It’s crazy that something so simple has made me so much more productive, but my productivity has skyrocketed this year because I set some word goals. This year, I set out to dig into my writing. When my young kids are both at school, and I re-enter the world as something other than a stay-at-home dad, I want to see if I can come out of this era making money as a writer. But I don’t want to wait until that time. So, I committed to do more writing this year.

To do that, I decided to set a daily word goal. I can’t believe this simple change has increased my productivity. My productivity and creativity have soared since I set a daily word goal to write. But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Here’s how using a daily word goal has increased my productivity.

Why I Struggled to Write Consistently for Years

I’ve been telling stories all my life. I used to create plays in the backyard with my friends. I wrote Star Wars fan fiction in fifth grade, which I found later in life, and I wasn’t disgusted by it, haha.

I spent my adolescence drifting by. I didn’t know what to do with my life, but I knew I wanted to tell stories. I’m unsure if it benefited me, but my college didn’t offer a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. Instead, I majored in English. I planned to become a teacher and maybe a tennis coach. I could write during summer or when I had free time that way.

I had no idea that I would never have free time. Tennis took up every moment I wasn’t teaching. Still, I would try to sneak in some writing for NaNoWriMo (I don’t want to link to them after all the fallout from the last few years) or during summer when things went a little slower.

I tried to leave coaching once I had kids. I didn’t have time to spend on my family, much less on writing. Then, I chose not to continue in education. I had planned to become a freelance writer and do some creative writing on the side, but that didn’t pan out because of my family commitments. I spent most of my time with my kids and had little for myself. Plus, I struggled at generating ideas that hadn’t been covered on the site already.

Why I’m Racing Against Time to Build a Writing Career

Right now, I’m a stay-at-home dad. I am lucky enough that my wife makes enough money to support our family, and I can raise the kids.

That won’t always be the case, though.

There is a ticking clock that will ring its alarm faster than I realize. Once the kids are at school full-time, I’ll need to do something to help contribute. So, I’m trying like hell to make this writing career work while I have this support.

This Simple Change Boosted My Productivity

I wanted to start this year by working on a larger project. I have a young adult novel in mind that I’m in the beginning stages of writing.

Setting a goal to publish a chapter every other week felt daunting. I needed something else to motivate me, so I set a daily word goal.

The time I get to sit down and write most of the week is slim, so I wanted a realistic word count. During NaNoWriMo, I would kill myself to get 1,667 words daily with everything I had going on. I also heard Stephen King set a two thousand word goal every day. With everything I have going on, I could start small with 500 words.

Since I set my word count, I have been more focused on my writing, even though I don’t have any more time. When I write, I feel focused and determined to achieve my goal.

If I haven’t hit my goal, I feel a bit anxious. I have even written to meet my goal after the kids have gone to bed, even though I’m exhausted and ready for rest.

Some have said that setting a word goal like that leads them to write worse. They write to the word goal, which can happen but hasn’t happened to me so far. Sure, I’ve had a day when I struggled to get going, but I think meeting my goal despite not feeling like writing helped me in the long run. It gave me more confidence in my ability.

Finding A Good System to Track Your Word Goals

The first day I decided to set a word goal, I ran into a problem. I didn’t know the best way to track my word goal. I’m currently using Ulysses , and I know how to set a word goal for a sheet or a project, but I didn’t know how to make a daily word goal.

I wasn’t sure if I would focus on one project at a time or bounce around, but I wanted all the words I wrote that day to count, no matter where they were inside the app.

There’s no easy way to do that. You can set a daily word goal for a group or sheet. For example, I could set a group to track my 500 words, but I’d have to write everything in that group, which didn’t fit my workflow.

For a day or two, I tried using apps like Storyist and Obsidian to see if they fit my desired workflow. Unfortunately, they didn’t. Storyist is excellent but only allows me to track one project at a time. Obsidian offers global tracking, but I can’t stand not having indented paragraphs, and I’ve struggled to find the best way to indent lines.

I even considered creating a spreadsheet, but I felt it would be too cumbersome and not provide the live updating I wanted.

It seemed like changing my workflow in Ulysses would be the simplest solution. I just needed to figure out how to get what I wanted and fit my flow.

My Ulysses Flow For Word Goals

I set my daily word goal for my Inbox to 500. Previously, I used the inbox to write blog posts and short fiction, but I had always used Projects for my novels. Unfortunately, there’s no simple way for the Inbox and Projects to work together toward one goal. To get it to work, I’d have to set up two goals or move everything to the inbox.

I started by trying to do one goal. I copied all my groups and sheets from my project and made a group in my library. Whichever part of my novel I’m working on goes into the Inbox. Once I finish a scene or chapter, I move it back to its spot in the library until editing time.

I started using tags and filters to help with organization. But it wasn’t the best system. I had to move sheets around too much, and I worried things would get lost.

I wish I could set a universal goal in the app that would track anywhere I wrote so I didn’t have to use one folder for everything, although I think this will work for me for now. I also wish I could get a notification when I reach my goal. As it is now, I have to keep an eye on the progress wheel to see how close I am, which can be tricky on my iPhone or iPad.

An Adendum to the Previous Section

I wrote this section almost a month before I could return to edit it. Since then, my system for word goals has changed.

I ran into problems moving a sheet out of the inbox. Words for that goal disappear. For example, I finished a chapter and still had around 200 words left to reach my goal for the day. I moved the sheet into its folder outside the inbox and moved the next chapter in. When I checked my word goal, it had dropped to 0 words written. I checked my record for the week and noticed that it hadn’t recorded all of my days because I had also moved other sheets out.

Losing the history didn’t matter to me; the entire point is to get writing in, and I did that those days. However, I would like to record my history somewhere.

I ended up setting two word goals. I have one goal for my novel and one for blog posts. I have put them both at 500 words and have met both goals since the change.

Since I set up two different goals, I moved all my novels back into a project folder. This arrangement has worked well for me, and all my streaks are intact.

Boost Your Productivity with a Word Goal

I’m astonished at how much having word goals has boosted my productivity. I feel more focused on my writing, I’m able to sneak in a few words when I wouldn’t before, and I feel much more accomplished that I got things done when I achieved my goal.

Word goals are not for everyone. I didn’t think they would be for me, but they have changed my process for the better (so far).

Want more writing tips like this or to talk about writing goals? Follow me on BlueSky and Mastodon, and let’s chat.