Write for Twenty Minutes

Recently, there was a discussion on NaNoWriPod (check it out on iTunes) about how to split up your writing time to encourage productivity.  If you write for an hour, are you really writing for an hour?  Or are you writing for thirty minutes, then puttering around for thirty?

My favorite recommendation for this is a method called "20/10s."  You work for 20 minutes (setting a timer) then take a 10 minute break (setting a timer) then repeat as needed.  Now, this method comes from UnFuck Your Habitat a fantastic site designed to help you clean your house.  The idea is to avoid marathons--hours of non-stop cleaning--and instead break it into reasonable chunks.  You don't realize until you try it how much you can clean in twenty minutes.  I often recomend this method to my students (without telling them where it came from because avoiding profanity outweighs the failure to site my sources.)  They can study for 20 minutes, then take a break, then come back and study more.  That way they don't end up staring at their text books, zoning out and not not really benefiting.

It ties into another theory when it comes to studying: separate your work and your break.  By keeping them disconnected (I mean physically.  Move to a different space) you're more ready to switch into work mode when you sit down to work.  You're also more forgiving of yourself when you take breaks.  You don't have to think, "Oh no.  I'm not working.  I'm so bad," because you can think, "Okay.  Here's my 10 minute break and then I'll get back into it."  It helps you work harder, and party harder!

The problem is, that in any of these situations (cleaning, studying, writing) you might get to the end of 20 minutes and think, "I can't stop now.  I'm on a roll.  This whole scene has unfolded before me and if I stop I'll lose my momentum."  And that's fine!  Don't stop.  Do what you want!  The point is to give yourself permission to stop when it gets hard.  Don't force yourself to work for two hours.  Force yourself to work for twenty minutes, which is completely doable.

My second favorite recommendation is Write or Die.  You set a time limit and a word count goal, and just type, type, type.  If you stop for too long, the background turns read, and then there are horrible noises until you start writing again.  I works really well for just regurgitating stuff, but not so well if you want to stop and research things, or read over what you wrote, or edit, or talk on g-chat.  But, boy howdy, I can get 500 words down like nobody's business.  I like the "old and busted" version because it's free and looks simpler and I really don't need a bunch of fancy options.  Also, I need to remember to turn off the sound on my computer when I work at coffee places.  For me, the red background is bad enough.

And it works really well with 20/10s!  Or, in this case, 30/10s, because you can't set the timer for 20 minutes.

Now, a lot of people hate Write or Die.  I can understand.  For me it works really well.  So if you're more in the mood for positive reinforcement, there's Written Kitten, which gives you a picture of a cat for every 100 word you write.  Actually, you can set how many words will give you a picture.  It's pretty cool, but not as motivating for me.