Since NaNoWriMo was interrupted by a cross-state move for me, I’ve decided to try my had at JaNoWriMo—the same basic idea, but in January instead of November. I managed to write over 10,000 words in the first eight days of 2012. I haven’t managed to write over 1000 everyday, as I’d hoped, but I have tried to at the very least, keep up my momentum.

Something that’s helped me immensely in this, has been the Pomodoro Technique.

It’s so simple that it seems a little mundane:

-Use a timer.

-Work for 25 minutes straight.

-Take a 5 minute break.

-Rinse & Repeat.

It is that simple. And it works. At least, it works for me.

The timer is essential, though. You can’t just look down at the time on your computer screen and decide to write for the next 25 minutes… you need something ticking down that you can SEE. Or that will ding and tell you when you’ve run out of time. I personally either use the Pomodroido app on Android, or this free internet timer.

I’ve been getting an average of 1600+ words in an hour and a half. Which for me is A LOT. Of course, finding the hour and a half each day is a little trying. But the results have been worth it for me when I can scrape up the time!