckle down and start working on my assignment.  I don’t whittle it away in front of the TV — I find myself productive in other areas of my life.  I clean.  I organize.  I exercise.  I do other homework.  The hours leading into any deadline are the most productive hours of my life, because not only do I get the ultimate assignment finished, I also take care of other tasks that I’d been putting off.  One can always tell when I’ve had a paper due because my apartment is significantly more organized than when I have nothing hanging over my head.

The checklist at the bottom of CNN’s article asks you to rate six signs that you might be an incubator from one to four.  If you score over 20 points total, you may be an incubator.

I scored 24 points.  How about you?