3 Yards and a Cloud of Dust

Small, consistent work progress versus bigger, more erratic work explosions

“3 yards and a cloud of dust” is a football cliche dating back to the 1950s, frequently attributed (though incorrectly) to then-Ohio State coach Woody Hayes.

It was a term to describe a particularly methodical, grinding offensive gameplan: Small, consistent yardage gains through powerful, straight-ahead running plays. It was the opposite of splashy or exciting, but it was consistent.

And ultimately, those steady three-yard gains turned into first downs, then scores, then wins. Ohio State won multiple national championships under Hayes.

There’s an easy metaphor here between the “3 yards and a cloud of dust” football strategy and my effort to publish 100 books.

My approach to this book project has been one of glacial consistency. It’s working on the project a little bit every day rather than, say, trying for occasional marathon sessions. I’m often squeezing in five or 10 minutes here and there; it’s writing 250 words on my phone during lunch or grabbing an hour after everyone at home has gone to sleep. It’s splitting my time on several projects, gradually working on each one, making little chunks of progress. Occasionally I’ll spend a night at a coffee shop or on an airplane where I put in 3+ hours in a single day. But mostly, it’s been day after day of working on this for somewhere between an hour to 90 minutes.

The upsides of this approach: It’s manageable, ultra productive, sustainable, and (in my estimation) necessary for such an epic undertaking. It’s also the most feasible proposition at this place in my life, with a 50+ hour-per-week full-time career and a high priority of spending time with family and living life away from my computer. I also recently rediscovered sleeping, and I’d like to keep doing it.

The downsides: I’ve got a lot of projects in a lot of stages — and I have to keep up my consistency to make sure I actually get them over the finish line. A major peril of consistency is losing momentum and enthusiasm — leaving behind a huge pile of unfinished projects.

This past weekend I was with some friends who asked about half a dozen different books they know I’m working on.

“How’s your mystery novel?” “Almost ready.”

“Aren’t you doing an ‘80s trivia book?” “Going through the edits.”

“I read the draft of your children’s book, where’s that?” “Illustrations in progress.”

It’s true. By my count I have 17 book projects that are more than 75% done.

By the time I’ve published those 17, there should be 17 more at that stage.

I’m just getting there three yards at a time.

To see what I’ve been working on this week in my journey toward 100 books, check out the Work Log.