I'm a major procrastinator. Always have been. Probably always will be. I think it's an intrinsic tendency in people who work in deadline-driven professions like writing or reporting.

At my job, when we team interview potential candidates for copywriter or speechwriter jobs, we always give them the same final question to see if they're for real or not. We ask, "OK, let's say you get an assignment to write a speech on Monday that's due on Friday. When do you start?"

The ones that say, "I'd start right away on Monday," are generally candy-asses, suck-ups and liars. It's the ones who say, "Well, I'd tell you I'd start on Monday but it's not the truth. The truth is I'd start on Thursday, maybe as early as Wednesday afternoon." Those are the folks we generally hire. Not only are they real and honest, but they also know that writing is a process that requires advance think time before you start putting words onto paper.