There are many ways you can acknowledge your writing achievements. This section of CREATIVE HABITS is all about being nice to yourself, and giving yourself encouragement and a job well done.
It’s really important as infopreneurs, creative consultants and writers to have ways of celebrating our achievements. It’s often a solitary process, and no-one else will really understand what you went through to create your writing.
Acknowledging your achievements gives you a chance to be grateful for your creative muse, your skills as a writer and creator, and your enjoyment in writing. It also gives you a chance to enjoy a mental break before moving on to the next project.
Depending on the size and length of time of the writing project, you will have different treats or ways of acknowledging your achievement.
photo credit: Life in LDN
Sometimes, it can be as simple as a rewarding cup of tea or coffee, as a break. I often will do this when I am on a deadline. I tell myself, “I’ll have that cuppa I’m craving, after I finish the first article of the day!” That way, it becomes a reward for hard work, rather than a way of procrastinating and putting off the work of writing.
If I have sold many articles or other infopreneurial products recently, I’ll buy myself a treat like a massage, pedicure, or a new item of clothing. If you put just 5 or ten per cent of your earnings aside for fun money, it won’t take long to earn a new shirt, or enough to pay for a lovely dinner out. It’s a great idea to put a proportion of your writing earnings aside to give yourself treats and acknowledgement of your achievements.
After writing for several hours in a day, you may like to acknowledge your productivity by going for a refreshing walk outside. This is especially good on a lovely day, and will refresh your body and mind for more writing later.
Giving yourself mini treats and breaks along the way, will make it far easier to reach your goals. It is sometimes difficult to keep your attention focused on the task of writing, especially when you are writing for a large project, like a novel. Set yourself a mini-goal with a reasonable treat at the end of it. For example, you might write three pages in an hour. At the end of the hour, get up from the computer, stretch and get yourself a drink or a piece of fruit.
If you don’t want to eat or drink, at least tick off the work you have achieved and give yourself a five minute mental (and physical break) by walking around or doing another task around the house that is not related to writing. This way, you will come back to the writing project refreshed and will probably be even more productive.
My other favorite way of refreshing my mind and giving myself a treat is to read a bit of my current novel. I am a voracious reader, and love to lose myself in books, so what I do is whenever I finish a major task for the day, or have been writing productively for a while, I’ll give myself 10 to 20 minutes to lose myself in my book.
You will have to find ways of acknowledging your achievements that suit you.
Remember it can serve two purposes; it enables you to stay focused and motivated to continue to achieve your writing goals, and it gives you a well-deserved rest and mental break that refreshes your spirit and excites your creative muse.
Find ways of acknowledging your achievements that accomplishes these dual purposes, and you will continue to succeed as a writer and creative infopreneur!
