Rated

Today I wrote 2755 words in four-and-a-half hours. That's good for me, a rate of 612 words per hour. Understandably, I want to imagine that I could sustain that level of performance over the course of an eight hour day. The truth, though, as I've discovered again and again, is that I usually pass the point of diminishing returns after half that many. But even if my performance were to diminish by 2/3, I'd still manage some 3500 words a day. The problem, of course, is that I rarely get more than four hours per day in which I am sufficiently rested and focused to write effectively. Still, I think it would be realistic to establish a rate of 3000 words per day as my long-term goal. Even if I were to allow two days off each week, I could make enormous headway in a month. The challenge is to find a way to avoid the sort of interactions that drain me of the self-confidence and sense of purpose I need in order to make most days as efficient as today.