I don't give myself time to overthink. When I overthink I start to worry and become paranoid of the work that I am doing: Is this good enough? What else can I do? Will people like this? Questions crash around in my mind and clutter my head to the point where my work can suffer; especially, when I spend too much time on one thing. So when a deadline is three weeks away, work occurs towards the tail end of that time period. Sometimes I can do this is done unwillingly, but I've put myself in this situation. Now, I don't suggest holding off on all of your projects till a few hours before they are do because they can stack up on you, but this forces you to perform. Without a lot of time, your mind has to focus and especially if the deadline is close.You have to make whatever you are working on great; specifically when there's no time to fix it.
My upbringing was fueled by the mantra "lazy is the worst thing that you can be." At least, that's what my parents seemed to have lived by and continue to live by. As the child of an Operating Room Nurse and a Financial Counselor, I don't feel like I have the right to complain about how much work that I have to do; I couldn't imagine what it's like to cut someone open on two hours of sleep or guiding people without insurance through medical bills. As a result, I packed my days with two jobs, two majors, a band, and a relationship which leaves me seemingly void of free time. There is no room to mess up because there is more work that I have to get done and time isn't going to drag me with it. I have to keep moving and I have to fill my time with things that fill what little time that I have with worth.
The most important resource in life is the one that we can never hold onto: time. No matter what we want to do, time will keep moving with an absolute disregard for how much work we have to do. So it should be imperative to utilize time to get things done. This is especially true when you are student and/or a worker. Papers, reports and whatever else on a higher power's itinerary will find its way towards you and it'll seem like they'll always find you. It can be overwhelming, or at least feel like it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There is purpose behind work, which is most evident when you care about the work that you are doing.
Despite my lack of sleep, I don't want to change things because I am the culprit behind my business: I applied for my jobs at concert venues and an elementary school, declared my education/english major, and booked the shows that oblige me to do the best job that I can. What fuels me is the fact that I filled my schedule with my passions and I feel a necessity do my best. I'm not going to waste my time on things that I don't care about if I can help it. Now I don't always want to do the work that comes with the things that I scheduled but I am fortunate to be able to do the things that I love so dearly. But even when I wasn't able to do so, I knew that I had towards this point. There's always something that can be done and there's not a lot of time do them. So just go and do it.