The week before an exam is the most productive I am all semester.

I tap into energy reserves, discipline and learn faster than I thought I ever could. I muster the ability to watch ten lectures a day, when I previously struggled with six a week.

Just as runners set personal bests at big races, the pressure to achieve something great pushes us to new limits.

Perhaps the key to consistent improvement is to always be under some artificial pressure; to have a deadline looming over you, urging you to action. Without these tests, one would always be performing less than they could.

But at what cost?