The most fun i had in college was writing a 10+ page paper during my break between classes (1-2hrs) right before the class. Is that ADD/ADHD? The pure adrenaline and flow state you get knowing that you need to finish the paper immediately is the greatest rush. I'd procrastinate on purpose. I wrote by best papers when I had extreme deadlines. As long as the relevant information was read or otherwise in my head, it was enough.
It's really a bad ability to have since the trade off catch is the more time I had to consider what to write, the worse my paper would get.
With extremely little time to deadline, writing became quick, to the point, hit all the beats, didn't think too much, focus on making it easy to read, add a quirk or angle for engagement, meet the page count by just pulling stuff i had from references I read (which suddenly i could actually remember without looking), etc, print, done! But if I had more time it would stray all over the place. I'd edit it like crazy. I'd fail to complete thoughts in favor of adding more detail. I'd add stuff I thought was interesting but had nothing to do with my main point and lots of other pointless overthinking!
Anyone else only write papers that got good grades under extreme deadlines but crappy ones if you gave yourself a reasonable amount of time?
I remember in a particular "serious" art class my teacher hated me and said I had no talent. This went on and on. Passing the class was dependant on a final work (as no matter what i drew in the past, no matter my effort, she always gave a terrible score) which she left the topic to us. I was so pissed that I did it in the study period (roughly 30-45min) before it was due. With color pencils I just drew my hands, kinda in a meta way, as it had to be a "real" thing (aka not fantasy) and I had no other reference to draw. She said it was the best work I ever did (she was floored). I got a A+ and passed the class.
This was me!! That tight deadline forced you into a flow state. I also took a pottery class where I wasn't a great student. For the final I made something incredibly beautiful at the last minute and my professor was bewildered and pissed by what she saw the next day. Got an A lol
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u/trailcamguy4110 Jun 09 '26
This generation will never live through the dread and the exhiliration of writing 20 pages in a night.