[Coda]

I think it depends a lot on the type of project and what the work is.

Programming projects, for example: At the beginning, there's tons of interesting things to work on, but when you get to the end all that's left is really boring crap like cleaning things up and reviewing everything and testing and bugfixing and stuff. You've already got something that looks like the final product or very close to it, and there's no obvious end to the remaining drudgery.

On the other hand, some kinds of projects are really hard to get started on, but as you near the goal, the end is in sight, and there's a reward (such as being able to use the thing you made) for completion, so you've got momentum to finish it up.