MrBeast described his 'grind mode,' saying he can work up to 8 days non-stop on YouTube content: 'Normal people, they don't want that life'

• Jimmy Donaldson, the world's biggest YouTuber, appeared on Lex Fridman's podcast last week.
• Donaldson told Fridman that he'll sometimes pull all-nighters or work for up to eight days straight.

MrBeast, the most-followed YouTuber in the world, shared an insight into the "grind mode" of working non-stop for days at a time that he says helped him gain success as an influencer.

During an interview with Russian-American computer scientist Lex Fridman, who hosts a podcast on YouTube, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, was asked what he does to protect his mental health.

"Weirdly enough, the best thing for my mental health was giving into my innate nature to work. And the most depressed I get is when I try to restrict it, like, 'I don't work weekends' or 'I don't work this day.' What's best for me is just to work when I feel like working," he said in the episode, which was posted on January 11.

"There are just some nights where I don't wanna sleep, and for whatever reason, I feel compelled to go all night," he continued, adding, "And when I'm really in the grind mode it'll be seven or eight days just non-stop going, going, and then I'll realize, 'Oh, I need some recharge time,' and then go fucking binge a season of anime."

Fridman replied by telling Donaldson that he tries to surround himself with people who encourage him to keep working harder.

Donaldson said, "Normal people, they don't want that life, and they probably shouldn't. It's not good for you." He added that spending time with people who don't share that work ethic can make him "feel crazy," whereas, "If you're around similar people, it's so much easier."

Donaldson has previously spoken out about his intense approach to making content for his main YouTube channel, which has 128 million subscribers.

In July, when the YouTuber reached the 100 million subscriber milestone on his main channel, livestreaming his reaction for his fans, he said that producing videos was his main focus in life.

"All I do is wake up every day and obsess over how to make the best videos possible. It's all I care about. It's the only thing that's ever really made me happy," he said.

In September, Donaldson said that he lives in his filming studio in Greenville, North Carolina, spending most of his time there working on content, while speaking on an episode of YouTube podcast "The Iced Coffee Hour."

"In the last 20 days I've only left this studio once, I just live here, I don't really need money for other things," he told Graham Stephan, the podcast's host.

Donaldson is known for making high-production challenge-style videos that typically involve giving away large prizes to fans. Last year, he recreated the Netflix show "Squid Game" for a competition involving 456 supporters, and in June, he gave away $500,000 to a fan in a competition inspired by "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory."

In November, he officially became the most-subscribed individual YouTube creator in the world, overtaking gaming and vlogging creator PewDiePie, who previously held the title for nine years.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.