By Candyce Carden @CandyceDeal

When I taught early grades, we celebrated the 100^th Day of School in a big way. We invited children to bring 100 small objects to school, i.e., pennies, beans, buttons, piece of pasta, etc. Teachers used the day to help students develop a sense of number.

Just as the choices for objects were endless, so were the activities and fun. Children arranged objects into groups of ten to reinforce place value. They used them to add and subtract. They watched the second hand on the clock tick off 100 seconds. In P.E., children attempted 100 jumping jacks. Many areas of the curriculum were incorporated to mark this special day.

April 10 is the 100^th day of 2022.

Why is this day significant for writers? It’s a perfect time to stop and evaluate where we are with our goals. It’s a time to ask ourself what we would like to be doing 100 days from today.

That date will be July 19th.

One hundred days from now, where do you want to be with your book project? Your writing? Your blog?

Here’s how this works for me. I’ve written one-third of the devotions needed for my book. By the 200^th day of the year, I’d love to have one-half the book completed. I did the math. That means I have a little over fourteen weeks to complete fifteen devotions. That’s going to be about one per week. That’s doable!

Now that I have a goal and a plan to meet the goal, I’m excited. And excitements breeds motivation. See how this works?

Writers have multiple things going on simultaneously, and those might be examined today, too.

Where do you want to be 100 days from now?

No matter what stage you’re at with your writing life, stop today to think about where you want to be on July 19th. It might be to attend a writing conference and implement three things you learn, finish a book proposal, or get established with a critique group. Remember, small steps lead to big results.

Circle July 19^th on your calendar. Decide what goal you’re going to meet 100 days from today. Then focus on what you need to do tomorrow, and all the tomorrows in between, to get your there.

If I meet my goal to finish one-half of the devotions for my book by July 19^th, I will throw a 200^th Day-of-the Year celebration. 

What will you be celebrating?

Candyce Carden is a writer and teacher in north Georgia. She’s published a variety of essays, teaching and parenting articles. Her Christian writing has appeared in Lifeway, The Quiet Hour, Reflections, CBN, Today’s Christian Living, Refresh Magazine, Christian Devotions, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

 Candyce is currently writing a collection of devotions from the beach and blogs at Harvesting a Life of Abundance.