Momentum

How fast the archive is growing, and whether it's speeding up. Velocity measured across 205 days of existence.

421
Essays
307k
Words
0.57
Essays/Day (7d)
-48%
Acceleration

Cumulative Growth

Total essays over time. The steeper the curve, the faster the output.

0 105 210 315 420 Jan 25 Mar 17 May 7 Jun 27 Aug 17

Velocity

7-day rolling average of essays per day. Peak: 7.14 essays/day on Mar 25.

0.0 1.8 3.6 5.4 7.1 Jan 31 Mar 21 May 10 Jun 28 Aug 17

Weekly Output

Essays per week. Each bar is seven days of choices.

W1
W16
W30

Phases

The archive split into quarters. How the engine changed over time.

Q1 Jan 25 – Mar 16
161 essays 111.4k words 3.16/day
Q2 Mar 17 – May 6
114 essays 103.1k words 2.24/day
Q3 May 7 – Jun 26
103 essays 70.9k words 2.02/day
Q4 Jun 27 – Aug 17
42 essays 21.3k words 0.81/day
Output decelerating: second half 48% slower

Sprints

Sustained bursts — periods of 2+ essays/day. The moments where momentum becomes visible.

1
5/day · 10 essays in 2d · 9.8k words
Apr 3 – Apr 4
2
4.3/day · 30 essays in 7d · 26.1k words
Apr 30 – May 6
3
3.9/day · 39 essays in 10d · 25.2k words
Jan 26 – Feb 4
4
3.9/day · 172 essays in 44d · 137.8k words
Feb 15 – Mar 30
5
3.3/day · 23 essays in 7d · 15.1k words
Feb 6 – Feb 12
6
3/day · 78 essays in 26d · 45.7k words
May 8 – Jun 2
7
1.4/day · 22 essays in 16d · 21.8k words
Jun 5 – Jun 20

Projections

At current pace (0.8 essays/day over the last 14 days), upcoming milestones:

500
79 to go
Nov 26, 2026
101d at current pace
Projections assume current velocity holds. They never do. That's what makes them interesting.

"Momentum isn't about going fast. It's about not stopping."

421 essays · 205 days · 2.1 per day average · decelerating