As a result of the last post, I decided to go back through my notebooks and back-fill my blog. What an education! I see entry after entry for October: I’m so tired; I’ve lost my pens/ diary/ phone; I’m feeling irritable… What is obvious from even a couple of months’ distance is that it’s the beginning of the SAD season. I always feel like this in October. I feel like creating a Page: This is what you feel like in October – it will pass.
The other thing I noticed was this on 31/10/08:
No.1 Absolute Priority is to stick to writing one thing for 30 days, averaging 2k per day, that’s 60k in a month. This is absolutely 100% possible. And it will give me such a boost. What I will do is I will create a fantastic reward.
Choose from the following:
- A digital camcorder
- A long-haul holiday
- £500 to spend on homewares, appliances, etc
- A pair of cashmere lounging trousers and jumper
And did I do it? I completed the task but did I get the reward? The nearest I came was buying a reduced cashmere jumper from TK Maxx clearance sale.
Now there are arguments about whether rewards are counterproductive, replacing intrinsic motivation with extrinsic, but it’s indubitable that promising a reward and then withholding it is demoralising. Why should I ever believe anything I say?
Random Pen 