to elaborate: if you are specifically goal oriented in your writing, the idea is that you’ll be satisfied with yourself as a writer when you hit your goals. (we tend to take it a step further and only be satisfied with ourselves when we hit a goal). the problem with this is that it doesn’t even work. i’m speaking from direct experience when i say that hitting your goal or deadline is only momentarily satisfying. as soon as you’ve hit your goal, there’s another one behind it, and you hang your happiness and hopes on that goal.
the idea of setting systems rather than goals comes from james clear’s atomic habits. here’s a quote that sums it up:
“Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.”
the basic idea is that the purpose of setting goals is to win the game, and the purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. as he says, “you do not rise to the level of your goals. you fall to the level of your systems.”
how this applies: you cannot finish all of your projects on passion alone. you cannot finish it by saying ‘i’m going to finish it’. the most helpful strategies in finishing your wip are the systems you put in place.
attaching writing to a time of day (i reserve time for it first thing in the morning. some people write at night. it’s up to your preference!)
committing to an average (i can’t write every day. i write frequently. committing myself to an average of 500 words a day means that some days i write 1000 words and the next day i write 0 words and that’s okay)
implementing the 2 day rule (don’t let more than 2 days in a row pass without writing at least something, be it worldbuilding ideas or outlining or writing actual prose)
acknowledging daydreaming as productive (it is!! it is!!! those hours you spend looking out the window thinking about your wip still counts as productive)
the above is not a list of commands. they are all suggestions of various systems that work.
the real reason i’ve found a system-oriented approach to be more helpful is that i LOVE writing. i love it and i want to continue loving it. systems help take away the anxiety of attaching my value as a writer to finishing a project. writing doesn’t have to add stress and a sense of failure into your life. none of us need that.
finishing a project does not make you worthy. the act of writing makes you worthy.
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
