DEBORAH CROMBIE: While only some of us have deadlines, all of us sometimes need a bit of help getting through our daily to-do lists, and we all have little tricks to encourage ourselves. When I'm trying to meet my writing goals, for instance, I give myself the grown-up equivalent of gold stars. For every productive writing sprint during the day, I get to add a snippet of book-spined washi tape for that period in my weekly planner. (Washi tape is decorative masking tape, used for journaling and crafts.) The more words I've written, the bigger the piece of tape. I know this sounds really silly, but nothing makes me happier than looking back at my week and seeing two or three big sections of book tape in every day's column. I give myself a big pat on the back.
Here's a dummy page with a perfect writing day! (I'm not showing anyone a real page, as I use the weekly planner to write down EVERYTHING, from the weather to what we had for dinner, and they are VERY messy.)
I also write easy things on my to-do list just so I can cross them off. (I'll bet I'm not the only one.) This works on the theory that if I feel like I'm productive, I am more productive. Makes sense, right?
And there are the little daily rituals. If I write until five o'clock, I can have a cup of tea and half a piece of shortbread to keep me at the computer until dinner. Hey, it works, and that's usually my best writing sprint of the day. (It's probably the caffeine and the smidgen of sugar kicking my brain into gear…)
Of course, food rewards can be tricky, as I"m sure we all know. Just don't anybody mention cupcakes, or I might be in big trouble.
Reds, what are your secret little motivators for getting things done?
RHYS BOWEN: Debs, I would find that tape stressful, I know. It would stick to the wrong things, get tangled up. I’m hopeless with sticky tape
I got Rocket book for Christmas. It is a notebook you can erase when you are done. Also you take a shot with the smart phone app and a note is transferred to Evernote or what you use. I find it satisfying to erase those notes
I’m a morning person I like to get writing after breakfast and finish by lunchtime. Afternoon is for more secretarial stuff. I have to do five pages a day. I write the page numbers ahead in my agenda and I’m thrilled when I get ahead
Having said that I’ve been so stressed at living with constant worry that I’m not working at my usual speed. Do you find it’s hard to find energy?
HALLIE EPHRON: Lists do it for me. So satisfying, I agree, to tick the boxes. But my lists (I confess) or more so I won’t forget rather than as motivation. My brain is a complete sieve when it comes to remembering to do stuff… and then there are the times when I do it AGAIN because I’ve forgotten that I did it.
LUCY BURDETTE: Yes lists are good, if I can find them. Right now with puppy chaos in our house, nothing paper can be left within reach. And we’re all out on the porch until it gets too cold, so my stuff is very disorganized. If I have a deadline (right now I don’t other than what I suggest to myself), I try for 1000 words a day. I can’t quite picture the sticky tape or an erasable journal, but hey--whatever works is good! And Rhys yes, life is far from normal right now so it makes sense that we don’t feel normal.
JENN McKINLAY: It used to be coconut M&Ms. I could have one M&M for every paragraph completed. Alas, they stopped making those. Now, I reward myself with a swim in the pool at mid-afternoon, followed by a cup of Yukon Gold tea, if I get my pages done. If not, I have to keep working. The hardest bit for me is getting started and I wish I could come up with a reward system that would kickstart that. It’s amazing how I will fritter time away until two in the afternoon and then have a blind panic of writing just so I can go swimming. Argh.
DEBS: Jenn, that's either very long paragraphs or a lot of M&Ms! And I've never heard of coconut M&Ms.
Jenn, if you figure out the reward system to get the writing going earlier, let me know. I do exactly the same thing, but I don't have a pool as a carrot.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: My organizing stuff is definitely a work in progress: I've been trying to improve and come up with ways to keep track of my to-dos for some time now. It's very much not something that comes naturally for me.
As for motivation, I like to treat myself with entertainment/news. If I get my word count done, I can watch a movie tonight. If I answer all my emails, I can hop on Twitter for a half hour. For some tasks, I motivate myself by doing something at the same time. For instance, while
Okay, I also read if I haven't gotten everything done.
And I agree with Jenn, getting started writing is the worst, because you can't stop and reward yourself - that negates the whole idea of starting! Maybe a chair that gives you a backrub if you start typing?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, getting started! SO hard. Ridiculously, I make an appointment with myself. I say, okay, you can do anything you want, guilt free, until ______. Then I pick a time that’s on the hour or half hour, because you can only start at those times.
Sometimes that works.
Oh, Rhys, I would NOT want to erase. I love looking at all the things I‘ve done. It’s my gold star. And I used to keep a running list, but that got too difficult during the pandemic. Now I have a notebook that I mark as one day per page, so I can use it as a planner, too.
Why didn’t I just get a calendar/planner with the dates already on it? Too logical. I had a perfect notebook, and it works just fine.
Totally put things in that I did that weren’t on to-do the list so I can cross them off. Well, of COURSE. It’s not even strange.
And you know I have a timer. I set the Alexa for 34 minutes when I start writing, and when I say: Alexa, set the timer for 34 minutes, I cannot do anything but write. That absolutely works.
DEBS: Why 34 minutes, Hank? Not 30, or 45? Is it the magic number? But I'm with you on the not wanting to erase the things I've done. The checking off is so satisfying. And besides, if I erased things, I might not remember that I've done them...
READERS, how about you? What helps you get things done?
Procrastination is often my downfall. I make a list [sometimes] . . . always a short list . . . but usually I just get a cup of coffee and get started on whatever it is that I need to do. Coffee is a great motivator!
ReplyDeletePromising myself more reading time also works, but I’m likely to sit down and read even if I didn’t accomplish everything on the list . . . .
And, I'm likely to sit down and read even if I didn't accomplish anything on my list...
DeletePretty much fear of not getting things done. But I am a master procrastonator.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I'm trying to convince myself the ongoing low-grade pain of not having gotten X done is worse than the pain (anxiety, tedium) of just knocking X off in the first place.
DeleteDeadlines! Panic is the best motivator. And this year I'm sliding in a fourth book, because I'm driven to write it. I don't have trouble starting at seven every morning, and I work until at least 1500 words are accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of erasing things off my to-do list after they are done horrifies me. Ramona DeFelice Long has (or at least had) a rule: if you put more than ten things on your list, you're unlikely to get them done. Mine today has eight - and I already crossed off one. So very satisfying. I can see the draw of your book sticky tape, Debs. And now it's almost seven, so it's hi-ho, hi-ho, off to work I go.
When I started working with Celia, I was shocked when she would only schedule three things to get done on any day. Turns out, three things is exactly the right amount of items I can reliably get to!
DeleteDeborah, I need some of that tape! How cute! I use an At-A-Glance planner for my to-do list. Since I love my colored gel pens, I write my list items in blue, special reminders (birthdays, guest blog appearances, etc) in pink, and then I draw a line through completed items with red. One line so I can look back and still see what I've accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThis weekend while decluttering, I came across a second 2020 appointment book that was supposed to be specifically for travel plans. I tossed it.
Sniff. Travel plans - remember those?
DeleteVaguely, Edith. :-(
DeleteAnnette, just search for "book washi" on Amazon. And I use different colored fountain pens in my planner, rather than gel, but we're definitely on the same system.
DeleteThanks to this morning's blog I've already been down the Rocket notebook rabbit hole. Wow, a notebook you can microwave? I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.
ReplyDeleteI've used Microsoft's OneNote for years, keeping lists galore, organizing my three-week trip to Europe, keeping track of a million details for the building of the new house and the planning of my gardens, and I keep all my to-do and grocery/etc. lists on it. It updates on all my devices, so I can access it while I'm out, as long as I have my phone. The only thing I ever erase is items I've purchased from my lists.
However, I am also a collector of scrap paper, and paper lists, as well. I just bought an O-ring notebook system to keep track of it all, but naturally have not yet wrangled the mess into any kind of order. (Although it is all stacked neatly, in case that counts.) But as a motivator to get anything done, I have to say it isn't working. Ahem.
I still say the best motivator is a cocktail waiting for you at 5:00, Karen. :)
DeleteNow you're talking, Julia!
DeleteWith you, Deborah, and now I have to find some of that tape. I use a Quo Vadis Minister agenda for everything - color coded, also Annette. There was a time I put a sticker on my wall calendar when I hit my word count but I ran out of stickers and the pandemic arrived...yep, Washi tape is in my future. I also write done things, or things I know I'll do on my to do list. So satisfying to cross things off.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has a solution for jumpstarting the day, I'm all ears. I've just ordered a Mastery Journal to see if that will help...
Kait, I've used the Quo Vadis Minister for years. Even though they're refillable I always get a new cover, because I keep them and can refer back to them. And yes, color coded! The washi tape is available from Amazon. What's a Mastery Journal?
DeleteI always get the new cover as well. I have a lineup of past years on my bookshelf. Definitely off to Amazon for the washi tape. The Mastery Journal is a hardbound book a friend of mine introduced me to. It has a to do list at the top of each daily page and then space for four daily goals and ten day accountability. I am hopeful that it will help me stay on track while I develop new habits. I'm not saying this well-this is the link. https://www.themasteryjournal.com/
DeleteWashi tape? Mastery journal? Who knew?! These days I’ve taken to emailing myself to-dos as they occur to me ... then transferring them to my to do list which I try to leave on the seat of my desk chair... I think this question is a kind of Rorschach
ReplyDeleteI've been known to send myself emails, too.
DeleteThe problem with sending yourself an email—, I do that too— is that you send it, then the email pings., And you think ohhh, someone sent me an email! And then it was yourself.
ReplyDeleteThis is funny, and perfectly true, Hank! I have the same problem.
DeleteDid you ever figure out what to do with the kohlrabi?
Oh, love stuffed kohlrabi - my mother used to make it, but I never found her recipe. I think it had chopped meat and rice, or maybe lamb. Gigi, do you have a recipe you would be willing to share?
DeleteI'll list what I have to do but it is mostly my body that will force me to do what have to be done. Little things won't bother me but important things make me nervous and then I don't feel well. Then I know that my anxiety will go away whit the work done and I do it.
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't suggest that you become ill to do your things. Reading the result of your work, I think that you do very well.
Yes, the nagging anxiety from big things, and deadlines are the biggest things!
DeleteOne way I help myself stay organized is with calendars, the old-fashioned paper kind. Each year I get several free ones from my banks and such thing. One is used just to write the titles of books I read. Another one is where I put in my appointments and also make notes about all sorts of things - when I stated seeds, extreme temps,for example. I'm now also keeping track of the number of mice I trap. It's been a week without any but I still check every day. I don't want to get complacent about that.
ReplyDeleteAs for incentives and rewards to do some work, I'm hopeless. I'm too much like the cartoon woman, with obviously a lot of chores to do, who instead sits down and tells herself "these books aren't going to read themselves!" Yep, that's me.
Judi, I use the Quo Vadis planner for all those sorts of things, and then it's all in one place. I've tried keeping separate book journals but I never kept up with them, so now I just put what I'm reading that week in the notes section of the weekly planner.
DeleteOn Sunday afternoons, I make a list of goals for the coming week. My daily reward is a chocolate covered caramel from Trader Joe's, luscious and gooey.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, all I have to say to that is YUM. Too bad I just went to Trader Joe's yesterday!
DeleteOne of the Tradtions in 12 Step starts with "Our groups ought never to be organized... " Yay! I thought you should see my desk. Motivation is something for me that wears very thin very quickly. I think this is one of the differences between wannabe writers and WRITERS. Those who do produce 1500 wds a day are disciplined. Me? I try to do the task I hate most first. That leaves the rest of the day for happy tasks. I still find little joy in housework, but wash does get done @ 6 AM and floors may be mopped before writing begins.
ReplyDeleteSince I will put off mopping floors until my feet stick to them, if I used that system writing would never get done...
DeleteI'm waiting for Hank's answer about her minute choice.
ReplyDeleteYes, me, too!
DeleteI make lists, and I cross off each thing as it gets done. In the evening I have a look, move anything that I missed to the next day, and then start over. Just writing something down is a motivator. This worked well for me before I retired. I used spiral notebooks, and I never threw them away. Because I wrote a couple of works re the resolution of each item, I found I could go back months and show documentation of whatever. Having had bosses who were inclined to try to trip me up on occasion, this documentation proved invaluable. It was also great for personnel issues, even legal issues sometimes.
ReplyDeleteNow I don't make so many lists. Things I need to keep track of are few. The past two months most lsts have something to do with baby Sgt. Pepper, weight, developmental milestones, all that sort of thing. Grocery lists go on Alexa. Appointments, birthdays, et al, are on the family iPhone calendar. Stupid pills go in stupid weekly cases, one for mornings, one for bedtime.
I've kept a running spiral notebook for years, Ann, for all the things that don't fit in the weekly planner. It was especially helpful in those years when I was dealing with both my parents illnesses and needed documentation of phone calls, etc. And we have a family Google calendar. All good for organizing but not so much for motivating.
DeleteSo fun to read this. Taking notes! My organizing skills are excellent...and so are my procrastinating skills. I have no deadline or goals right now, except the ones I set, and I am way too soft a boss. Without outside pressure, and the general anxiety we all have these days, and it all causing lack of focus and disturbed sleep...I am having trouble getting anything done, (except baking!) but recently, bit by bit, I am getting back to work. Slowly but for real. Lastly, I am embarrassed to ask, but does anyone add items already done to the "to do" list, just for the pleasure of crossing them off? (Hoping its not just me...)
ReplyDeleteYes, Triss, absolutely!!! And I think everyone is having trouble focusing these days.
DeleteOh, yes, lists, for sure. I love them, make them and chuck 'em once everything is crossed off. (I, too, sometimes add onto the list something that I did but hadn't planned on doing. That is so satisfying!)
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I've been listening to a life coach podcast, and one thing that stuck with me was her advice about listing and visualizing what you want: she says to make a list of twenty things you want - a new car, a better job, weight loss... BUT half the items you list must be things you want that you ALREADY have. It's a very fulfilling mental exercise!
Deletethat's so interesting Julia, I'd love to hear the thinking behind that.
DeleteI think Jenn's idea for the chair that gives you backrubs when you start writing is the best idea yet!
ReplyDeleteOh yes. I’d work all day! But I have just bought a seat pillow like part of an exercise ball so I can wiggle around when writing and don’t get stiff hips
DeleteAnd now I'm off to look up Mastery Journals. And Rocket notebooks that you can microwave!
ReplyDeleteNo, of course I'm not procrastinating....
I used to use lists on top-bound steno pads. I would refer to those lists as "Gigi's Brain," and mark off or add as necessary. Yes, I would add things that I had done but were not on the list, just so I could mark them off. My rule was that anything I spent 15 minutes or more on went on the list.
ReplyDeleteA couple of months ago, Debs got me hooked on Ink & Volt planners. It's silly, but I simply enjoy writing in them. It's something to do with the paper they use, and the ease with which one of my favorite fountain pens glides over the page. These things help me juggle grant proposal deadlines, and map out the steps I need to get to whichever goal I'm aiming for. Love them. Doesn't motivate me to start in the mornings, but I love them anyway. And rewards? I get to stop working and do something fun!
Gigi, you're making better use of the Ink and Volt than I am!
DeleteWhen I worked I made a master list of all our business clients arranged by year end. Columns were due dates for specific tax forms. I'd run off a copy for me to mark up as things were accomplished. For some reason no one had done that before. When I left and moved away my master lists were grabbed up by the boss to continue using. Nowadays I mark my calendar for appointments and reminders to pay the IRS or culinary school tuition. That square gets a little check mark when it's been done and that is it. I also put a mark in green on days the yard man mows so I can keep track and pay him the right amount every other month or so. And I put a sticker on the date Jack gets his monthly flea pill. And that is the extent of my current organization skills.
ReplyDeleteHave just zipped over to explore the Ink & Volt site; wow! What a lot of lovely items they produce...several steps up from the backs of envelopes that I use for lots of my planning. Maybe I'm due an upgrade?
ReplyDeleteAmanda, they are really beautiful books. Very good quality covers and paper, so very nice to write in. And I think they do help with the goal setting--if you actually use them!!! But great for everyday planning as well.
DeleteDeborah: Isn't that the truth -- "...if you actually use them!" Just like a list, it's about not losing it and not ignoring it, but actually using it. Sometimes my little snippits of lists get lost under piles of paper, only to be found long after the list is past its usefulness. I can see where an ongoing list in a coiled or bound notebook would have its advantages -- less likely to be lost under a pile. And, the more beautiful the paper quality and the colour of the binding, the less likely to be hidden under other piles...
DeleteI use Google Keep for to do lists. You can set reminders, color code them, archive, etc. The best is the grocery list one. Once you start typing grocery items, Keep recognizes what you're doing and autosuggests, so type [bro] and Keep suggests broccoli. And you can share notes, which is great for work planning (and grocery shopping.) It's very satisfying to check something off, because it goes to the bottom of the list. And you can reuse the list. (Am I the only one who tends to buy the same things?)
ReplyDeleteOH! And if you take a photo of text, like a page from a newspaper or a book, that text becomes searchable! It can even search most handwriting. I used it in the British Library once, and could only remember it was something about Anglo Saxons. Keep found it for me when I searched [Saxon]. I know most of us prefer paper lists, but having Keep with me on my phone, computer, etc., is very handy!
I have never heard of Google Keep before, and your comment sent me looking for more info. It sounds like it could be very workable for me, since I'm already embedded in the Google ecosystem already. Thank you!
DeleteJulia, I forgot to mention you can turn a note in Keep into a new Google Doc with the click of a button, too!
DeleteI am a lover of lists, but lately it seems that I'm letting each day guide itself. I know that sounds terribly disorganized, but I do try to set some goals, and with rearranging rooms to fit a few pieces from my MIL's house in and going through lots of paper, there's never a lack of something to accomplish. Of course, my real problem is the snowball effect, or the goldfish attention span effect. I start on one task, but something else catches my eye and I take care of it before I finish the original task. It's like going down the rabbit hole on an Internet search. So many tangents to follow and explore. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I was going to put some laundry in to wash. But, wait, those books on the bed aren't going to sort themselves.
ReplyDeleteKathy, we are all so frazzled these days. But you never know, the books might sort themselves:-)
DeleteIf I only had a wand!
DeleteWell, not so much for getting things done. Just getting on. I keep a stock of Lindor truffles in the fridge, and allow myself 2 a day.... One in the afternoon and one in the evening.
ReplyDeleteIn the fridge because, at first, the hot summer weather turned them to liquid, otherwise. Now they remain in the fridge, so I have to actually take one out and let it sit for half an hour before it becomes orgasmically creamy. Otherwise... who knows how long a bag would last?
Ooh, Lindor truffles! So good. And I know what you mean about chocolates and the heat. I keep my Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Caramel in the red wine section of the wine fridge.
DeleteLists, yes. And I also put things I've accomplished on the list so I can check them off. So satisfying.
ReplyDeleteI also get ridiculously pleased when Scrivener plays the little sound and displays a notification when I've hit the minimum word count for the day. Usually so excited I get another 500 or so words.
I used to reward myself with one good piece of chocolate a day after I crossed off all my to-dos. I'm currently out of chocolate (must change that).
Liz, I had no idea Scrivener would do that!!! I'll have to figure out how to set mine!!
DeleteAnd I think chocolate is the winning motivator today!
Debs, I meant to comment yesterday. I am writing this a day late.
ReplyDeleteEveryone, thanks for many wonderful suggestions! Sometimes I am motivated. Sometimes I am not.
Diana