Over the past few months poker has made me aware of an imbalance in my mind. It takes it's form in many forms of tilt or simply a more fuzzy, slower thought process. I believe that the problem is related to mental energy. I am incredibly underqualified in how the brain works, but I believe the issue is very much a physical one, perhaps the consequence of bad life habits, burnout or simply deep down issues of which I am in denial. I was always aware of such issues and that on certain days I was playing far from A game. Some times I could even tell before I sat down at the table that it was not a good idea to play. That being said I have a very busy schedule and grinding a bankroll is not an overnight job and so I take my chances that my B or C game will still be able to be +EV. Generally I punt off too many stacks for this to be the case. Generally upon reflecting on these hands it is very obvious that I played the hand poorly. Although I was certainly aware that an issue existed I don't think I fully grasped the extent of the issue until this morning. I am also a theoretical physics student, which I think is likely the root of a lot of my problems given that it is both mentally draining and incredibly time consuming in and of itself. On Wednesday night I spent about 4 hours trying to solve a particularly difficult problem. Many of my peers had solved the problem by making a rather untrivial assumption which I was quite unpleased with and is definitely against my mantra. My degree is hard enough that people spend there times simply "trying to get everything done" instead of trying to improve or properly better understand the universe. This is a side issue but it is perhaps important in defining both my personality and my approach to both Physics and to Poker. This morning I decided to revisit the problem. I began from scratch as i had made basically 0 progress throughout all of Wednesday night and low and behold I solved the problem in it's most general and beautiful form within only 15 minutes. When I solved the problem however I was filled not with joy but with frustration. Why was my form so uncontrollable? Why sometimes do I struggle to think at all and other times I can perform at what I believe to be a very high level. Sometimes it is obvious that I am tired or bored or unmotivated but other times there is no telling before I dive into my task. The standard answers lie in consistency with sleep and diet and maybe meditation and I completely agree however my life is highly irregular by its nature. Some days I just have to spend 16 hours in the library, sometimes I need to go to the pub for my sanity. I believe that I would find a perfectly regimented lifestyle to be both boring and unattainable and so I need to find my mental energy by some other means. The first step I believe is to better understand it. I would of course appreciate all criticisism, advice and opinions.

Please break your text up into paragraphs. It makes it much easier to follow.

What you're describing, as far as I can tell, is something I assume we all experience. We're humans not robots and sometimes our brains are operating at maximum efficiency and other times they're not.

I know I can relate to what you're describing. I think it's inevitable that we're going to experience what you're describing to some extent.

I agree that habits play a role. Some habits that I have found to have a positive correlation with better mental processing include eating healthier food, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, socializing/ having fun, meditating and avoiding alcohol/drugs. It's a good idea to build healthier habits for a number of reasons.

That being said I've also had the experience where I went out drinking the night before a tournament, was half hung-over when I arrived, and then was almost magically in the zone when I started playing.

I suspect that part of it is related to bio rhythms that are outside of our control.

Anyway it's an interesting subject. In your case I would consider building some slightly more regimented habits into your lifestyle. For example what I have been doing is planning to go to the gym on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Then if something comes up I allow myself to skip a day and make it up later in the week between Thursday and Sunday.

This might not be completely optimal, but it is a degree of regimentation while also allowing for freedom and spontaneity. See what I'm saying? I suspect some similar types of flexible regimentation might work well for you too.

Your poker might be spazzing because part of you is looking for a break from all the intense thinking when at the table. We all burn out after a span of time of intense concentration, and we just can't produce the focused energy without a break. I like the biorhythm reply too as my experience has made me wonder about it, even though I don't have much data on it, and it is generally regarded as pseudo-science. In regard to solving quickly after struggling, our subconscious continues in another form or analyzing the problem, so the frustrating part of not making progress indeed did pay off in the outcome "blast of insight" solution. You have to learn to accept not only uneven results but uneven performance, but when playing poker well below A-game level that's not necessarily anything "wrong" as a person, but is problematic for poker career. Two different things.