Lightning Does Strike Twice

This semester we are enrolled in a class called Health Research I, essentially it is a data analytics class. Every other week or so we turn in a problem set, which is a small project that encompasses one topic of the class. This week we worked on forecasting and had been warned in the past that this was the problem set that ended up having the most output and also would be much easier to start early when learning the different forecasting techniques. I got started on it as we went along each method and then unfortunately, lost the entirety of my data around 10am on Wednesday (the day before it was due). This was mostly my own fault for forgetting to save my progress as I went along. I pretty much locked myself in my apartment and ended up getting back to where I was. Then again, at 9pm, my computer shut down. Of course I didn't learn my lesson and again didn't save my progress. I panicked and knew as soon as I turned my computer on I would be back to where I was at 10am. I ended up staying up until about 2am to finish the problem set and lost most of my sanity in the process. However, I was the most productive during this time. This got me thinking about procrastinating. While I did not intentionally procrastinate, I may as well have. I was wondering why I was the most productive the closest to my deadline. I may have been more productive because I had already forecasted this data twice so I had my bearings at this point. I have become much better about procrastination since high school but I remember the cycle of putting things off then scrambling to be productive in the last night. Now, I tend to start things much earlier and try to get ahead of my assignments.
I found an article on Business Insider about how procrastinating can make you more productive . A professor from Stanford University talks about his use of "structured procrastination". He says "

'Procrastination means not doing what you’re supposed to be doing,' he says. 'Structured procrastination means you don’t waste your time. When you’re avoiding another task, you do something else instead.' " I thought this was a really interesting concept. Putting things off to the last minute is really never a good strategy, but I think if you take something away from his strategy it should be that if you really are avoiding one project, at least get your work done on another one. Don't just sit and watch Youtube videos or scroll through Facebook. He also made the point that as long as you weigh your priorities you can still be efficient. Every person works differently when it comes to time management, the most important thing is finding a strategy that fits your personal style but still is a strategy that gets your work done on time and with a high quality. This is a very different way of time management from anything I have ever seen but I found he did make some good points.
At the end of the day I learned from this experience 1. I hate working right before a deadline so procrastination is just not for me 2. SAVE YOUR WORK multiple times as you go along on big projects 3. If it comes down to it, you will still be able to meet your deadline so just work hard and be productive.