To add to this more than a few players did a crunch to be able to get TL3. A big example was pushing the replies read (20,000 required) on the last couple of days by paging down in long threads. When it passes a certain point, that day or two of pushing for a certain stat is no longer counted and the total drops much lower.
It is much more effective to spread out the activity, reading and posting and giving regularly so it is less likely to have high peaks and sudden drop-offs.
(Also, if reading threads is the tough one for you, I actually recommend going to the “Rate my mog” ones. Most people keep those replies short, so it is a lot faster to page down through and read them. And easy to the ones you like, for that activity.)