From All-Nighters in Grad School to Marathon Deadlines at Work: A Reflection on Demand, Excellence, and Sustainability
I used to think all-nighters were reserved for grad school.
Those intense nights before a major exam or the final sprint to finish a research paper. I vividly remember how I motivated myself back then: “This is over soon.” It was a mental trick that worked—there was always a finish line in sight. Youth, adrenaline, and the promise of temporary suffering made it manageable.
Fast forward to now. Just two weeks ago, I had three nights in a row that nearly mirrored those grad school all-nighters. This time, it wasn’t a professor’s deadline—it was work. Real projects. Big ones. Ones that mattered deeply. Despite our well-intentioned project plan, the scope expanded, the depth increased, and the time… well, the time stayed fixed. Something had to give. And that something was rest.
Why Did This Happen?
I’ve been sitting with that question: Was my timeline unrealistic?
Or is this just the nature of some projects—especially in fields like Organizational Development (OD) consulting), where complexity, relationships, and high standards often collide?
The truth? It’s probably a combination:
Scope Creep: As we dove deeper, we uncovered more meaningful paths. Saying no felt like limiting the project’s potential.
Excellence Culture: We value excellence—not perfectionism, but quality. We go beyond the bare minimum. That often means going beyond the estimated hours too.
Passion and Ownership: Sometimes we over-invest emotionally and cognitively because we care. That’s beautiful… and also risky.
Underestimating Human Limits: I’m no longer the grad student with infinite bounce-back. These long nights now come with real costs: fatigue, slower recovery, and strained creativity.
The Nature of Demanding Careers
Some careers—like OD consulting, leadership development, or start-up strategy—ask a lot of us. Not just time, but mental presence, emotional energy, and adaptability. There will be seasons that are intense. But if intensity becomes the norm, we risk burnout, detachment, or worse—resenting the very work we once loved.
This insight echoes research by Jennifer Moss, author of The Burnout Epidemic and contributor to Harvard Business Review. She argues that burnout isn’t caused by a lack of self-care or resilience—but by the design of our work systems. When pressure and excellence collide without limits, we risk building environments that normalize overload. Moss reminds us that high-performing cultures must learn to balance ambition with recovery—not just rely on grit and drive to pull us through.
Her words brought me back to my early years in consulting. I remember my first firm, where I began working while still finishing my PhD and dissertation. Back then, junior consultants were often assigned to step in for senior consultants in high-stakes interventions—with little notice. The pressure to deliver at their level, combined with barely any preparation time, made all-nighters almost routine.
In my second firm, my vacation was once canceled because I was urgently needed on a project. I was sent away on dates that overlapped with meaningful family commitments. I didn’t speak up—I wanted to prove my value, to be seen as dependable. These were formative years, but they came with a cost.
Now, as a leader in my own consulting firm, I no longer allow those practices. I’m deeply committed to a healthier way of working. And yet, I find myself wondering: is my client-centric philosophy unintentionally creating a new kind of systemic burden for my team? We pride ourselves on being responsive, adaptable—on saying yes to those “from now to now” requests.
But do we always need to comply?
Is it possible that I need clearer boundaries—not just for my own well-being, but to protect my team from becoming victims of my inability to balance customer focus with sustainable practices?
It’s not just about setting limits as individuals. It’s about designing boundaries and expectations at the organizational level, so that excellence doesn’t come at the expense of health and cohesion.
My Personal Takeaways
1. Excellence needs boundaries. Just because I can do more doesn’t mean I always should.
2. Build buffer time. In the planning phase, expect the unexpected.
3. Recognize when “going the extra mile” becomes the whole marathon. Sustainability matters.
4. Celebrate, but also recover. The project was phenomenal—but so was the exhaustion. Both need to be acknowledged.
5. Examine your systems. As a leader, ask: Is my drive to serve creating pressure loops I no longer feel, but others still carry?
A Thought for Fellow Consultants & High Performers
If you’re in a demanding career: pause and ask—
Are we building systems that require superhuman effort to succeed?
If the answer is yes, it may be time to redesign those systems—not ourselves.
Reference
Moss, Jennifer. “Beyond Burned Out.” Harvard Business Review, February 2021. Link to article
Written by Annie-Mariel Arroyo, PH.D
Dr. Annie-Mariel Arroyo-Calixto is a practiced organizational psychologist with more than 28 years of professional experience in organizational change and leadership development. Dr. Arroyo is the founder of Culture To Fit, where for the past 22 years, she has helped leaders build or reshape their organizational culture and lead transformation. She is a seasoned leadership educator and a renowned executive coach known for her ability to guide leaders in gaining deeper insights and self-growth.
