Are you familiar with the phrase ‘all work expands to fit the time allotted’? You can hear a great explanation of its origin on NPR’s excellent Planet Money podcast. When I first heard this concept, I felt a great wave of recognition - the white noise of NPR had just dropped a truth bomb on my LIFE. Hi, my name is Ellie and I am a high-functioning procrastinator. I can confirm that until as late as college, I was both beginning and completing term projects in a single week. Astounding! An axiom in action!
Recently though, I’ve entered a new season of my life, one in which I can rely only on myself (!) to structure and regulate my time. That’s right. I’m a freelancer.
Creating structure and sticking to it is not nearly as enticing without a participation trophy awaiting you at the other end. Yet create structure I must, and to the internet I shall hold myself accountable. So, internet, here’s the plan. I call it 100 Days, 100 Words. Simple enough. Here’s the gist:
- Every day, I have to create one piece of content
- Each piece has to consist of exactly 100 words (excluding this one - I’m not ready to commit just yet!)
- I have to publish it to some digital location - a readerless blog will do
- Repeat for 100 days
That’s it. With this self-inflicted project, I hope to sharpen my writing skills and explore my interests beyond remarking upon them on my couch, at home, to myself.
Tomorrow is Day 1. Let’s do this.