I’ve been experimenting with different metrics for getting things done. Two of these have stuck around long enough now to become solid habits.
When the aim of the game is to produce a first draft of something, I aim for at least 1000 words in a day (or an approximate equivalent, if working with something other than words). When the main aim is revision, I make myself a cup of tea (or coffee)—I’ve noticed that if I’m properly in the work, it usually ends up going cold before I get to the bottom.
The useful thing about both of these habits isn’t so much the specific goal, so much as the fact that they provide very direct feedback about how things are going. If I’m getting hung up over-editing myself, the word count tells me. If I’m not finding focus, I’ll see the bottom of the cup.
I don’t think these specific strategies are necessarily right for others, but the principles seem transferable. Both of them are fairly cut-and-dried. The words are there, or they aren’t; the tea is cold or it isn’t.