Several months ago, I read an article by Jeff Goins in which he challenged writers to write 500 words per day, every day for 31 days.
While simple, Jeff’s challenge is surprisingly difficult, especially if you have not developed the habit of writing daily. I have made several attempts to complete Jeff’s challenge but have failed every time. Wanting to write 500 words per day is a lot easier than writing 500 words per day.
This morning, I decided to give Jeff’s challenge another try, but I needed to find a way to overcome my mental barriers. After all, writing 500 words per day sounds daunting, at least to me.
500 chickens is a lot of chickens. 500 books is a lot of books. 500 hours is a lot of hours. Isn’t 500 words a lot of words?
After some research and testing, I discovered that writing 500 words per day is actually pretty doable. In fact, an article published by The Atlantic suggested that the average person writes 41,000+ words per year via email, nearly 800 words per day!
Why, then, did I keep trying and failing to write 500 words per day? Looking back now on my previous attempts to complete Jeff’s challenge, I think that I know the answer.
Logically, I knew that 500 words was a relatively small number of words. However, humans are moved toward action by feelings and emotions, not logic. In this case, “500 words” intimidated the hell out of me, and I needed to find a way to overcome that mental barrier.
This time, I reframed my goal. Instead of targeting X number of words, I calculated how long it would take me in minutes to write 500 words.
To determine how quickly I write, I took a free typing test online and discovered that I type approximately 60 words per minute. At that rate, I did some basic math.
500 words / 60 words per minute = 8.33 minutes (8m 20s)
I don’t know about you, but “write as fast as you can for eight and a half minutes” intimidates me a lot less than “write 500 words” does. That mantra also makes me less inclined to edit as I type, which is a big issue of mine. Writing “as fast as you can” also taps into my competitive nature, which helps me move forward.
Remember that results come when effective processes are applied consistently over time.
So the next time you find yourself struggling to get motivated or stay motivated about a goal, try reframing your goal into something less overwhelming and more digestible. Often, you will find that reframing your goal can help you accomplish them faster.
What goal are you trying (and maybe failing) to accomplish right now? How can you reframe your goal to make it more digestible?
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