ONTD

Same, I work best under pressure.

Legit curious because I work as an English tutor at a university: Have you ever tried doing it any other way? Probably 75+ percent of people who come in say that's how they work and that they work best that way. I just find it really difficult to believe that people would produce lower-quality work if they spent more time on it.

I'm going to c/p this comment a few times so sorry in advance to everyone. I just really want to know.

I'm sure I'd produce a higher quality of work if I started it earlier, but tbh I find it extremely difficult to get motivated to do something I don't want to do/have no interest in. If it's a subject I really like that's one thing, but by the end of high school I was really burnt out on doing things I hated and had no interest in.

I'm an English major so I've gotten a little creative but usually, I write my papers at least a week before they're due. At least, I did that in undergrad (I've been lazy in grad school).

I've also written them in a few hours before they were due.

I haven't really noticed a difference grade wise. I rarely get below a B on anything and if I do, it's because I just didn't put enough general effort into that paper. Or the professor was too difficult in his or her grading.

I feel like time does not equal effort given. If I make myself sit down for three or four hours solidly, no internet, no tv, etc etc, I can write a solid paper. I can also write a solid paper over the span of a few days by focusing about an hour a day.

I really don't think most people would spend more time on their papers, even if they started earlier. I wouldn't. And doing papers piecemeal over time makes me lose my flow of thought and my papers don't end up as tight and concise; I hate classes that make you do papers one portion at a time.

Edited at 2011-12-05 04:02 pm (UTC)

for me the only way I can get a paper to work is if I write it all in one sitting and the only way that I can motivate myself to do that is with the pressure of the deadline.

I think the thing is, if you added up the time you spent on the paper - it's the same thing. It takes me five hours to write a paper, but that five hours feels like longer if I write for an hour or two every night with half-concentration (because I know I have all this free time) as opposed to sitting down and being forced to concentrate on solely that for five hours.

I think it depends on how much you like the material, too. When I was in school, I remember writing papers the day of (usually the day before), but then there was one class that I absolutely loved where I went to talk to the teacher about it a week or two before it was due and had already written the 10+ page paper and proofread it twice. I still miss that class.

However, a class in Medieval Lit in Translation? Yeah, no. Nonono. I liked the teacher, but the subject was bleh. The only good thing was reenacting the Nibelungenlied with He-Man and Super Mario action figures.

i graduated as an english major and i got straight-a's and i definitely worked better under pressure...don't underestimate the ability of an adrenaline rush and panic to get the wheels spinning...when i was in a major time crunch i was able to devote 100% of my energy and thoughts to what i was writing

I can honestly say I work better doing things at the last minute, and such got me through undergrad and law school. When I start things out in advance, and try to write over time, I completely lose my flow. My writing is disjointed, I have less energy and enthusiasm, the whole paper just lacks a certain oomph to it that the adrenaline of procrastination provides. Papers, for me, just come out better when they're the product of a furied stream of consciousness and racing train of thought.

Anecdotal evidence! I only waited until the last minute once in law school, as opposed to always in undergrad. I wrote a 40 page bioethics paper draft the day before it was due. My prof said it was more than good enough to be a final paper and I got an A+. None of the papers I wrote at an appropriately even and timely pace neared that same elusive A+ quality. Yet in undergrad, where I always procrastinated until the very last moments, nearly all of my papers were A's. Thus, I feel confident to say that for me, it is how I work better.

Edited at 2011-12-05 04:58 pm (UTC)

I'm a journalist so I'm used to writing under deadlines, usually only a day or two. Sometimes I can get papers and assignments done in advance, but typically I'm so loaded with other stuff that needs to be done sooner that when I can shuffle something off to later, I do.

Also, I like to procrastinate, so there's that too. :) But I do well.

I have and believe me, I produced a shitty as product over time. My papers given 0-3 day spans, I always get a 86+ on it, usually a 92-100 range but I have received a lone 86 due to citation errors.

The couple of times I did outlines and rough draft and plan everything out I got like a high b. Start 3 hours before its due? A!

I think it's because I constantly over think things so if I have time to edit myself I constantly question everything I've written and probably change a whole lot of things that don't need changing.