[pizza]

Keep track of your average goal-progress growth rate over time, and the timescale of the discounting factor of future rewards - longer timescales w/ really unpredictable progress is the riskiest combo, but that doesn't mean that's totally disqualifying.

Hopefully early progress leads to somewhat multiplicative growth of future progress - compound gains on early achievements.

Additionally, you're in a good situation if you can be at 80% peak effort and 20% peak effort at will - balance it about 50/50 imo. Lean on help - ask professors for mercy, order takeout when you're exhausted, etc. - to nudge your life towards that ratio, when possible.

Otherwise, if you're operating at max burn almost all the time, no matter how hard you work and how much it pays off, it won't be your dream - it'll be your yoke.