Over many talks with other researchers, I have found that most people go through a similar set of emotions when working on a research project. Because we are particularly attached to our projects (as comes with the extreme ownership of research), and many academics are ambitious and want to do great things, these feelings can be fairly strong.

  • right before submitting a paper – is ironically often the worst you feel about the work; this is when you see all of the flaws in the work and all the ways that it can be improved. You are also very attached to the work at this point, and often want to keep pushing it further. At this point, it is important to just get the work out the door. You can always improve it later, but work that’s not shared with the world may as well not exist.