I recently survived the InfoCom 2014 deadline, but only barely. And, needless to say, I think I learned a few things. As I already described in my first post, I know why I do this. But, what did I learn this time.
Scientific writing forces you to boil your ideas down to their most basic principle. Verbally explaining my work could take hours. On the other hand, this paper is terse, to the point, and way more consistent in it's presentation than I would have been verbally explaining it. It's like telling a story in the most efficient and interesting way possible. However, this is rather difficult to do as the content and message of the paper change as you write. It's like cooking dinner while simultaneously growing the vegetables in the garden.
Deadlines push you to the limit. In particular, they (1) make you work hard for months leading up to it, (2) make you work REALLY hard for weeks leading up to it, and (3) finally, just when you thought you couldn't work harder, push yourself to the brink of insanity. To the point where you wake up and it no longer matters if its light or dark, hot or cold, eaten, shaved, clothed, you just head to the office and keep on chugging where you left off a few hours earlier. I found my limit.
After this experience, I'm a better writer and have a sense for how hard to push myself.
