Time has been a major constraint for me in the production department. I either have too much (thanks, lame-ass long commute with standing room only, I love my Kindle) or not enough (thanks, day job. I’m not going to speak ill of the soon-to-be-departed, though.)
Flagging sales and a backlog of completed rough drafts have spurred me into action. I must act now, or lose myself in the purgatory of eternal editing and languishing in square one. It dawned on me today–I spend too much time mired in trivial day-to-day bullshit. My job’s a temp job, it should cease to exist for me the moment I walk out the door. I don’t have any kids and it’s not like I am the most social person to have ever lived. I can squeeze my days for a little more.
With that in mind, I’m setting the following goals for the rest of September:
- Weeknights: Edit 1 chapter. (For me, a chapter is 2000-4000 words.)
- Weeknights: Write a blog post, a review, or edit another chapter. Otherwise, get more involved with outside writerly-world-thing-community that apparently exists out there.
- Weekends: Edit 1-2 chapters.
- Weekends: Write 1500+ words/day. (I can do this in about 60-90 minutes.)
It’s amazingly simple. With these goals, I can finish the first edit of Bedlam by October. As well, the first draft of The Pandora Machine should be completed.
If there’s one thing taking more calculus classes than I will admit to publicly helped me, it’s the understanding that with effort, my limits go straight to infinity. Without effort, zero is the best I can hope for.
What kind of goals do you set? Word count, chapter edits, or do you choose another way to gauge success?
Thea Gregory's Zombie Bedtime Stories 
I wish I had your drive (and your youth), but your post has prompted me to get myself in hand and get some workable goals/deadlines in place. Thanks.
My goals are made daily, because I never know how long homework/projects are going to take. If I can do a blog post and/or 300 words on a WIP, I call it a win.