Goals Summary:
*1000 words a day from July 6 to September 30, inclusive. That's 87,000 words, I think.
*To finish my two WIPs: In Flight, and The Man Who Ran Away. (That second one may not be complete, as the first book in the series ran long -- but I want it at least mostly roughed in.)
I will be posting daily - which is a part of my 175 Day Non-blogging Challenge. (In which I resist the urge to blog, by committing my blog to progress reports ONLY.)
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For those who haven't been following my blog:
About nine months ago I looked back at my lifetime productivity and discovered that most of what I have actually done wasn't achieved by self-discipline, but rather by chasing enthusiasm. (Here's the post if you want to know more about that.)
In the past nine months I've been playing with undisciplined chasing of enthusiasm to see if it could be an actual strategy to employ. I was going to keep it up for a year, but I think I have my answer. Which is; um, sorta, sorta not.
It works as a lifestyle. It works if there are a whole lot of different things you want to do, and you enjoy doing them for their own sake. It's very existentialist. Very zen.
But on the productivity front, the problem is that you produce a lot, but it is more scattered, less useful. Over a very long time, that works out, but in the shorter term, it really doesn't feel like it works all that much better than anything else.
So I am going to embark on the next phase of this experiment: disciplined chasing enthusiasm. Or perhaps just find some kind of mix of running wild and toeing the line.
Hence, the reason I am rejoining ROW80.
What I'm going to try to do is set the daily goal low, just to bring my attention back on the task at hand every day, and then chase enthusiasm the rest of the day.
I was thinking of setting the goal super low -- like 500 words a day -- but I also really do want to finish up my two works in progress. So I'm going to make it the standard 1000 words a day.
That should be enough, all by itself, to finish In Flight, and get most of The Man Who Ran Away blocked in. I'll talk about each of these projects on the upcoming check in days (Wednesdays and Sundays).
(Note: I've been posting every day, but ROW80 posts updates only on Wednesdays and Sundays. I find posting every day to be motivational, but it does take time so.... not sure if I'll keep it up or not. I can say, however, that I will start ROW80 for reasons I'll mention on Sunday, Day 0.)
See you in the funny papers.
Daring to live life as a full time writer, with or without success.
8 comments:
I know how you feel with the chasing enthusiasm and not seeing much out of it in the short term. I think your approach is a good one and I look forward to seeing how you do with it.
Your goals are great as well, clear and measurable, they're ideal for someone who's been out of the loop of RoW80 for a while. (Incidentally that's how I found your post)
I look forward to reading your progress.
GAAAAAH! The Great and Dreaded CAPTCHA of DOOOOOM! But no, I shall NOT run screaming from the horrible monster! I shall stay the course, give my comment, and count my blessings if I get out of this alive.
That said, you've got a great set of goals there! It's been a while since I read your blog; I'll try to get back here more often and lend you all the encouragement I can. Best of luck this Round, and welcome back!
Great goals. Have a good week. :) x
Thanks, Nicole - been doing this for a long time, and I find, ultimately for me, the real technique is shaking things up every so often.
Tammy: Know how you feel about the Catchpa, but I discovered that if I don't use it, I have to spend all my time moderation comments. I wish Blogger would allow a few more options on how we moderate.
Laura: thanks!
Funny how it works out: you've been blogging every day but trying not to except for status reports, I'm the exact opposite. I'll be sure to follow along. Good luck with your goals this round!
John Holton
The Sound Of One Hand Typing
Thanks, John. Sometimes I think the life of the modern artist is "blog management." (Or maybe "internet management.")
I revel in enthusiasm - but I like having a loose framework around it, and I was made for flitting between projects.
May you find the just-right-for-your-right-now method. I agree, shaking things up from time to time can shift energy in very good ways.
And I have time to do it right now, so really it's a joy trying out different ways of approaching things.
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