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The Zing with Deborah Ager

the pleasure of focused sprinting | lessons from software development

Published over 1 year ago • 2 min read

Can a method used for software development be successfully used for writing? That’s one question I hoped to answer in a recent writing process exploration.

In agile software development, teams work in “sprints” to accomplish goals. Sprints are defined as “fixed length periods of work that last one month or less to create consistency and ensure short iterations for feedback.” (scrum.org)

The definition sure sounded like it could apply to writing. The idea of sprints with focused goals appealed to me, and we’d successfully used this method when I worked at the Red Cross.

So, what happened?

Success. In October, I drafted 30 poems over the 31 days.

In the software world, a new sprint begins when the former sprint concludes. My new sprint will focus on revising the writing I drafted in October. Each sprint you create can focus on one part of the project, so you make continual progress.

At the end of the sprint, I took note of what worked well and what I’d want to do differently. I'll apply those learnings to future sprints.

What worked well?

  • Allowing the dailiness to encourage deeper thinking: The times when I had to push myself and dig deep to fulfill the daily writing goal were the days when some of the most interesting ideas surfaced.
  • Letting the dopamine flow: Find what makes you feel inspired and energized in the process. As for me? I love to check items off a list to make sure that I’ve reached my daily target. Doing that makes me happy and keeps me motivated to continue. How about you?
  • Flexible focus: The sprint gave me permission to focus on one area that needed attention in this project while allowing for the possibility of changing course, if needed. This is just what I needed.

What would I do differently?

  • Finish my daily writing by a certain time of day because I feel better when the writing is done.
  • Add a midpoint reflection. Scheduling 30 minutes to reflect on what’s worked well at the halfway point could improve the second half.

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Let me know if you might try this sprint idea.
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Cheers,

Deb Ager

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The Zing with Deborah Ager

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The Zing is a curated weekly newsletter for sophisticated writers navigating the self-publishing journey. Get bite-sized essays, swoon-worthy strategies, and practical how-to guidance from an author and writing publication coach. Whether you're dreaming of writing a book or have already drafted yours, join a circle of high-caliber authors who deserve encouragement, guidance, and kindness on the path to publication. Bonus: Goofy jokes occasionally included.

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