This is more of a fun post, don't take it too seriously.
I read this post, where the author states "Consistency, Not Intensity" as a key to success. I have seen similar posts exalting consistency as a high ideal. What have I noticed? The common factor in most of these posts is that the author is low rated. (No offense to the authors of these blogs; I understand that everyone has different backgrounds and skills, I'm just pointing out a general pattern and my intention is not to discredit their efforts or achievements.)
So, I wonder, perhaps they are thinking backwards? Maybe intensity is the name of the game, and consistency is highly overrated.
Personally, throughout my university degree (which I just completed, yay!) I have taken the approach of intensity over consistency, and it has served me reasonably well.
But, the context of university is different than competitive programming, because (at least at my university) we did not have consistent assessments, rather generally two-four big assignments and one high-stakes exam per each subject, so prioritising intensity over consistency may work better there than in the competitive programming environment, where you have assessments (contests) fairly regularly (at least if your timezone permits, as someone who's living in the UTC+11 timezone...)
I admit that I have been neither consistent nor intense in my study of competitive programming...
So what do you prefer?
