I’ve had some thoughts about time spent writing versus word count quotas that I’m thinking might help me break out of this no-writing funk I’m stuck in.
A while back—more than two years ago, actually—I tried to improve my daily word count by setting myself a daily writing time quota. Although it didn’t work out in the long-run, it did work for a little while. I’m thinking it might be time to revisit “time” as a measuring stick for my dedication to my craft.
I think it might work out better now, and the reason is that I’ve been developing a different attitude about the value of work.
The biggest problem I’ve identified with having a word count quota still exists.
When I rely on word count goals, I put off starting until it’s too late because I’m terrible at estimating how much time it takes me to do things.
But…
When I rely on fixed time goals (schedule based) I lose the motivation to work efficiently because there’s no reward for getting done early.
This particular problem no longer resonates with me, and I believe that’s because of the attitude change which has given me a different perspective.