The subtle, multi-layered relationship between ego and failure
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I remember the very first time that happened. I had a list of words, and I had to copy the definition for each word to a piece of paper. That was it. That was the entire homework. I thought it was such a stupid task. I can read the definition and remember it. Why do I need to copy definitions until my hand hurts?
But I knew I couldn't go play until it was finished. So I set my mind to finish as quickly as humanly possible. I turned off the TV. I tuned out all distractions and scribbled the definitions down as fast as I could. I was done with all my homework in a half hour and I could play the rest of the afternoon.
Not only did it not take me a long time to do it, but I didn't need to dread having homework to do after playing with friends. I became really good at tuning out the distractions around me.
But still I wanted to be outside playing and some days I would have longer assignments. So I would start doing my homework in class. As soon as I found out the assignment, frequently printed as questions at the end of a chapter, I would begin working on them. I wouldn't even pay attention to the teachers. I would tune them out too. I would read the material, teach it to myself, and finish my homework while the other kids sat bored and barely listening.
As a result of this, I became really good at focusing and self learning. The only thing I really hated were long papers with far away deadlines. I would always wait until the last day or two and end up having to power through them with all my focus.
Reminds me of Munger's description of the Grandma Rule [1]: you have to eat the carrots before you get the dessert.
I'm very envious of your skillset, and hope to develop it for myself too. I find it interesting though that you'd put off long papers– why not do those early too?
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The expectation on those was that you would write a long paper about what you learned from the course. Therefore, there was no clearly defined starting line.
I also hated writing. Grading always seemed subjective to me. If the teacher liked you, you got high grades. If the teacher didn't like you, you got low grades. It wasn't like math or science. With those subjects, there's a single, provably right answer. The opposite of those 'creative' courses like literature.