How not to fall asleep

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I have a way too messed up of a sleep schedule. My sleep time is a moving goalpost, and this is causing significant issues for me.

A couple years ago, I used to find it very easy to pull multiple all-nighters in a row, like 3-4 days easy. However, these days, I can't even get 1, like I literally can't stay awake for even 24 hours with 5 cups of coffee in my system. I slept in the morning yesterday, and woke up at 1 AM, and now I've got important stuff to do in the morning. But I can't fall asleep. And I don't know how I will stay awake in the day.

What are some good ways to pull an all-nighter? I remember reading somewhere that there was an optimal time for coffee consumption when pulling an all nighter, and IIRC, it said that you should have coffee at the time you normally go to sleep. However, there is no time I normally go to sleep for me. Its all over the place.

I don't drink coffee unless I want to pull an all-nighter, because I hate coffee(makes me wanna puke). What other effective strategies can I employ to not fall asleep? I know I should not lie on my back, because whenever I do that, I start feeling tired and then before I know it, I'll have dozed off.

Mixed repetition of being mildly active physically (not just sitting or lying) and being mentally active (financial planning etc) should keep you awake and alert.

I can exercise my brain, but there isn't an option for me to do any physical activity apart from walking a little. Anything else I can do in place of that?

By "being mildly active physically", I mean simple things such as cooking, rearranging the bookshelf, cleaning the espresso machine etc, which also require mild mental concentration. When I do these things, sleepiness goes away. Anything more active than that will make you tired and sleepy too soon.

^solid suggestions all around.

I find that it is impossible for me to sleep in a room with any kind of unnatural light. Though then there's the electric bill...

Oh, that I can do. I'd initially thought you meant outdoor activities by "being mildly active physically", and I'm not all that sporty.

@Kiprobalhato I'm a pretty deep sleeper, so once I'm asleep, you could place a loudspeaker next to my ear and I wouldn't wake up. I have minor problems with light when trying to sleep, but that's only when I'm not too tired. If I'm tired, it doesn't affect me that much.

Going without sleep is really bad and unhealthy for you. If I get less than 6 hours of sleep at night I have trouble concentrating on little things like measuring ingredients to bake a cake or even playing a video game. it wasn't long ago when I had a terrible time sleeping and it was torture. It felt like my brain and body were completely shutting down on me. I know our society doesn't value sleep and a lot of people think it's a waste of time but it's not and we need it.