There's a good book by Cal Newport called 'Deep Work'.
I think in general, almost everyone only does a very low amount of deep work each day, there are just too many distractions to stay in a flow state (or even get in one, since it takes a while just to get there).
I think anyone that is even aware of this is ahead of the game, since most people don't realize it and just aimlessly drift through their days switching between tasks and emails and meetings and such and don't really have a battle plan, don't block out some prime hours to do deep work, etc.
So I think it's great to want to improve deep work and track things to see how you're doing and where you can improve.
Just don't beat yourself up about it! I think it hurts the results more than it helps -- your brain may think it's motivating you by being hard on you, but I think it's more the reverse.
See it as glass-half-full: Writing is really hard, and I'm doing a few hours a day, which is good. How can I do even more? Start by trying to add 10 minutes daily on average, then a little more. Lots of small victories much easier than setting a huge goal that is very hard to reach quickly.
Also remember how you don't *have* to write, but you *get* to write, which is an awesome privilege to be savored! "What worlds shall I create today!"
If George R.R. Martin can feel like an impostor, I think we all can. But 1% better at a time, and over time we'll get there.
There's a good book by Cal Newport called 'Deep Work'.
I think in general, almost everyone only does a very low amount of deep work each day, there are just too many distractions to stay in a flow state (or even get in one, since it takes a while just to get there).
I think anyone that is even aware of this is ahead of the game, since most people don't realize it and just aimlessly drift through their days switching between tasks and emails and meetings and such and don't really have a battle plan, don't block out some prime hours to do deep work, etc.
So I think it's great to want to improve deep work and track things to see how you're doing and where you can improve.
Just don't beat yourself up about it! I think it hurts the results more than it helps -- your brain may think it's motivating you by being hard on you, but I think it's more the reverse.
See it as glass-half-full: Writing is really hard, and I'm doing a few hours a day, which is good. How can I do even more? Start by trying to add 10 minutes daily on average, then a little more. Lots of small victories much easier than setting a huge goal that is very hard to reach quickly.
Also remember how you don't *have* to write, but you *get* to write, which is an awesome privilege to be savored! "What worlds shall I create today!"
If George R.R. Martin can feel like an impostor, I think we all can. But 1% better at a time, and over time we'll get there.
cheers!