Deregulating Distractions

I have this pattern too.

I know full well that my resolution against spending willpower against myself means that once I get addicted to something, it has to run its full course before I can be productive again.

This especially rang true.

I like books and wherever I am you will find me looking for good ones (more non-fiction than fiction) by I am very choosy because If I stick with a book I will stop only if it is done.

I avoid open-ended addictions (ongoing online games, chemical addictions, etc.) like the plague.

Me too but actually I am currently in such a productivity-eating addiction: LW. LW is mind food and a community that is demanding. It is a challenge to me and it is open-ended. The only thing that caught me is my online browsing safety net but it stretches. I had to add a time-keeping category for it. LW was a helpful focussing distration at a difficult time but I have some difficulty of letting go. I'm not sure how to do this. I planned on building on this community and to organize a Meetup in February. But I also considered a cold withdrawal (blacklisting LW for some time). I used social commitment to at get this in check.

Moving Towards the Goal

Smoothly moving toward a goal, navigating clear of extremes is my way too.

I either put in the minimum possible effort or I blow expectations completely out of the water.

I was also always able to satisfy expectations by putting in the minimum amount of work. The difference being that a) I probably wasn't as talented as you and b) the expectations put on me weren't very high. So I usually don't blow expectations.

I'd like to point out some intrinsic risks you run with this. You point out yourself

If I had to force or convince myself to study lots of math continously, I don't think I'd get very far.

This means that you could hit a plateau where you know a lot of everything that is interesting. If that plateau is a large flat local maximum then you are stranded. You will only be able to leave that plateau by going very far and you possibly can not. As curiosity is your drive (as is mine) you might instead emotionally change gears (otherwise as Bruce Lee says the plateau will kill you). Can's say more without more info.

Luckily for me it doesn't look like a local maximum - instead pieces from all domains still indicate continuous ascent.

Level Hopping

This is the main idea I took home. I do skip introductory texts if I am arrogant enough to believe that my experience will help me out - but I didn't notice that this is really a general strategy I could employ more generally.