Increase your productivity

Classic Max Loh scenario:
Max on cell phone: Hay babe let's play ultimate
Bad Person #1: Hell naw I have a midterm in 2 weeks!
Max on cell phone: Hay babe let's play ultimate
Bad Person #2: Naw dawg I gots an essay due in 3 days!

"I have a midterm in 2 weeks" (or even 3 days) is NO EXCUSE for refusing to play Ultimate Frisbee, to swim, to play Starcraft, or to do parkour. Only "I have a midterm tomorrow" is acceptable.

Very few students I know work at full speed. "Full speed" can differ from person to person but the fact is, if you haven't done either of the two things below you have never worked at full speed. These are the only two methods to achieve full speed:

1. Set up a reward system.
This was my system back in those middle school days, when my mom had utmost power over me. I was addicted to Diablo 2. My mom might let me play Diablo 2 if I finished my homework. I finished my homework quickly so I could reward myself with some Diablo 2. Why not just pretend to finish homework? you might ask. WELL THAT KINDA DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE DOESN'T IT

2. Procrastinate as much as possible.
If it's an essay, procrastinate until you expect yourself to finish about 2 hours after your regular bedtime. Allot one page per hour. For example, if I have a 5-page essay due tomorrow and my regular bedtime is 1:00am, I procrastinate until 10:00pm. You will realize that working under pressure greatly increases speed without sacrificing quality! You might be able to achieve up to 2 pages per hour, rather than 1. If it's a midterm, procrastinate until some arbitrary time exactly one day before the midterm. You will find that with only 1-5 hours of study, you can achieve the same grade as you usually do on tests for which you study up to 20 hours!

Disclaimer: If the assignment in question is particularly interesting or exciting, neither of these methods are necessary for "full speed" productivity.

Most people start early and work slowly because they have never summoned the courage to experiment with more efficient work ethics. I hope you apply either of the two tested and proven principles to your studies. It will increase your productiveness, increase your free time, and decrease my anger at you for not playing ultimate frisbee.