I started my internship here at the end of January and, until very recently, lunchtimes would consist of me chipping away at the mountain of work that was my thesis. I had only been given six months to conduct my research and write the 10,000-word report – the biggest project I’ve ever attempted.
As I was already juggling several competing priorities, I knew two things: I needed to put in consistent effort, and I needed to start immediately.
I would be lying if I said that I put in the same amount of effort every single day without fail for six months. Some days passed without me even looking at the document, and some days I could only spare an hour. The latter included every Wednesday — as work and study for my other classes took up the rest of my time, the lunch hour here was frequently the only time I could dedicate to my thesis on those days.
I’m a perfectionist to my core, and I saw these days as a failure. This mindset could have derailed my efforts entirely: all I could see was that I was unable to be consistently productive every single day, which was discouraging given the standards to which I was holding myself.
However, the broader picture shows a much more consistent effort. I didn’t consider that two or three unproductive days per week meant four or five days where I did make much-needed progress. I also didn’t consider the impact of just one hour per day: whilst not a lot of time individually, the consistent use of my lunch break on Wednesdays totalled 24 hours of work by the time I finally finished my thesis. It was the accumulation of these small but repeated efforts that ultimately got me across the line.
My point is if you’re writing a book or undertaking another big project, don’t pressure yourself to make a huge amount of progress every single day.
Making your standards more realistic – adjusting your expectations from writing two thousand words a day to two thousand words a week – might better facilitate long-term consistency.
I’ve found that missing one or two consecutive days with perfectionistic standards more readily led to inconsistency, overwhelm, and the abandonment of projects. Producing the same amount of work and effort every single day is challenging when you’re already juggling other priorities and whatever else life throws at you.
Give yourself a bit of grace; you’re not a machine.
Zoë Forbes
Editing Intern