Reading time: About 3 minutes
If you’re bad at estimating time for your own writing, check out my post below. I have some useful tips for you.
I’m pretty accurate at estimating my writing time now. But it wasn’t always this way.
I’ll never forget the writing job I figured it would take me four hours to write. Instead, it actually took me four days. (Yes, days. I wish this were a joke.)
In fact, being bad at estimating time is pretty universal for writers. We’re like over-excited puppies chasing our own tails when it comes to estimating our writing time.
The problem: why writers misjudge time
It’s shamefully easy to be bad at estimating time.
The first problem is what’s known as the planning fallacy. We focus on best-case scenarios, we become lost in our fondest wishes and hopes and we ignore obstacles. This is what happened with the famous — and breathtakingly beautiful — Sydney Opera House in Australia, which cost $100 million more than budgeted and took 10 years more than planned. Oops. If world-class architects couldn’t nail this, writers don’t stand a chance.
The next problem is that we forget the so-called invisible work: the research, the planning, the revisions, the editing, the formatting. None of these jobs are, technically speaking, writing — which is exactly why they sneak up on us — but they all take huge amounts of time.
Finally, life happens. We get sick. We have unexpected family responsibilities. Our day job has more demands than usual. Our dog gets sick.
Interestingly, most of these problems don’t have much to do with discipline. Instead, they point to our unwillingness to be realistic enough. Here’s how you can prevent that problem:
1-Track your actual writing speed
Before you do anything else, start with data — not guesses. Every time you write, keep a record of how long it took you to produce however many words. I know this sounds like a nuisance (and about as fun as tracking your daily water intake), but it’s incredibly valuable information for you. And you can download a free tracking chart from my website that helps make the job easy. Think of it as a Fitbit for your writing habits.
Here is what you should measure:
- Words per hour for first drafts
- Pages per hour for editing
Yes, I know every single writing project is different. But if you track all of them for at least a month, you’ll soon be able to calculate an average. For example, you might write 1,200 words per hour for something easy and 350 words per hour for something difficult. (No self-judgment, please! Your numbers are your numbers.)
You’ll also spot some differences between types of writing. Blog posts are usually a lot faster to write than, say, academic articles. (Unless you’re one of those unicorns who finds academic writing easier. If so, please teach me your ways.) This is normal and not a moral failing. Knowledge is always ammunition.
2-Break the project into phases
Don’t just estimate “writing time.” Get so granular you’d make a geologist jealous. Here are my suggestions for the five phases to consider:
- Brainstorming/mind mapping
- Research
- Writing
- Editing/revising
- Formatting/submitting
If you follow my writing strategy, I suggest allowing 40% of your time for the two steps before writing and 40% of your time for editing/revising and formatting. I’m aware this leaves only 20% of your time for writing — and yes, that looks alarming — but it works. Good preparation speeds writing, and generous editing time rescues imperfect drafts, which all drafts are.
Estimate each phase separately, then add them up.
3-Add buffer time (because Murphy’s Law is real)
The number I’m going to give may shock you, but I’ve been a writer and editor for 46 years, so I speak from experience. You should always allow at least 1.5x more time than you expect for any writing project. Longer projects may require twice as much time. Yes, you read that correctly. Double.
This isn’t pessimism. The buffer is your friend, not an admission of failure. It’s better to finish early and surprise yourself (and maybe do a little victory dance) than to constantly miss deadlines and feel discouraged.
4-Use past projects as guides
Look backward to plan forward. Review two to three completed projects and figure out what, specifically, took you longer than expected and what went faster. Maybe you always underestimate research time. Perhaps you’re lightning-fast at editing but slow as molasses at brainstorming. Patterns will emerge. Over time, your estimates will stop feeling like wishful thinking.
5-Give yourself permission to adjust
Estimates aren’t promises. They’re informed guesses that should evolve. If you’re 25% through your project and already at 50% of your time estimate, then it’s time to recalibrate. (And maybe panic a little. Just kidding. Don’t panic.) Communicate new timelines to your editors, your clients or yourself.
This is professionalism, not failure.
The real goal
Your objective is not to become a time-estimating robot. Instead, it’s to develop realistic expectations that honour both your creative process and your commitments. Accurate estimates reduce stress, improve planning and help you take on the right amount of work.
They also build trust with clients, with editors and with yourself.
Start tracking your time this week. Future you will be deeply grateful to present you.
If you liked this post, you’ll also like How to avoid cognitive bias in your writing.
*
My video podcast last week addressed how to get the most possible help from beta readers. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.
*
Are you bad at estimating time for your own writing? What steps do you take to deal with that problem? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by Feb. 28/26, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)
