Feeling Guilty For Not Reaching Your Daily Word Count? Here's Why It's Okay.
When I started out as a novice writer, I searched for productive ways to keep tracking of my WIP.
One way to do so was to track your daily word count.
At that time, this made sense to me. Tracking how many words I wrote every day would give me a visual clue of my progress. Each day, I would see the total word count of my WIP grow, therefore letting me know that I was doing a good job.
But I was wrong.
No matter how much I wish to spend all day writing and reading books, I can't forget that I am a human. I am not a machine that clocks in the daily output, day in and day out. I am a muggle, who has responsibilities to take care of, errands to run, a life to live, and coffee to drink. This meant that I couldn't write every day.
Seeing the less-than-target or no word count for a day made me sad. It made me feel that I am not a real writer if I don't write my 500 words every day. And this, in turn, demotivated me to even try the next day.
After months of doing this tango with the word count, I came to a realisation.
Satisfaction > Productivity
I can spend the whole day writing words to hit my target, but it won't mean anything if I am not satisfied with them. It's not about how many words I write. Instead, it is about the value behind them.
To try this theory out, I sat down to write another essay but with no target. I removed the word count barrier and wrote till I felt like I've said everything I could say. And I am happy to say I was satisfied with what came out on the paper.
Now I don't count my words.
Instead, I check in with myself and ask - Were these the best words I could write today?
If the answer is "YES," I pat myself on the back for the excellent work.
This same theory can be applied to anything in your life. I practised this in my exercise routine, and it worked there as well! Getting in the reps is not the point; enjoying yourself is.
Writing, too, is something a writer should enjoy doing. So make sure you don't let any productivity hack come in between you and your joy.
