The last puzzle piece feels amazing because of the four hundred before it.

The final moment collects the value of everything before it. On its own the last piece is identical to the others, and the feeling it produces is really the accumulated weight of all the hours it completes. This is why arriving somewhere without the work feels strangely hollow, and why shortcuts disappoint even when they succeed.

When you are in the unremarkable middle of something, remember that the satisfaction you are waiting for is being manufactured right now, one dull piece at a time. And when you finish, let yourself feel the whole of it rather than moving straight to the next thing.