Lower Peak

Yay!!! I reached 35K, where I "should" be if I were taking the path of least resistance and producing the minimum required every day to finish exactly on the last day. What does this mean? It means that my average progress has finally come UP to the point that if I am consistent with my past production I should finish on time. If I were to produce from this point forward 1667 words per day each day for the remainder of the month, I will finish on time.
Of course, I will lose some time while traveling to and from Oklahoma later this week, plus I hope to not have to work as much (if at all) on Thanksgiving itself. So, I need to work up a surplus or suffer some sleepless nights Nov. 29 and 30th (until midnight, that is).

On the subject of hourly production rates, which came up in a comment a few days ago (abbreviated: Anne, why don't you produce more per day? I can't, I'm slow.), I have found that I do actually have a slower pace than many of my compatriots. Ok, "many" is too strong a word, but of the two whose pace I do know, one produces over 800 words/hour and the other over 1000 words/hour. I am about half that. On a great day I can push 600, but over time (evidence: this month) I produce about 450. I would have pegged it about 500 before this experiment, so I'm not too far off. This is generally with the TV off, but with occasional jaunts to Internet Beach as a break. I think I have difficulty concentrating. That certainly happens to me at work. Nice to know it's a general weakness, not one specific to the workday.
Fortunately I have a trait that evens the playing field -- persistence. It may take me twice as long, but doggone-it, I'm going to stay out here till it's done.

So, while the rest of the team goes in for a shower and a home-cooked meal, I'm going to stay and finish those last 15 laps. See you in the locker room!