Last week I took on work with a new writing platform. The minimum word count they asked me to do every week was close to the maximum I had done so far. A part of me thought it was possible, but there was a small part of me that had some doubts.
I asked for four days worth of work to test the waters and took on another article from the platform I was working with before. It turns out that I am capable of writing a lot more than I thought I could! It turns out that the word count of the five articles I wrote is the maximum amount I was worrying about.
I managed to find a system where I could do the research necessary and create a draft of an article in one day to send it on for the first pass at editing. When I get the edits, I make the changes first and then work on the following article. Each day starts the same way and wraps up with the completion of another piece. I didn’t think it would be that easy to figure out an efficient way to get the writing done, but it came together faster than I thought!
I find that finding a process helps me work efficiently. Working through a system allows me to benchmark my progress, so I know how much I need to do to achieve a particular output. There was a time when a large word count could intimidate me. Now I know that it’s a matter of breaking things down into manageable pieces and taking it from there.
It’s incredible how easy it can be for us to underestimate ourselves. Maybe it’s the fear of pushing ourselves outside our comfort zone, or it could be the self-doubts we have about our abilities, but in most cases, we realize that we’re stronger than we think.
I know that I work well under pressure, but I also know there’s a limit to the stress I can handle. I’m always up for a challenge, but I’m mindful to avoid being in a position where I’m feeling frustrated or overwhelmed. After the work I was able to do this week, I know that I can do the maximum without feeling as if the work is suffocating me.
Now that I know what I can comfortably do when it comes to weekly word counts, it makes me wonder, what else is possible? ♥