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by parallel_item 3033 days ago
A semester during my undergraduate degree, my registrar account was allowed to sign up for a class after I made a case they should waive the pre-requisite for me. During my sign-up window, I was unable to enroll in the class before it was filled, but noticed I could sign up for any class without being flagged. I ended up taking the most difficult classes in my program all at once, forcing myself to work near 24/7, riding the wave of volatility with heavy consumption of substances. The final result was a firey explosion, but at least it happened the next semester and I was able to graduate early while mostly taking electives for my last semester.

This period of "productivity" taught me a lot. As a lot of folks here are already aware, it is a slow and difficult process to increase the workload one can handle. Temporary support from things like caffeine, sugar, alcohol or drugs can extend these periods making it easy, but over time the effect weakens as you become more familiar with the mental state, making the initial support a crutch. Years later when completing my masters, I found the urge to fall back on some of the habits incredibly appealing during the weeks when I felt stressed and wanted to go on "autopilot". If I look at the future productivity earned from the compound interest of staying up, angry and upset, but still working through the discomfort, then I have had nights that were 10x what that semester in college was, because those nights will yield 100s of hours in the future that I would otherwise not be able to work through.