I am horrible at discipline. I love my work; I love writing. I really do. But half the time I am tempted to do nothing but watch the entire series of Battlestar Galactica for the fourth time or play video games or read all the books (I average more than 50 a year, and I feel like a slacker!).
But when I have something I really should be working on, even if I want to, my creative/childish side rebels and wants to do anything but work. This is awful when you basically work for yourself. I am trying to build a brand for myself with writing. I freelance for many different companies and websites, as well as work with several graduate students on dissertations and writing projects. I run three blogs (about which you've read), am working on a novel, am world building for two more, and am beginning to draft for a nonfiction book. Not to mention the ebook/app I'm developing, the home I'm keeping clean, the meals I make, and the house hunting.
Wow I'm exhausted just listing those things!
So, in order to get any sort of work done, I have to create rewards for myself. These can be little things, like "You can take a fifteen minute web-surfing break if you finish this article," to harsh and punitive, "You may not leave the house until you finish that chapter." Sometimes I cheat myself, but I always have to remind myself that I'm the only one I'm hurting when I do so. Yes, I may want to go out instead of stay in and write; yes, I may prefer to read the latest Rothfuss offering right now. But is it worth it when I go another day without working on my own writing? (When it comes to reading Rothfuss, the answer is "SO TOTALLY WORTH IT!" but that's the rare exception.)
The rewards do work, though. I get so much more accomplished when I program in little bonuses for a job well done. Tonight, that means I got through way more than the 25 articles I needed to do today to get caught up for going to karaoke last night. That means, I get paid on time this week, can afford to pay for my sister's bachelorette party, and retain the good will of my family. See? It all works out.
So for your edification (or glimpse into the twisted structure that gets Sara to accomplish anything), I give you today's reward structure:
Today's absolute minimum: Finish five articles or you can't have a single glass of water or go to the bathroom or get up out of that chair, you lazy slug. (I didn't enforce this very strictly, but I got it done.)
No food today unless you finish at least ten.
Today's main goal: Okay, this batch has to be completely done before you leave to pick up your husband from the airport. If you fail, he's stranded at the airport, and it's all on you. Do you want to be a terrible wife? Then finish this batch!
Above and beyond: Good job getting to where you should have been yesterday. All right, we'll be lenient, five more articles and you can have a glass of wine. It's your favorite!
Keeping the momentum going: Great job! Okay, five more short articles and a blog entry (believe it or not, this is actually part of the reward), and after that and you can watch an episode of that show you love.
Still to come: Whoo hoo! Wasn't that reward nice? I'll tell you what: if you can give me five more now that you're all rested, you can take a nice relaxing bath and go through some research for your novel before bed. (Note how I plug in productivity on another project as a reward. My way of tricking myself: procrastination by working on something that needs to be done, but probably not yet. Sneaky productivity!)
And that's that. That is how I wrote 25 articles and over 8000 words today. Problem is, I need to come up with new rewards for tomorrow... Any ideas??
