Are You a Marathoner, a Sprinter, or a Procrastinator About Work?

Are you a Marathoner or a Sprinter or a Procrastinator when you approach a large task?

A Marathoner prefers to work more days, for fewer hours–three hours a day for seven days. Slow and steady.

A Sprinter prefers to work fewer days, for more hours–seven hours a day for three days, or even two very long days. Bursts of effort.

There’s no right or wrong way, but just whatever system works better for you.

I'm a Marathoner. I like working every day, but I don’t like feeling that I have to get a huge amount done in any one session. I like having distant deadlines that I approach slowly and steadily. I love writing books, but I could never work for a daily paper; the crush of constant deadlines would make me crazy.

Sprinters like pressure and feel energized by tight deadlines. For instance, a friend told me, “I never prepare a talk until right before I have to give it–I mean, people are in their seats and I’m standing waiting to go out to a podium. It drives my staff crazy, but that’s when I get all my ideas.” Another friend has a book to write, but she won’t start until a few months before it’s due. She likes to sprint, and she knows how long it will take her to write the book, so she doesn’t want to start until she’ll feel the deadline pressure.

However, being a Sprinter isn't the same thing as being a Procrastinator. Sprinters love to work at the last minute; Procrastinators don't, and feel as though they should be working, but somehow they can’t make themselves. They aren’t choosing to hold back; they can’t force themselves forward until the deadline is so urgent that they must act. (Want tips to stop procrastinating? Look here.)

Often, I see Procrastinators fall into the trap of the “tomorrow problem” (which is related to the one-coin problem). “I won’t work today, but I’ll work seven hours tomorrow”–but when tomorrow becomes today, they don’t feel like working the seven hours. If that’s a challenge you face, you might try a Marathoner approach. Don’t try to do too much on any one day, but push yourself to be very, very consistent.

What do you think? Marathoners, Sprinters, Procrastinators, or any combinations of the three, please weigh in.

I explore this issue in Before and After, my forthcoming book about habits. If you'd like to find out when it's available for pre-order, sign up here.