Hello and a very cheery Friday to you all!
January is said and gone marking the start of February and with it the potential to lose grip on our goals. Both December and January hold the magic power to fill us with motivation in attempt to either complete last minute goals (December) or kick new ones off (January). But what are we supposed to do the other ten months of the year?
Here are my four tips for helping you to keep yourself going through this writerly journey.
Bite Sized Goals
One problem I find that many people have is setting goals that can feel too large to accomplish. Large goals can feel unobtainable so the likelihood of giving up is high. Setting bite sized goals allows you to have that sense of accomplishment while also working towards the greater goal which in turn helps to fuel your motivation.
Take Breaks
I know it seems like the writerly norm to work, work, work but doing this can actually damage your work. Your brain needs breaks in order to recharge. Fresh ideas more often than not come while you’re doing something completely separate from writing. If you do nothing but write then you’re going to burn yourself out and the ideas will stop flowing. Plus with all the work you put into your book, you deserve some time off for yourself.
NaNoWriMo
It doesn’t have to be November for you to take advantage of the NaNoWriMo atmosphere. Some people work better under pressure, myself included, and as long as you have some self accountability skills or at least one other person playing along to keep you accountable you’re set. During February there are a number of us partaking in #NaNoMyWay in order to get some words pumped out and let me tell you, it’s unbelievably effective.
Set Rewards
I know I mention this as a solution for a lot of things but a little positive reinforcement never hurt anyone. Nothing gets work done like the promise of a reward at the end of the day. You can set yourself a daily goal to reach and coordinate a reward to match it. On the flip you can reward yourself for word count milestones whether something as simple as “reach 500 words, earn 10 minutes on Twitter” or as complex as “hit 10,000 words and buy a new book”. The amount of motivation a reward system and the absolute pleasure of reaching a certain goal is a wonderful combination to help keep your motivation going.
I hope these tips help you to stay on track to making your dreams come true.
Until next week!
Happy reading and writing to all and to all a good day!!
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