Crunch time

I often seem to find myself in this situation. Major project due in a few days, cramming it in. Usually, for me, this has to do with college. I always intend to do it in advance, but then something comes up- like having a baby, or planting a church etc., that is just enough distraction for me to end up "not having enough time" to finish my class. Then, here I sit locked in my office from early in the morning (8am) till early in the morning (3:30am), for a few days playing catch-up. When I am done, I feel like I have climbed a mountain, and it feels great. I feel like I have accomplished the impossible. What frustrates me is that this great feeling I get reinforces this behavior. So then, I feel like I can keep staying super busy because, "I work best under pressure." The problem with that though, is that I am realizing more and more, how that mentality effects others. For example, my kids. I saw them for about 30 minutes yesterday morning, 10 minutes last night, and then 10 minutes again this morning. I wont see them again until tonight. Why? Because my wife has been gracious enough to give me the space/ time I will need in the isolation of my office to get this class done. So, it is costing her. It is costing my kids. But I will get it done...and then I can take them all to Chuck-E-Cheese to make up for it...that doesn't seem like "I work best" after all. Something I need to focus on....