That kind of preparation can lead to academic success, and to reduced stress as well. In some of the research I have conducted, I've demonstrated that the way people focus on their goals has a strong influence on how satisfied they are with their lives. The first is composed of students who said they studied for good grades so they could go to good graduate schools and please their parents. The second group also offered those motivations, but added that they were interested in the course material, felt better when they did well and felt better when they didn't let themselves get stressed out by waiting until the last minute. The second group academically performed much better.
Procrastination is bad.
Final exams do not have to be. So sharpen your pencils. Refill your stapler. Buy a new ink cartridge. Michael Berg, who conducts social psychology research at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, turned this story in to his editor three days before deadline.