In 2019, Strava declared the second Friday of January as “Quitter’s Day.” Strava is a fitness tracking and social networking platform for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. When they analyzed data from over 800 million user-logged activities, they found that about 80 percent of people who made New Year’s resolutions gave up by the second week of January.
Proprietary research by Gold’s Gym put what they call the “Fitness Cliff” at about the same point as Quitter’s Day. Other research suggests that people keep at it longer, but everyone agrees that most people abandon their improvement projects short of completion.
Quitters usually depend on motivation. But motivation is an emotion, and emotions are fickle and fleeting. Here’s what will help you keep going.
Remember Why It’s Worth Doing
Writing your book will probably take you a year or more. There will be good days and bad days. On the bad days, it helps to remember why you’re making the effort. Write a short paragraph about why you’re writing your book and put it on your phone or somewhere else so you can read it when necessary.
Do a Little Bit Every Day and Keep Records
Consistent effort is important, but that doesn’t mean you have to write every day. I advise my clients to touch the project every day. Even if you spend as little as 10 to 15 minutes reviewing what you’ve got, writing down your good ideas, and reflecting on your insights, that will be progress.
Keep records of what you do. When Robert Boice divided writers into groups, he found that the writers who kept records outperformed the writers who did not.
Get a Little Help From Your Friends
Here’s another interesting piece of Boice’s research. One of his three groups kept records and also talked with him regularly about their progress. That was the highest-performing group of all. Get an accountability partner. That can be a friend or a writing coach. Check in regularly.
Develop Good Habits
Good habits will reinforce your consistent efforts. Try to write in the same place at the same time every time. Develop a prewriting ritual and a shutdown ritual. When your motivation flags, your habits can carry you.
Quitter’s Day doesn’t have to be a reality for you and your book project. Complete your book and replace Quitter’s Day with Celebration Day.
