Daily Word Count Goals - Your Ideas and Thoughts?

I've been going through a bunch of books on writing and publishing here lately.  Some authors say they adhere to a strict "daily word count" goal to keep their skills honed.  Others say they write when they can.  I'm considering doing the same goal-setting for myself. (*SPOILER* my 'considering' phase is as long as this post)

I like the idea of a daily goal, with maybe a break on Saturday (Super-Family-Fun-Day).  But where the hee-haw do I start?

Some of the bigger named folks I've run across have the following daily goals:

• 1,000 words a day
• 3 pages a day
• 1 section a day
• 1 chapter a day
• 1 blog post a day
• 2,000 words a day
• 300 words a day

And you know what?  The 300 words looks REAL good.  :)

But think about it.  If you don't make a goal one day, then chances are you're not going to feel great about it.  And if you are trying to work up a good habit, that wouldn't be a great way to start.  I'm pretty new to the idea of writing prolifically so I would rather start slow.  I also know a thing or two about goals and the way the mind works with them.

So, as a newbie, I think 300 words a day would be great.  I will set aside daily time to pound out 300 words. (which, with certain exercises, can be as little as 5 minutes of hardcore writing)  That way, I'll almost always continue to write beyond the 300 word goal and not be overly burdened if I have a string of rough days.  A great way to start a good habit.

Now, I don't plan to count emails, or texts, or things like that.  I mean to say 300 words focused on either a blog post, short story, or the next book.  Period.

I think this will be a good move.  This will be a good move.  I'll bump up the count when I can trade my day job for the writing jobs. :)

How about you - are writing goals part of your forward plans?