Why Writing a Book is No Different Than Eating an Elephant

Both are accomplished one bite at a time.

Today I’ll share my process for taking a big writing project and breaking it down into manageable chunks. I recently launched my next book, Humility-Driven Development, on Leanpub, and even in its currently scaffolded form, it looks overwhelming to complete. What I wanted was a plan to tackle the book in 30-minute sprints.

Why 30 minutes? Because I love the Pomodoro Technique .

It’s not complicated. You set a timer for 25 minutes (“the Pomodoro”), focus 100% on your task until the timer expires, and take a five-minute break. Rinse and repeat!

So how do I go from a twelve-chapter book to Pomodoros?

My outline consists of ten atomic essays bookended by an introduction and a conclusion.

Each atomic essay has 3-5 significant sections. At 15 minutes per section, plus 15 minutes to edit, that comes to 90 minutes.

This calculation tells me I can complete a chapter with roughly three Pomodoros.

Now that I’ve broken the work down, it’s time for scheduling!

I work full-time as an engineering director, so this fits in as a side-hustle.

Over the next few weeks, I have some major family events and business travel.

During a typical week, five Pomodoros is a reasonable target.

Taking these constraints into account, I avoided a few hectic weeks where time and energy will be short. I then slotted each Pomodoro into a day on the calendar.

If all goes according to plan, you can expect Humility-Driven Development in its final form around August 21, 2022!