WHERE'S MY MOTIVATION?

January is on its way and getting back on track is taking more effort than I hoped. I'm still in the mode where I want to lie around eating chocolate and watching DVDs.

I've set myself targets through January but the laziness has got its claws in me, when it comes down to it though, writing is my business which means missing deadlines (even ones I've set for myself isn't an option) so I need to buckle down and get my words down. After all I can't work with nothing.

Here are the ways I'm trying to get through my lazy slump.

·One Goal at a Time

There’s no point getting buried under too many projects, so the key this year is to take write one project at a time. I usually have many different writing tasks being written at a time but it’s better to have one finished project than ten incomplete ones.

· Seek out Inspiration

Waiting for inspiration to strike usually means nothing gets done so this year I’ll be hunting it out. My methods are walking, listening to music, reading the books of others and sometimes forcing myself to sit down and write. Poetry, automatic writing, blog posts, random musings. Whatever works.

· Daily Writing

You know what they say: Write every day! Even if it’s only a few words, even if it’s time snatched between work and dinner, on the commute, during a work break. Anything is better than nothing.

· Use Rewards

This is my favourite. I read someone say once that she has a bottle of champagne in the fridge for whenever her writing is accepted, but my plan is to set myself rewards for completing projects. Whether it’s going out to dinner with a friend, buying myself a new book or maybe just a donut for the smaller achievements. (I’m on a diet. A donut is a great treat.) Hopefully, earning these small rewards will keep me at my laptop working.

These are the methods I’m going to try to get myself motivated throughout January. Fingers crossed that they work, but if not, I’m sure the looming deadlines casting their shadow over me will boot me into action.