my $target_days; if ($data{day_name} =~ /fri/i) { $target_days = \%p_list_fridays; $fridays++; } else { $target_days = \%p_list_weekdays; $weekday++; } $target_days->{$data{doc}}++; # instead of # $target_days->{$data{doc}} = $target_days->{$data{doc}}+1;