

Forget the last one. Do the next one. - kine
http://zackshapiro.com/post/32537662196/forget-the-last-one-do-the-next-one

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kiba
I am not sure if it is related to "the next one" idea, but I do have
continuous goal for writing: writes 500 word a day(This is a bit
oversimplified, as my software actually do not calculate how many words I
added, but how many words I added or deleted). Do it everyday and write
whatever interests you. It could be a novel, essay, a story, an idea, a list
of things, a blueprint for invention, an interesting really fact or anything
really. So long as you write 500 word changes a day.

Well, I didn't keep have a specific goal at first, actually. I just know that
I gotta write something. So I did, and eventually got a specific goal later.
The fruit of labor thus far is one essay an a page full of half completed
random essays that are constantly evolving.

These are the result:

1\. <http://kibabase.com/articles/notes-and-thoughts> (The page of random
essays totaling to 7.5 K words)

2\. <http://kibabase.com/articles/self-quantification> (A 2K words essay)

Well, I didn't produce much, but that's only for about two months. It just
mean that I need to keep writing constantly.

~~~
alanfalcon
500 words is good, 750 words is better:

<http://750words.com> (Love this site, love maintaining a streak and earning
badges)

Even better would be 10,000 words a day...

[http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-
from-...](http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-from-
writing-2000-words-day.html) (This post inspired me to write my first novel)

I haven't reached 10,000 words a day, but I was able to sustain 4,000 words a
day long enough to finish my first novel:

[http://www.syncingdreams.com/2012/06/dragon-master-post-
mort...](http://www.syncingdreams.com/2012/06/dragon-master-post-mortem-
part-1.html)

Now I'm supposed to be _doing the next one_. So I'll go do that now.

------
Apocryphon
"I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go
do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out
what's next." - Steve Jobs

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bowlofnoodles
In my experience this also applies to failures and other things that don't
turn out so well. If you make a mistake, don't spend more time thinking about
it than is necessary to figure out what went wrong and fix those mistakes.
Learn from it and keep going.

------
jkonowitch
In general, I think this makes sense, but it can lead to some pretty unhealthy
patterns in my experience. I would emphasize to those of us with insatiable
ambitions not to gloss over the "pause to celebrate and appreciate" step.
Celebrating our accomplishments can often get lost in the incessant drive for
success. This can leave us feeling empty and dissatisfied, which is no fun at
all.

~~~
benzor
I entirely agree that taking time to savour the moment is important to
maintain a healthy lifestyle. I'd also go further and say that while such a
results in rapid progress, it's also a good idea to stop and think about how
everything went. Do a short post-mortem, regardless of whether the result was
a failure or a success, identify some key areas that could use improvement,
_then_ go out and do better next time.

