Hey, writers. I love the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Today, let’s talk about the third Habit:

For this habit I’ll cover The Daily Dose.

Hit the jump, writers, and let’s discuss.

A long time ago, I read about a concept that I still use to this day. It came from a sales book and I believe it was called The Daily Dose.

One Small Step

So how does it work?

Imagine a project so big that you can’t finish it in a day. For instance, writing a novel.

(I once read about someone that wrote a novel per day. Yes, that’s insane. And yes, the concept of The Daily Dose still applies to him.)

Aside from a few exceptions, writing a novel is a marathon and not a sprint.

Think about it this way. If you wanted to write a novel, you would need to
<> Brainstorm an idea
<> Research relevant facts
<> Design characters
<> Cut characters
<> Design environments
<> Create story arcs
<> Create subplots
<> And then at some point the first draft needs to be written
<> And then the rewrite…
<> And then the rewrite…
<> And then the rewrite…

…

>.>

Any one of those activities could each eat up an entire day, given the monumental size of the task. How does one make it more palatable? The advice I was given was to

Divide your project by 365

Instantly, you will have a game plan for the upcoming year.

On another note, think about the amount of time we spend brushing our teeth, writers. In one year, all those minutes really do add up. But we never notice it because the effort is spread out. In the same sense, writing could be the same way.

Writing a couple of 100-word chunks everyday for a year would result in an impressive collection of words.

365 * 200 = 73,000 words

For the record, that’s pretty dang close to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (at 77,325 words). Also, it is actually more words than Jack London’s White Fang (at 72,071).

The reality is that diligent effort put forth day after day can result in an incredible result.

The key, though, is that it has to be diligent effort.

Everyday that we write we add to our totals. Conversely, everyday that we skip ultimately hurts our numbers.

Writers, I know multiple people that start off well but then fail to finish. That’s the scary news. Now, the good news: if you can muster the diligence to brush your teeth everyday, then you can write a book.

A simple challenge here:

Write two hundred words. Right now. And see how it feels.

Whether writing that was a head scratcher or a slight speed bump for you, I assure you that it gets easier.

Aloha,
Alvin

Remember, there are Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in total:

Habit #1. Be Proactive. Do Thank You Letters as well as Query Letters.
Habit #2. Begin with the End in Mind. Create a logline for your stories.
Habit #3. Put First Things First. Utilize the Daily Dose.
Habit #4. Think Win-Win.
Habit #5. Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood.
Habit #6. Synergize.
Habit #7. Sharpen the Saw.