There’s this concept in exercise called Greasing the Groove.

Let’s say you want to do 10 pull ups. But you can’t.

How do you approach getting to that goal of 10 pull ups.

One approach is the steady linear approach. Over time, you start with what you can say a set of 5 pull ups, then you try to increase the work, whether by doing two sets of 5, or a set of 6. Reaching a point of failure and then stopping.

You do this a few times a week over months until you eventually get to 10.

Another approach is to grease the groove. With this approach, you do pull ups more often. Maybe set up a bar in a doorway. But rather than pulling up to failure, you only do 2 or 3 pull ups. But you do that every time you pass the door. In the end, you do a lot more volume, without every reaching a point of failure.

Then once in a while you test how you are progressing by trying to do as many pulls up as possible.

I like to play with the Greasing the Groove with my writing, too.

Instead of sitting down to a session and writing until my head explodes trying to reach a word count goal, I will write for shorter writing sprints that still leave a lot of reserve in the tank.

Pull ups or writing, sometimes it is a question of rewiring the baseline.