Getting Shit Done, Part One

[rynling]

I am so behind on everything that it's ridiculous and a little scary. I'm therefore going to try to use Dreamwidth as a writing journal for the next week or two so that I can get back on track.

This is what I did yesterday:

- I performed my monthly update of my personal website. Yes, I have a personal website, one of those "my name dot com" deals. This website an enormous source of embarrassment for me, which is why I can only handle updating it once a month.

- I posted a book review on my professional blog. I was sent a review copy of the book in early October, but I had trouble with it on account of it being pseudo-intellectual misogynistic garbage. I respect the people at the press, a small outfit run almost primarily on love and goodwill, so I hesitated to finish and post the review. No one wants to come off as a shrill feminist killjoy, right? At this point in 2016, however, I have no more fucks left to give.

- I responded to a couple of emails. Did I respond to all the emails? Not even close, but I'll reach the bottom of my inbox eventually.

- I did a bit of editing on my current fic project, "On Calmer Tides." I've begun putting it up on FFN, and yesterday I posted the second chapter. This story is almost literal garbage, and re-reading it is making me seriously question my life choices. I'm worried that I started writing fiction too late in life to ever truly become good at it. I would say something along the lines of "I only write for myself," but that sounds suspiciously like an excuse to me (and also I am thirsty for attention and praise).

- I wrote a paragraph of the "Zelda is a policy wonk and Ganondorf is a museum curator" Zelgan story. It's a good paragraph.

- This has nothing to do with writing, but I played an hour of Pokémon Sun. The game is breathtakingly beautiful, and it is filled with hot dads.

- Since I took the week off for Pokémon for writing, I put together a concrete schedule of what I need to accomplish over the next six days. I didn't think it was too intense when I was planning it... although now that I actually have to sit down at my desk and do the work I feel like crying.

Comments

[lassarina]

One thing at a time! You can do it! And make sure to take time to reward yourself too :)

[rynling]

THANK YOU!!

I'm going to tell you something that sounds very special snowflake, but what I'd really like to do is ask your advice.

I actually have a bad problem with rewarding myself, mostly because I have no self-control or sense of moderation. I'm lucky to be in a place where I can give myself nice things when I want them, and I don't ever save anything as a reward. I'm like, why wait for nice things when you can have them now? Mostly this works for me, but then I feel a little let down when I finish a big project and don't get anything in return (besides the relief of not having to worry about it anymore, of course).

Is there any special celebratory ritual you have when you meet a goal?

[lassarina]

This is actually pretty hard for me! I have the same set of problems, added to which: I am simultaneously trying to pay off debts and lose weight, which means the two easiest/most obvious reward categories (a fancy treat and food) become counterintuitive to other goals.

I've actually been reading "no-spend weekend" ideas to help with both of those and have found some pretty good suggestions. Some stuff I've had that works:

1. I accomplished $project I was doing part-time (e.g. not at Job). As a reward, I set aside one to two evenings (or, in the case of something like NaNoWriMo, up to a week) to be Not A Fucking Adult. I get to play video games, read books, binge TV, color, sew, listen to music, lie on the fucking couch and pet a cat - whatever the hell I want. I am not allowed to turn those evenings into "well I'll just do this one chore" because I know myself. (Some exceptions apply - I still have to feed myself, go to work, etc.)
2. Buy myself a really nice bottle of wine that I like.
3. Go out for (or make) a delicious but calorie-intensive meal, without guilt tripping myself Sure, that sets back my weight and fitness goals if I do it too much, but one guilt-free meal is not going to mess me up that badly, and things that I enjoy are still important.

Sometimes I manage to schedule planned large purchases in such a way as to be a reward for myself too. Like, this past summer, when I bought my iPad (which is a writing tool in and of itself) I managed to schedule it for after I'd accomplished a small but meaningful writing goal and also had an extra paycheck that month, so even though it was something I would've gotten anyway, the timing made it feel like a treat. Likewise, I just bought FFXV today (despite...a lot of reservations and a barrel full of salt and I haven't even opened the plastic wrap yet) and that's my "I made it through NaNoWriMo, now VIDEO GAMES!" reward, just because the timing was convenient.