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I’m bored.
I suppose that’s the fate of any blogger who dedicates himself or herself to a subject that’s been covered exhaustively for several years now by an army of dedicated scribblers and yackers. I mean, c’mon, how many twists can you insert into the fundamental plot of personal finance—spend less than you earn and invest the difference?
Part of me says it’s a good time to retire. Mrs. Groovy and I had a nice three-year run with this blog. And, yet, I love being a part of the personal finance community, and I love the challenge of writing. What to do?
Well, when I get bored, I think of something big enough and crazy enough to keep me interested. So here’s that big and crazy something. I want to write 250,000 words in 2019. I don’t know what the heck I’m going to say with those 250,000 words, and I don’t know what good will come of it, but the idea of writing a quarter of a million words in a year gives me a tremendous CMLT. Two hundred and fifty thousand words is the equivalent of a 500 page book.
To write 250,000 words in 2019, I’ll need to write an average of 685 words per day. That’s a lot of words. But it’s doable. I began a trial run of this daily word target on 12/4. Here are the results.
From 12/4/2018 to 12/31/2018, a total of 28 days, I wrote 21,390 words. That works out to an average of almost 764 words per day. Not too shabby.
And wait, it gets better. The trial run is over and thus far in 2019 I’ve written 9,209 words. Since we are eight days into the new year, that works out to an average of 1,151 words per day. If I keep this pace going, I’ll reach my quarter of a million word goal sometime in August. The system works!
Quick aside. It’s amazing how well you manage something when you begin to measure it (see my tracking table below). Now, because I have an audacious writing goal, and because I’m tracking my daily word count, I spend much less time fooling around. Before, if I had an hour to kill before dinner was ready, I’d turn on the television. Now, I fire up the laptop and see if I can bang out another couple hundred words. Words to the wise (no pun intended), Peter Drucker is right. If you want to be more productive, give yourself a measurable goal and measure it.
| Date | Writing Project | Item | Begin Word Count | Ending Word Count | Difference |
| 1/1/2019 | Blog | The Alt-FI Manifesto | 1642 | 2115 | 473 |
| 1/1/2019 | Book | Groovy Guide to Geoarbitrage | 1118 | 1725 | 607 |
| 1/2/2019 | Book | Groovy Guide to Geoarbitrage | 1725 | 2423 | 698 |
| 1/2/2019 | Blog | The Alt-FI Manifesto | 2115 | 2225 | 110 |
| 1/2/2019 | Blog | What a Degree In Financial Independence Might Look Like | 684 | 749 | 65 |
| 1/2/2019 | Blog | You Don’t Have a Right to Be Above Suspicion | 0 | 337 | 337 |
| 1/3/2019 | Blog | You Don’t Have a Right to Be Above Suspicion | 337 | 896 | 559 |
| 1/3/2019 | Book | Groovy Guide to Writing an Ebook | 0 | 424 | 424 |
| 1/3/2019 | Book | Groovy Guide to Geoarbitrage | 2423 | 2516 | 93 |
| 1/4/2019 | Blog | The Alt-FI Manifesto | 2225 | 2438 | 213 |
| 1/4/2019 | Blog | Ten Ways to Lower Your Cost of Government | 1505 | 1643 | 138 |
| 1/4/2019 | Book | Groovy Guide to Geoarbitrage | 2516 | 2952 | 436 |
| 1/5/2019 | Book | Groovy Guide to Geoarbitrage | 2952 | 3697 | 745 |
| 1/5/2019 | Blog | Finding Good Financial Spotters | 758 | 1018 | 260 |
| 1/6/2019 | Book | The Groovy Guide to Australia | 700 | 1046 | 346 |
| 1/6/2019 | Blog | What Pisses Me Off About Mobile Homes | 0 | 261 | 261 |
| 1/6/2019 | Blog | Two Things the Rich Can Do to Help the Poor and Two Things the Poor Can Do to Help Themselves | 0 | 114 | 114 |
| 1/6/2019 | Book | The Groovy Guide to Doing Higher Education Right | 0 | 220 | 220 |
| 1/7/2019 | Blog | The Alt-FI Manifesto | 2438 | 3443 | 1005 |
| 1/7/2019 | Book | The Groovy Guide to Fixing Healthcare | 0 | 539 | 539 |
| 1/7/2019 | Book | The Groovy Guide to Doing Higher Education Right | 220 | 348 | 128 |
| 1/7/2019 | Blog | Two Things the Rich Can Do to Help the Poor and Two Things the Poor Can Do to Help Themselves | 114 | 487 | 373 |
| 1/8/2019 | Blog | Freedom Is Groovy In 2019 | 500 | 994 | 494 |
| 1/8/2019 | Blog | The Alt-FI Manifesto | 3443 | 4014 | 571 |
Freedom Is Groovy in 2019
Okay, I’ve given myself an audacious goal for 2019. In fact, it’s so audacious, it will definitely affect my blogging and the management of this website. After all, there are only so many hours in a day. Writing at least 685 words per day will essentially be a part time job. And then there’s Mrs. Groovy’s forever-reloading to-do list. And let’s not forget Groovy Ranch. I got a house to furnish, a garage workshop to build, and nearly three and a half acres to beautify and maintain. Needless to say, I got a lot on my plate. So I’m not going to be the most attentive blogger on the planet this year. Here’s what to expect.
At Least Three Ebooks
I’m almost done with my second ebook, The Groovy Guide to the Muscle Up. That will be coming out by the end of January. By the summer, my third ebook should be done, The Groovy Guide to Geoarbitrage. And by the close of 2019, my fourth ebook should be ready, The Groovy Guide to Building a House. This ambitious publishing goal is only possible because these books are going to be 40 to 50 pages each. No 200+ page opus is on the horizon.
Fewer but Longer Posts
If I’m having an epic year of writing, my posts might as well be epic as well—at least on the word count side of things. So expect a lot of posts in the 2,500 to 4,000 word count range. And expect maybe one post a week.
Fewer Comments on the Post’s of My Blogging Peers
I’ll keep reading 40 to 50 blog posts a week—where do you think I steal all my ideas from—but unless I really have something to contribute, or encounter something I really disagree with, I’ll just comment “Me like” and move on. I know that’s pathetic, and makes me look mentally challenged, but I think it’s a nice compromise between my desire to support my blogging buddies and my desire to write a lot of freakin’ words.
Quick aside. Just for the record, I’m very uncomfortable with my proposed two-word comment “Me like.” Like I said, I want to let people know that a post has met the Mr. Groovy seal of approval. After all, the Mr. Groovy seal of approval has a lot of cachet in the personal finance sphere. But a two-word comment is definitely mailing it in. We’ll see. I’m torn.
Fewer Responses to the Comments on My Posts
Part of me wants to shutdown the comments section entirely since I won’t have the bandwidth to respond to all the comments. But the comments I get, especially the ones that challenge my ideas, are really constructive. Responding to my comments makes me a better thinker and a better writer. Shutting them down would thus be foolish. So I may institute a guideline of just responding to the comments that challenge my ideas. I’m leaning that way, but don’t know if that’s fair to the commenters who agree with my ideas. We’ll see. I still trying to figure this one out.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? Is writing 250,000 words in a year a worthwhile goal? Or is it a stupid waste of time? And how about my tentative blogging guidelines? Do they make sense? Are they fair to my fellow bloggers? Are they fair to the people who not only take the time to read my scribblings but also comment on those scribblings? Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Peace.
Wow Mr. Groovy! You are one word ambitious dude! I wish you all the best in your writing goals for 2019 and with your ebooks. We always appreciate you and Mrs. Groovy stopping by at Wealth Well Done and leaving some love. Though your comments will be missed, we totally understand your time commitments and are rooting for you to achieve all of the goals you have before yourself. Keep up the awesome work! Happy 2019!
Amanda at Wealth Well Done recently posted…My ChooseFI Podcast and Guest Post
Me like too!
That’s a lot of words to type… and a heck of a hand workout. Maybe dictate instead. Then you don’t have to type it, just say it, then clean it up. Good luck!
Me like.
Fondly,
CD
Crispy Doc recently posted…Docs Who Cut Back #8: Jordan Craig, MD
LOL! Me like your comment. You’re the best, CD.
250 words is a great goal! Ambitious, but certainly doable. I know fiction writers who do twice that (though not many of them). My BHA goal this year is 150k – on top of a full-time job and an out-of-state move this summer. Crazy? Definitely! But still doable!
Also the more books you have out, the more readers you will find. Discoverability is always a challenge, but more books mean more for a reader to stumble across.
I’m glad to see you’re not quitting the blog. I find your posts entertaining and thought-provoking, whether they’re about personal finance, higher ed, politic, or even picking up trash. And especially about Groovy Ranch! Good luck!
Jennette Marie Powell recently posted…A Roller Coaster Week
When I’m in the zone I have no diffiulty banging out 2300 words in an evening between work and supper or before bed. Of course, getting into the zone…
That’s very impressive, my friend. Thus far I’ve only had one “zone” day in which I wrote over 2,000 words. My mind seems to peter out around 1,000 words. But that’s enough to reach the 250,000 word goal. I will say this, though, the habit of writing at least 685 words every day makes writing easier. Thus far in 2019 I’m averaging nearly 1,300 word per day. Not too shabby for someone who didn’t crack 500 on the verbal portion of the SAT. Thanks for stopping by, Steve. Always a pleasure.
I didn’t say that happens every day. One of those 2k word sessions takes about a week of mulling over a topic to get my brain around it, then bang the muse takes over and the fingers on the keyboard struggle to keep up.
Main thing is to keep the mind spinning every day. And most efficient way to do that is to write something/anything each day.
A 150,000 words! A full time job!! And a move while you’re at it!!! You’re my hero, Jennette. Perhaps we can set up a little accountability correspondence and share our progress once a week? I reach out with an email this weekend. Hope all is well. Keep writing. Cheers.
Speaking of which, I just finished my first book. Now I’m gonna ready another one!
(Stolen from Rodney Dangerfield)
Oh, man, Mr. G. I knew there was a reason why I liked you. Comment of the year so far.
I would like to hear more about what you do with your time and how you are living out the dream that you originally set of being retired. What does that look like on a daily basis, how has it changed your future goals, has any of that adjusted now that it is reality and not just a dream, etc.
Maybe the blog just needs to evolve now that your goals and dreams are evolving. May not be so much anymore about personal finance. Maybe the PF will become Personal Fullfillment…
Just the opinion of one reader.
“Maybe the blog just needs to evolve now that your goals and dreams are evolving. May not be so much anymore about personal finance. Maybe the PF will become Personal Fullfillment…”
Holy crap, you’re brilliant. I’m thinking 50 percent personal finance and 50 percent personal fulfillment is the way to go. Love the way your mind works, Marlena. I owe you one. Cheers.
If you could clue my kids on to my brilliance…that would be great 🙂
The curse of all bloggers! I read somewhere that most bloggers don’t make it past the 3 month mark – they’ve already written everything they want to say on the subject.
Hopefully you will find other stuff to write about as you continue your journey. It doesn’t all have to be about finances!
How true! If you think about it, all the solutions and all the tools to fix all the financial woe under the sun are already in place, and have been for a long time now. I think part of the role of a financial blogger is to spread the word about the solutions and tools. But more importantly, I think the role of a financial blogger is to provide motivation. “Hey, I fixed my finances. So can you.” But then the material or fodder for blog posts ends, and you realize that what you have left really isn’t that interesting or compelling. I think I’ve arrived at this point and it’s time to branch out. Like you said, Mr. 39, “it doesn’t all have to be about finances.” Great freakin’ comment, my friend.
Go for it! The way I see it, with said Groovy Ranch just completed, and ALL future home improvements in the design phase, there is more than enough material that to benefit countless new homeowners. he Mr. Groovy “finesse” may just be what is needed to encourage new and not so new homeowners to embrace DIY! You “do” have that effect on readers. I for one have felt those effects! God speed, Oh Groovy Writer!
Oh, man. I got a tremendous CMLT reading this comment. And, yes, all major improvements to Groovy Ranch will be fodder for this blog. And, yes, I hope my adventures in home improvement will inspire others to take the leap. You’re the best, my friend.
I like reading your blog posts and enjoyed your book too. Do you think there’s a risk that there could be a trade off between quantity and quality as you chase the former and, if so, how will you manage that?
Yes. There is that danger. In the book, The Elements of Style, the authors Strunk and White emphasis that the key to writing well is to “make ever word tell.” In other words, if you have too many unnecessary words in your writing, you’ll turn off your readers. So while my goal is to write 250,000 words, I have no desire to publish 250,000 words. Editing, then, is the key to not letting quantity overwhelm quality. I think I can pull it off with the help of Mrs. G. But only time will tell, of course. Great comment, my friend.
Well color me impressed Mr Groovy. A quarter million words in a year is nothing to scoff at.
Amazed you have time to build a house, write a book, e- books and blog. Now that the house building is over hopefully that does clear up major bandwidth.
Well I really do enjoy when you do stop by occasionally and comment on my blog. You are correct in that getting a comment from you is a great seal of approval and one that I will miss.
A goal of mine is to one day write a book or books. We will satisfy myself with blogging for the time being and see if I can springboard to printed word as you have done
Xrayvsn recently posted…Everyone Needs A Little Radiologist In Them | Mental Checklist
Hey, Xrayvsn. Thank you for your really kind words. Made my day, my friend. Any chance you might put together a book on healthcare? I’d love to read a doctor/insider’s view of our Alice-in-wonderland healthcare system.
That actually sounds like a great topic to be honest. I had planned on telling a bit more tell all book about my divorce (which on my blog I toned down to a G-PG level) as a potential.
But yeah I would consider healthcare from insider point of view an interesting one to write about. Might be awhile down the road as my bandwidth between job, daughter, and blog is stretched near to its limits 🙂
Xrayvsn recently posted…So You Wanna Be A Blogger? | The Dark Side
You are really going to make me send you crazy comments. I don’t go away, just hibernate.
Crap, have I made you think about bears and markets….? Doh!
Happy New Year friends.
Mr. PIE recently posted…100 Days Into Early Retirement – Hello From The Other Side
Ah, the illustrious Mr. PIE. So happy to see your wit once again grace this my humble comment section. I hope you remain out of hibernation for a long time. Cheers, my friend.
P.S. A good friend of mine is heading to Scotland this summer. Should he stay clear of haggis?
He should not fear the haggis. Tell him to be very careful in washing it down with copious amounts of malt whisky. That stuff wlll dissolve your liver and empty your bank account prompto. I know.
Mr. PIE recently posted…100 Days Into Early Retirement – Hello From The Other Side
I feel ya on this! Now that I write full time, it’s challenging to find joy in a blog that’s just for fun.
I think the natural response is to either end it or find a way to make things fun again. 🙂
Good luck on your 2019 goals!
Agreed. Muddling along wasn’t working for me anymore. So in the immortal words of Joel Goodsen, “Sometimes you gotta say, ‘What the f%#k!’“
Me like. But, you could also just go complete Charles Dickens.
Just write a fancy, wordy version of “Me Like” and copy and paste it into the comment box.
If you’re really industrious, you can have several of them and pick one at random for each post that receives your seal of approval.
~~In all seriousness, your writing ideas for 2019 give me the motivation to do more writing for my blog so you can have more ideas to steal and improve upon.
This is just my opinion, but I think you guys are like a “cult classic” like Rocky Horror, Space Balls, Office Space, etc. You’re going to have a loyal following and we’ll always appreciate what you write.
Josh recently posted…15 Things to Do With Money This Year
You’re too kind, Josh. Your comment really made my day. And I love the idea of rotating “me likes.” Or maybe even different “me likes” that distinguish my degree of enthusiasm for the post. You’re definitely onto something, my friend. Looking into Window shortcuts now. Cheers.
Hey Mr. G, for the seal of approval, how about “MGSA”. It’s short. It’s sweet. For fancy, add a “seal” logo of some sorts if you can.
Nice, Paul. I never thought of a “Mr. Groovy Seal of Approval.” You’re onto something, my friend. Let me look into it.
‘The Groovy Guide to Australia’ jumped out at me.
As it would…
We got to talk soon, FD. I’ll shoot you an email this week. Mrs. Groovy and I already booked the round-trip flights to Sydney. We’re going down under this year. Can’t wait to have my first vegemite sandwich. Hopefully, we’ll be able to meet up. Cheers.
I think for me blogging energy comes and goes in phases. I honor whatever I’m feeling because hey, I make like nothing money-wise off my blog, so in that sense it’s refreshing. Just go with what you’re feeling, but of course keep commenting on MY blog. lol! Happy New Year!
I will always comment on BATB! I love blogs that are personal journey blogs, and yours is one of the best personal journey blogs I’ve come across. Hands down. And I hear ya about “energy.” It’s hard to get excited about scribbling when my blog generates absolutely zero income. So to cure my blahs, I decided to go full-monty on the writing front and full-bad boy the style/subject matter front. Will this audacious goal amount to anything? No. But it’s keeping me interested. Hope you have a glorious 2019, Tonya. Cheers.
I think that your goal is a sound one as is the idea of only responding to comments that challenge you. Still, you might be better to respond to comments that evoke a reaction. Some challenging comments might be more like, fair boint but I disagree.
Would you consider a post on writing and publishing an ebook. That alone would be interesting to me.
Genx FIRE recently posted…Home Improvement: Where to Put my Router
You’re a genius, my friend. Just put together the skeleton for The Groovy Guide to Publishing an Ebook. And I’ll be sure to give you full credit in the acknowledgements. And, yes, I decided to modify the comment guidelines I proposed in this post. Comments are too important to ignore. We have a great community in the FI blogosphere, and the comment section is the glue of that great community. Love the way your mind works. Thanks for stopping by.
I just did my first! podcast on the subject of commenting. So I have to ask — why is commenting not part of the 250,000 word count? I personally write regularly here, and elsewhere, and only occasionally at my own blog. I actually joke that it’s a guest post when I arrive at my own.
On the other hand, I love the idea of receiving a “Me like” when I have written something Groovy-worthy, and you might start something that is big. Your own seal of approval that might just go viral.
Susan @ FI Ideas recently posted…Estimating 25X Your Health Insurance is Shockingly Unsimple
You’re a genius, Susan. Mrs. Groovy read your comment and said the same thing. As of this week, I started include my comment word count into my total word count. It really makes sense. I love the conversation we have on this blog and others and it would be a same to have that conversation squeezed out by an admittedly silly goal. Your’re the best, Susan. Cheers.
Me like! (count = 2)
The writing thing requires a sustainable habit of writing. Every morning/noon/evening/night rain or shine has to find you in your writing chair composing words. For me it was after work before I left the office to head home or the last hour before I shut down the computer and went to bed. Others use a voice recorder and a long commute to/from work. Or get up an hour or two before anyone else wakes up.
Your body will fight any new thing you demand of it until you perform that thing every day for three weeks. Then your body will nag you when you are late about getting started.
Now I got to get on my treadmill…
Nice, Steve. Great writing hacks, so to speak, for any aspiring writer. Here’s one for you. I get up every day around 5:30 am, but I didn’t roll out of bed until 6:30 or so. It’s freakin’ cold down here in NC and a warm bed is difficult to leave. To get over this sticking point, I developed a compromise. I don’t get out of bed at 5:30, but I do fire up my phone and open Google Docs to work on one of the ebooks in my pipeline. It sounds ridiculous, but with one finger, I can usually pump out around 250 words before 6:30. Then I get out of bed, make my way to the living room sofa, and fire up my laptop. By the time 8:00 rolls around, I’m pretty close to my daily goal of 685 words. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Love the way your brain works.
You can get an electric space heater with a thermostat and timer. (I have one in my office.) Set it next to your writing desk and have it warm things up for you. You can crank up your word count. That said, Isaac Newton was reputed to spend several morning hours in bed inventing calculus & physics, so you’re in good company.
steve poling recently posted…Dave Ramsey Heresy
This is one of my favorite blogs, so I’m looking forward to these epic posts and ebooks! Good luck with the goal!
I love the quote “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” For a while I’ve been trying implement this into my own. Perhaps I’ll have more luck if I add a measurement system to it?
Hey, Ty. The feeling’s mutual, my friend. What I’ve been doing so far this year is just write and write and not worry too much about quality. The night before I post something, however, I edit it and get out as much unnecessary verbiage as possible. This reduces the final word count of the post, but it doesn’t reduce my total word count for the year. In other words, I ignore the effect of editing on my my word count. My reasoning is that my goal is to write 250,000 words, not publish 250,000 words. Is that cheating? I don’t think so, but I am giving it another thought. Hope all is well on your end. Cheers.
Writing 250K words is a great goal if you got something to say. 🙂 I think that’s the challenge for most of us how to put a fresh spin on a topic that is pretty simple in nature that has been exhaustively covered in recent years.
Brian recently posted…The Best Time to Pay Off Debt
Haha! I love it, Brian. My problem won’t be finding something to write about, my problem will be finding the eyes to read my eloquent prose. I think I’m going to be the Father McKenzie of bloggers in 2019.
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
In the night when there’s nobody there
What does he care
–the Beatles, Eleanor Rigby
Me like
Thank you, Erica. You’re a peach.
You’ve got the 250,000 words and I’ve got 70,000 steps a week challenge for the entire year. Good luck!
Mrs.Wow recently posted…Well That Wasn’t What I Was Expecting
Yikes! 10,000 steps a day…isn’t that the equivalent of 5 miles? Now, with your stepping and Mr. WoW’s cycling, will you guys ever consider a fitness website–Fitness on Friday…Sprinting on Saturday?
Pretty much! But i much prefer waffles so I think we’ll stick to that :o)
Mrs.Wow recently posted…Well That Wasn’t What I Was Expecting
Me Like.
Touché, my friend.
Love the ambitious goal, Mr. G! I think many of your fellow bloggers will completely understand as we find ourselves in the same boat – reading lots of posts, running our own sites, work and personal lives, etc. Hitting the like button on a post (if available) and a social media share is a good way to show support.
You definitely feel my pain! I think what you and your partner in crime are doing is just as ambitious as my 250,000 word challenge. I’m might be a little AWOL this year, but I won’t neglect WWM. Best of luck in 2019, my friend. Cheers.
Wow, I suspect you might be hanging out with Stephen King, or Isaac Asimov. Best of luck in this one, it’s going to be tough!
Dave @ Accidental FIRE recently posted…Have We Reached Peak Home Bloat?
Hey, D-man. If I get up by 5:30, I usually have about 500 words by the time Mrs. G gets out of bed and starts putting demands on my precious time. The key then is to get up by 5:30 on a daily basis. That’s the real challenge. Best of luck to as well, my friend. Cheers.