Day 35 - Milestone Rewards

I mentioned recently that I thrive under the pressure of a deadline. I love the Nanowrimo challenge because it has that end date that keeps the pressure on. I am working toward a deadline imposed by an agent that pushes me forward. The problem is that self imposed deadlines do not have the same effect usually. When it comes to things I am doing on my own sometimes I need to create a punishment / reward system instead.

Some people reward themselves when they are on a diet. They will do something like going out to a movie or do something fun for every five  or ten pounds they lose. If they are training for some type of physical challenge they will go out to eat something delicious and unhealthy when they cross the finish line of that event. I have done both. I am a food addict and formerly a very heavy girl. When I first started losing weight I would go buy myself a cute new shirt or dress every time I would lose another ten pounds. When I began doing distance cycling and obstacle courses I would reward myself with a sundae or special dinner out.

I am still involved in the physical challenges and I am still slowly in the process of losing weight but adding in the sometimes frustrating tasks of writing, editing and getting ready for publish when it all seems overwhelming can lead to a need for such a reward system to be put in place. I have been numbering the days of my challenge. It is supposedly forty days for lent but if you could from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday it is actually forty-six days. For that time period I gave up junk food, fast food and pizza. I am now debating maintaining that plan until I reach some of my writing goals.

The weight loss and training aspects are still there with my obstacle course coming up in about six weeks. I am working toward finishing that particular goal and if I reach my goal weight I will be purchasing a new swimsuit as well. However I have one book to draft and edit, another to edit and revise before sending off to beta readers, yet another to edit and revise and one to prepare for in order to draft for Nano. Then there are the first two books in my Voices series I would like to rewrite / finish and then get going on books three and four. All of this has to happen before I can get to the book series I am truly excited about which is my Syn series. I am working on a milestone chart and rewards system to see if that can help keep me focused enough to achieve all of my goals by the end of next year.