Owls, a fried egg, and a compass: three goal setting methods for writers
By Louise Tondeur
In this article I go over three ways to set goals or intensions for your writing. Each has a different emphasis. Perhaps try the one that surprises you the most. If you hate the idea of setting writing goals, skip the first two approaches and read the last one. It’s useful to know your o.w.l. for all three methods.
Read on to find out more.
Do the maths
Researcher Anders Ericsson showed that, amongst writers for whom time was no object, on average, their preferred amount of writing time was 4 hours per day. Beyond that, he discovered, the time spent writing was no longer useful. I find this fascinating – and if you do too, then you’ll like the ‘do the maths’ method for setting goals.
Here are the steps:
1. Look at how long, on average, works in your subgenre tend to be. You can find sources online or visit libraries and bookshops to work out an average word count per page and so estimate the length of the book.
2. Work out how long your ideal writing session is in minutes, through experimentation. This is your optimal writing length or o.w.l. for short. I used to call this your o.w.t. for optimal writing time because time can mean both amount of time spent and time of day, but o.w.l. is so much more memorable! That said, it is also useful to work out when you prefer to write at the same time. If you’re interested in this idea, Daniel H. Pink’s book When is a fascinating read.
3. Writing space needs consideration in tandem with when and length of session, so if you haven’t figured out where you prefer to write, do that at the same time. For instance, you might prefer to write in a café, at home with other people around, in bed, at the library, at your desk in complete silence, or to speak into your phone as you walk etc.
4. Once you know your o.w.l., work out how many words you tend to write in a session. Break this into chunks of time to make the maths easier. I prefer to use 25 minutes + a 5-minute break as a chunk of time, because I’m a fan of the Pomodorro Technique. Alternatively, you could figure out how long it takes you to write the first draft of 1,000 words and use that as your chunk of time. It’s easier to use this method if you can figure out how many words you write in a chunk of time (or how long it takes you to write 1,000 words) without editing as you go. Treat editing as a separate activity.
5. Look at a year calendar, figure out when you would like your first draft to be done and set a deadline. The method works without this stage, too: you can keep turning up for o.w.l.s without an end date in mind and review your progress later.
Based on those four pieces of information:
How long work in your subgenre tends to be;
How long (and when) your o.w.l. is;
How many words you write in a particular chunk of time;
and when you want to finish your first draft
you’ll be able to figure out how many sessions you’ll need to get a first draft down and can schedule them accordingly. If you’ve also figured out where you like to write, that’s going to help with scheduling, and will show where you need to make compromises. You can take regular steps towards finishing a first draft of the project and forget about the end result for now.
You’ll also be able to see whether the deadline you’ve given yourself is realistic. For example, if you’d need to write 2,000 words per week to finish a first draft in a year, and you write 1,000 words per o.w.l., are you prepared to schedule two o.w.l.s this week?
The advantages of this approach:
It takes the emotion out of planning;
It’s realistic: it’s based on your existing writing habit;
It’s flexible: you can adjust the deadline to fit your life.
The disadvantages of this approach:
It uses averages;
It doesn’t take into account any big life events;
Seeing the whole mountain can feel overwhelming.
The fried egg method
The fried egg method is completely different, and addresses the disadvantages of the ‘do the maths’ approach.
Here it is:
1. Draw two circles, one inside the other. Leave enough space in the bigger circle to make notes. Your diagram will look a bit like a fried egg, hence the name.
2. In the middle circle, add your writing projects. You can decide later which you want to prioritise, but simply writing them out will help build awareness. This helps especially if you’ve been vaguely thinking about writing the thing ‘one day’ and if you have several unfinished w.i.p.s.
3. In the outside circle, add things you’ve got going on in your life right now. These might be big things. One of mine is ‘selling my in-laws’ house’. They might also be everyday things that could get in the way of your writing. One of mine is school hours.
4. The rest is a reflective exercise. Now you see the writing projects and the life events side-by-side, it will start to become obvious what writing you have time to fit in, and when you’ll be able to do it.
When I was part of the Dream Author coaching programme run by Sophie Hannah, she suggested a traffic light system for writing. Red tasks need full focus and no interruptions, for amber tasks it’s ok if others are around, green tasks can easily be done whilst interacting with others. For example, watching a documentary as research is (probably) green. Proofreading is (probably) red.
If you do have a lot going on, use the Fried Egg in combination with the traffic light system and Do the Maths, but don’t promise yourself too many o.w.l.s per week.
The advantages of this approach:
It takes your day-to-day life and wider circumstances into account, unlike many goal setting methods, and much writing advice;
It leads to realism about when you have time to write;
Simply recording everything in one place gets it out of your head and lessens mental load.
The disadvantages of this approach:
Thinking about your writing won’t automatically result in more chapters or poems written;
The Fried Egg doesn’t immediately lead to scheduling like the Do the Maths method;
According to Parkinson's law (which, admittedly, was based on an office environment from the 1950s), a job will expand to fit the time available, therefore being busy doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t fit some writing in.
Find your compass
This intension setting method is inspired by the first of the ‘secrets for goal-free living’ – ‘use a compass not a map’ – from Goal-Free Living by Stephen Shapiro, Gay Hendricks' The Genius Zone, and question 10 from Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler.
Here’s how to apply it to your writing:
1. Find what you love to:
do/experience
read
research
write.
2. Add cultural experiences you love (art galleries, film, photography, poetry readings, arts festivals, theatre etc.), places you love to visit, and charities or causes you are passionate about.
3. Write a 250-word statement summing up what you love to do, including the some of the answers to 1 and 2 above. This is your compass. Adjust this statement at least once a year – but not too often or you’ll keep changing direction.
4. Whenever you plan your time or set intensions, take note of what you’ve written in your compass statement. Add as many of the things you love doing (including what you love to read and write) to each week. Gradually work towards filling up more of your time with the things in your compass statement. There is no deadline.
The advantages of this approach:
There’s no need to set writing goals and it’s deadline free, so low pressure and low stress;
It’s the most flexible of the three: you can add more ‘compass’ activities as you’re able;
It takes into account all of the things you love to do, not only your w.i.p.
The disadvantages of this approach:
It’s easy for what you love to do to become crowded out by obligations;
It isn’t easily measurable;
You could miss out on the benefit of deadlines (entering writing competitions, for example, or sharing your work with others).
Find out more
If you’d like more resources like these, follow me on Substack.
Resources
Francesco Cirillo’s Pomodorro Technique www.pomodorotechnique.com
Your Best Year Yet by Jinny Ditzler
Peak by Anders Ericsson
The Genius Zone by Gay Hendricks
When by Daniel H. Pink
Goal-Free Living by Stephen Shapiro