Reading Time: 3 Mins
I started this month off with a very aggressive word count goal of 40 000 words and, with April right around the corner, it is clear to me now I will not be hitting that goal. In fact I won’t come anywhere near it.
I could blame the fact that my focus has been split – looking for a new line of work and an upcoming wedding are not insignificant uses of my time – but what it truly comes down to is that I’ve not been paying as much attention to my daily word count goals as I should have been.
After years and years working in sales, goal setting has become ingrained in me. If you have to hit X by the end of the month, X divided by 20 is roughly your daily goal. If you miss it one day, that daily goal goes up a little bit.
Miss your goal a few days in a row and that daily target starts to creep up.
My problem is that I missed my daily goal a number of times but I kept that word count consistent, which has caused me to miss my overall monthly goal.
Now, I know there are detractors out there around setting these types of goals; after all, life is busy and sometimes the creative juices aren’t flowing when you need them to. We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over not hitting our goals. I’m not beating myself up and let me put some context around this: I have the time to write. I have my next five chapters outlined. I know exactly what I want to write. I just haven’t been disciplined enough to keep my eye on the prize.
I am in a unique position right now where I realize my window is starting to close. In under two months I will be both married and working a full-time job again. This is my chance to make the most of the time I’ve been given. These aggressive goals are worth adhering to in the long run because who knows when I will have time like this again until I retire?
I also need to remember that at some point in the month, back when I was in sales, the daily target starts doing more harm than good. It affects your psychology if it gets too high so, usually around midmonth or the start of the third week, you take a minute to re-evaluate. You consult with your team and others you work with and look at what is both realistic but also a push. Don’t lowball yourself. Given what you’ve done so far in the month, what result will make you feel proud and accomplished at the end of the month?
If that initial goal gets lowered, sometimes even just the fact that the pressure of the daily target has been relieved somewhat is enough to push you to perform better. There have been countless times where I and others I’ve worked with ended up smashing the original goal because of the newfound energy and inspiration we got from this short exercise.
I’ve done 5000 words in the WIP this month, leaving me with a daily goal of 11 666 words per day to hit my initial 40K goal.
At this point, I will be both happy and proud if I can manage 5000 words a day over the last three days of the month. That will give me 20K on the month and momentum heading into April. With what I have outlined, which could be compared to my old sales pipeline, I know I have at least 12K of that covered.
This is both doable and a push.
I need to keep remembering that writing is something I love to do and feel that I do well, but the skillset honed over 25 years working in sales is not something I need to leave behind.
What motivated me and made me successful then can have the same effect on me now.
What are your thoughts around word counts and goal setting? Do they motivate you?
If not, I’d be interesting in hearing why.