Working against the clock.

I have found that the Most Dangerous Writing App has led to me creating a lot more writing than I used to before I used it. I have also found that it has improved both my writing skills and my typing speed in the process.


In fact, I am writing this blog post using it.  I am enjoying watching the words per minute read out at the bottom of the screen.  I feel like even if I am writing rubbish all the time that number is creeping up then I am making some kind of progress.

But I am also writing rather less rubbish.  The other day my wife asked me to knock up a quote for a puff piece in a local paper.  This would normally be an half hour job coming up with something for her to edit into shape later - using her time - and being quite a drama in the process.  This time my first draft done against the clock took 5 minutes.  She is far from uncritical, but she was able to use it as written with only the need to correct one typing error.

I think that there is a message for me here. The reason this app works so well is that makes me work against the clock.  This is stressful, it is true.  But it is also very productive. Can I apply this technique to other tasks?  Writing of course is rather unique in that you do it sitting down and the output is measured by the computer as you do it.  If I want to do something more subtle, even a writing task, there isn't going to be an off the shelf technique for measuring what I am doing and fining me if I don't hit the target.

But I think despite this is is worth having a look at how it can be applied.  For example, if I simply set the clock and see how long I can focus single with a single mind on the task in hand.  The beauty of this trial of course is that if I speed up what I am trying to do then I win. If I don't I will still get some stuff done.  So it looks like a good bet.

I think the best approach is to set the clock for 15 minutes - which corresponds to my billable hours period anyway - and score myself on how focused I was during that period.  Whenever possible, which sadly won't be very often, I can measure my output quantitatively.  Otherwise I will have to mark my own work.  I am well aware of the difficulties of doing this.  Indeed I have an example in front of my right now.  I have just got to 48 words per minute which for me is a record.  And yet I feel like I am actually typing more slowly than usual.  I don't know exactly why this is, but I do know it is quite typical to have no idea of what one has done only a few minutes after one has done it.

I'll give it a go and see how it works.