Pride, its opposite, and some really good bribes

[stephanieburgis]

Ah, pride, how often it goes before a fall...sigh. Today I decided to take MrD into town and make it really feel like a treat for both of us. For me, part of that meant dressing up a little. See, I spend a lot of days wearing PJs until late in the day, which means I usually feel pretty scruffy. Today, though, I not only dressed in non-scruffy

Comments

[wldhrsjen3]

*sheepish grin* I have TOTALLY done that ~ walked out of the house feeling classy and dressed up and grown-up, only to glance in a mirror some time later to discover a) my hair sticking out at weird angles because I forgot to clip the barrette, b) I buttoned my blouse crookedly, or c) I'm walking around with dog drool, horse drool, or little kid muck on me. :P Oh, well! :D

And rewards ~ heh. I've started using stickers on my calendar to mark the days I've met my goals, and thanks to some little gifties from my mom and my sister I've got a basket of rewards on the corner of my desk. Little things, like candy, new pens, a gift card to the book store, new perfume, etc. and I'm making myself save them until I reach certain points in the wip. It's good motivation because I can sit there and stare at the goodies, but I can't enjoy them until I've earned them. :) Maybe it isn't all that mature, but everyone needs a little fun inspiration! :)

[stephanieburgis]

I love your reward system! That is so smart and fun. And THANK YOU for the empathy on my bad clothing discovery! It helps so much to be reminded that I'm not the only one who does this stuff.

[bookblather]

I tend to bribe myself with pieces of what I'm reading or watching at the moment: 1000 words buys me a chapter, 5000 buys me a TV episode, etc. Also, new coats of nail polish. I am like a magpie when it comes to sparkly nail polish, and redoing my nails with something sparkly is always a pleasure.

[stephanieburgis]

Oh, that is a really good system. And sparkly nail polish sounds like a fabulous reward to me!

[gwynnega]

Bribes are excellent. I like to bribe myself with a good cup of coffee or tea to drink while I'm writing. I also trick myself sometimes: "just write for ten minutes!" Because once I start, then I don't stop after ten minutes...

[stephanieburgis]

That is so true. It's all about getting started in the first place!

[thirdscreen]

Your reward system sounds entirely mature to me! Manageable, sustainable, productive, self-aware...and let me tell you, there is NOTHING immature about knowing how you work and getting things done. Don't we spend years helping children figure out how to manage themselves?

[stephanieburgis]

I really like that way of thinking about it. :)