Do you ever get free pocket sized calendars in the mail? Have you ever used them with your writing?

Okay, I haven’t lost it. Not really, anyway. And I haven’t turned from a pantser to a planner. So, what exactly do I do with these calendars? Let me show you.

They don’t have to be anything spectacular. I like them small because I keep them, and they are easy to tuck in with my writing tools (NEO, pens, name lists, etc.) Every night after I’ve finished writing for the day, I write down my word count on the calendar. At the end of each week, I added up the week’s words and put the total. And at the end of each month, I write the total of words written on that month.

Not only have I discovered that it helps me keep track of my word count, but it’s easy to flip back through the year and see what months were terrible writing months and what were great months for writing. I can also compare my total year’s count–because yes, I do add up all my month totals for a year’s count–with the year before.

The open calendar on the left shows April, 2019. The one on the right shows February, 2017

If you want to make things even more useful, write your monthly word count goal on each month and see how you do. Or jot down a weekly or daily goal in colored pen. I started off several years ago with the goal of writing 5k a week. There have been many, many weeks I didn’t do that, but that’s sort of been my goal when I’m writing. I know some people have larger goals, and that’s great! For me, the 5k was good. And some times I really shoot past it. And other days I don’t even come close.

Overall, however, I love being able to see my writing progress at a glance in these pocket calendars.

What about you? Have you ever kept track of your daily writing count? If so, does it help or hinder you? If not, does it sound like something you’d enjoy? I’d love to know your thoughts.