I love procrastinating. For some reason I just can’t get into doing projects until they absolutely have to be done. Luckily I thrive under the pressure and do my best work when my back is against the wall. I have a theory on why I’m wired this way, but first a little story.

My awesome 10 year old daughter is doing her first science fair project this year, and with the deadline drawing near, we spent some time over the weekend working on it. We were about halfway done on Saturday when her friend called and asked if she could come over. But instead of asking my wife or I if she could go, she informed her friend that she was working on her project and would call her later.

Now, I wasn’t feeling great and we were reaching a part of the project that would have marked a great stopping point. In order to get out of finishing the project, I asked her if she wanted to reconsider. I told her it was alright if she wanted to go over to her friends and that we could finish the project the next day.

My daughter looked me squarely in the face and said, “No Dad, I need to finish this. When I’m done I’ll call her and maybe she can come over here.”

Now, that’s not the first time she has proven to be the more responsible decision maker, in fact, on numerous occasions she has informed me that I was putting too much ice cream in her bowl. But her determination to finish school work is scary.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have a child who is so intelligent and so determined. It certainly pays off on her report card and I’m sure it will pay big dividends in her future.

But what about us procrastinators, is there any help for us?

Well, I don’t think there is any way that I can change my ways now, however, I think my procrastinating style also helps me. Here’s why:

The speed of business in 2011 is faster than it’s ever been, and it shows no signs of slowing down. In order to be successful you’ve got to be able to work harder, and faster, than ever before. You have to be able to make decisions with imperfect or incomplete data and information. You’ve got to be able to do more mental sprinting.

In other words, you need to have the same skill sets that world class procrastinators and “crammers” have. You need to be able to pull an all nighter in order to get the important project done. You have to be able to come up with 10 answers even when you only have 8 questions worth of preparation.

Of course, this doesn’t mean there isn’t value in being able to plan ahead and finish projects before the due date, because there is. But if your kid is more likely to wait til the last minute, requires constant prodding and poking, and is driving you crazy with their constant answer of “I’ll do it later” . . . you never know, they might turn out okay after all. I think I did. And don’t worry, apparently it’s not hereditary.