It breaks down into the following stages:
1)
Easy stamina: "I can't believe I've gone 5 minutes already, and I'm not even winded!" OR "I can't believe I've written 6 pages already - I've still got so much to say, and I haven't even added the figures!"
2)
Fear of what's to come: "I'm at 10 minutes and I'm starting to feel fatigued... it's only getting worse ... I'm going to die here!" OR "I'm only at 11 pages and I'm through half my arguments, but only 1/3 of the way through the minimum page count".
3)
Depression: "I can't take one more step - I have to stop before I keel over/sweat publicly, and I still have 7 minutes to go!" OR "I'm never going to finish this! I have nothing else to say, I've added all my figures, and I still have 7 pages to go!"
4)
Sheer willpower: "Must..keep... feet...moving" OR "Must... keep... fingers... typing..."
5)
Endorphins: "Only 30 seconds to go! I can do this" OR "One page left, and my discussion can fill it!"
6)
Satisfaction: "I'm in so much pain, but I'm healthier for it" OR "I am so exhausted, but at least I'm not going to fail out."
Stay tuned for the graph version when I'm not feeling guilty about procrastinating (which can occur at all these stages in the paper timeline). I'm still at step 3, pushing step 4.
