Erratic productivity

Question

I consider myself a productive person. I get most of my things done to a level which I'm happy with.

But sometimes my productivity just goes down the drain. I sleep in to the point of oversleeping (and even then I don't feel rested), and feel no joy in anything. On some level I want to work and I'm aware of what my goals are and everything but I just can't do it. Everything stops. I feel like procrastinating on the simplest task.

Then at other times I can work from early in the morning and until 2AM, getting a lot done and then wake up at 7 or 8 and go at it again.

I'm usually in one of two states: Either I'm really on, or I'm really off. I can't seem to predict or control it in any way. When I'm really off, I usually can't even concentrate enough to do something purely enjoyable like watching an episode of a TV show, and I just want to be alone in my room doing absolutely nothing. It's like I don't have a "normal" setting.

I have been like this for years, but now it's becoming a real problem since the tasks I am given are harder, so I can't "mask" it by simply sprinting through a lot of work to get ahead and then slow down to a crawl when my head stops working. I used to be able to do that, but now I just don't have the time for "down-time". And when I will enter the workforce, I will be even less able to do this (I'm just a student now).

What is your advice?

Answer 1

Your situation is surely difficult to deal with. What I can tell you is it has two main aspects:

• The physiologic one: you must go to a Neurologist and perhaps also to a Nutritionist in order to check if everything goes well. For example, some thyroid hormones may be out of their recommended limits, or perhaps you have some syndrome or disorder. These physicians will surely ask you to do some examinations. I urge you to do this, even more knowing you are still an student, because when you will be out there working, the time will run faster but it will also run short.
• The practical one: something you can afford to do just now: try to identify the context when these changes of state happen. Try to remember —at least for the last months— how long each state lasts, what you were doing when the change happened, where were you then, and so on. This will not only be useful for yourself, but also when you go (I strongly advise you to) to the doctor.