Blank page.

19H34

I stare at the screen. It is disappointingly bare at this point, the cursor flashing on a newly loaded page. I could add some number pages and a title at least. There... That's better. I look again, this time looking for inspiration. I type some words, then erase them. I look down at a scruffy notepad and try to decipher the symbols on the page.

This doesn't make sense! I try to remember anything that could help me out of this. The lack of inspiration is overwhelming. Maybe a thought shower may help? I gather my best highlighters and fine liner pens. I should make it colourful.

20H05

Some vague ideas are jotted down whilst I listen to a podcast about motivation online. Of course, it is relevant! I need motivation right now. I only have 15 hours and 55 minutes to complete this and my eyes are already feeling heavy. Actually, it may be time for me to put the kettle on. Some strong coffee should help.

20H43

Two cups of coffee and a handful of biscuits later, I enter the room again. I recall some mention of a quote that would greatly help me. Where was this slide again? I dive deep into the archives to find a slide with a quote. Thank goodness the reference is on the slide. I start searching the prized paper, hoping its content will unlock the floodgates of words which I need by this point.

23H00

300 words, yes! Okay, it is the introduction - fully referenced - and some titles but it is a start. Only 1700 words to go... At least the article has many references itself that I can follow up to support my point... What is my point again? I am starting to lose focus and my eye lids feel heavy. I think that if I can write up and reference one paragraph every two hours, I may be able to finish in time to have a nice nap before I hand this in (I live in hope obviously!).

01H46

659 words, there is some progress. The more I write, the clearer the argument becomes. However, a wave of panic overwhelms me. What if I can't finish on time? I search the web for inspiration, looking desperately for other people in my predicament who have miraculously made it. A 2000-word essay in 6 hours? Really? I bet they already had all their notes written up though. And I better refocus...

3H56

1010 words, over the halfway mark! I can always submit it a little short as I have a 100-word allowance either way. Referencing takes so much time, but I know that if I don't do it as I go, I will really struggle to find all those documents again. At this point, I don’t know whether sleep would be a good idea, but my bed is calling me. An hour would be amazing…

5h30

I wake up with a start. I didn’t hear my alarm! At least I still have some time. 890 words to go? That’s only 590 if I make the conclusion 300 words. Can I write the conclusion now and be done with it? At least it won’t need referencing.

8h15

200 words to go. I am sure that I remember reading something like this in the document with the blue border, which one was it again? Maybe It didn’t make it into my bibliography? I search the browser history in the hopes of finding this elusive article with that perfect paragraph.

8H43

Turns out it the quote was good, but not as good I remembered. It doesn’t quite fit the context, but with a bit of tweaking it might do. At least it is an original point of view. Should I keep it and elaborate or delete it and find another angle?

10H05

How did I end up with 150 words too many? That new angle was great but now I am struggling to find words to erase. I find all the ‘so as tos’, shorten and reword sentences to get to the target word count. Somehow this paragraph doesn’t sound right either.

11h23

I am checking through my list of references, cross referencing as I go to check I have all of them. There is usually one missing, but I think this time I have been quite thorough. I read through the assignment again, scanning for mistakes. I check punctuation and font sizes. I save my work again. I got away with it this time - not saving the document regularly. I don’t want to repeat last months’ ordeal, losing two hours of work.

11H57

‘Send’. A sigh of relief. I can relax now. Actually, I better check that the document uploaded fine. It has. A typo in the first sentence catches my eye and with mixed emotions I close down the computer. Oh well, at least this one is done. I really should ‘t be leaving these to the last minute!

One week later. 19H47…

The end.