It’s always interesting to see what happens when good intentions meet the real world.

Take my 27K challenge. When I first set the goal for myself, I thought I might be giving myself too much time. Lo and behold, after two days where I edited over 10K words cumulatively (mainly through judicious cuts), I was suddenly sure I was going to finish early. There would be egg on my face, but I would just tweak things for the next challenge I set for myself. No biggie.

Turns out, not so much. I’m reminded that a plan is only perfect until it’s put into action, at which point it’s anybody’s guess how it will turn out. Social plans popped up, hectic days at work made for unproductive nights, and come this weekend I’m going to be visiting an old friend out of town for a couple of days. I’ll be back Sunday, and I’ve still got 4,000 words to go.

Whoops.

Truth be told, I’m still on track to finish by the deadline. Hell, I could be done tonight, though I suspect I’ll need at least another day. It’s just interesting to think back on the confidence I had when I was ahead of the deadline, only to be rushing to catch up now.

Plans go awry, the world is not perfect, and the rest of your life will interfere. What is important is that you keep plugging away, even if you end up squeaking by right at the deadline.

Back to work.