Faced with a big writing project such as a manual or white paper? Determining how much time you need for each part of a writing project can help you plan your time to meet your deadline. Start with the deadline date and back up to find out when you need to start each part of the project. You might discover that you should have started working on the project two weeks -- or two months! -- ago.
For example, let's say your deadline is May 1 to write a white paper that will be approximately 20 pages. You estimate the following time frames:
* Planning - 1 day
* Organizing - 2 days
* Researching- 3 days
* Writing - 5 days
* Revising - 3 days
Total - 14 days
Few of us can devote 14 straight days to a writing project. In this example, 14 days of work means that we need to find 112 hours for this project, assuming an eight-hour day. We need to allocate time for each part of the process on our calendar, usually in one-hour increments.
Time set aside to work on this writing project should be treated as if it were an appointment or meeting that you cannot cancel. Otherwise, you will find yourself avoiding the work and struggline to meet your deadline, or worse, missing it.
