This fact was pointed out to me a few days ago and continues to blow my mind:
- We produce 30,000 words of edited copy every month at Quick and Dirty Tips.
Thirty thousand words — about half a book or a whole magazine, every month — and I am the only full-time employee.
I’m not saying I do it alone; we have nine other show hosts, regular guest writers, and two freelance copy editors. But I manage those people and also edit nearly every word, and that is a hellofalotta quality copy.
Suddenly it doesn’t seem so weak to need a project management system to keep track of everything, and I don’t feel quite so bad about not answering every e-mail immediately or not being able to keep up the twice-a-week Grammar Girl schedule.
Here’s my tip of the day: step back and think about what you do every day. You may be surprised by the amazing things you accomplish and take for granted.
That should look great on your resume if you ever care to switch jobs. Personally I hope you stick with the job(s) you have now.
On a similar note, there’s something to be said for making a list of every task you complete in a day. I try to do this as often as I can to challenge myself when I have one of those days when, even though I have been working, I feel as though I haven’t accomplished anything.