27 Comments

Nothing could have been as nourishing to my writing life today as hearing "some seasons are just about getting from one moment to the next." <3

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yay, I'm glad that's what you needed. xo

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I love those boots! I didn’t get myself a tenure present, but I should! Better late than never, right?

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Yes! Definitely never too late to celebrate! (And congrats on tenure! I think it can end up being weirdly anti-climactic, since it's such a long process, so it's nice to have something tangible to mark it!)

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I love thie idea of celebrating milestones! My wife is working on her PhD, and I'm working on a book, and we make this a regular practice at our house. Often this looks like doing whatever we were going to do, but congratulating each other one whatever we just acheived.

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that's great--and it's especially nice if those little celebrations are shared!

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wow, i never give myself rewards for reaching writing milestones. this is a tough decision. since i’m barely making money, i think i’ll reward myself with smth non-monetary like going to the dog-park or spending the day at the lake.

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yes! it doesn't have to cost money to feel like a treat!

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When I was writing my dissertation, I had a little cheering squad of friends who agreed to send me a little present when I hit certain milestones. I gave each of them $20 (I didn't want them to feel pressured to spend money on me, though most ended up spending more than $20, I think) and told them to surprise me when I reached their designated milestone. I love the surprise of getting a little present and it was also a little motivating to not want to have lost out on the $20 I already gave them!

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I love this--and the idea of assembling your own cheering squad is so important!

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Fantastic boots! I have begun transferring all the ideas/lines from a notes app into my notebook, using each one at the top of a different page as a prompt- it's definitely helped in utilizing the time I set out for writing.

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oh that's great! I just taught a workshop this past weekend and we were talking about the value of actually recording all the little snippets of thoughts and good ideas, whether that's in your phone or in a tiny notebook or on the back of a napkin--but then also the process of collecting and doing something with those little notes. it sounds like you've got a good process going!

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ALWAYS INSPIRING! I usually celebrate reaching goals by setting another, so your post reminds me to acknowledge that I have indeed completed goals, reached forward to more challenging ones. Even when I get a poem or flash accepted, I don't exactly celebrate but send out more! I have been writing more by hand lately as an exercise in slowing down, so in response to your suggestion to celebrate, I will buy a few more notebooks, the more ridiculous or outrageous looking the better!

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I love the your reward for writing is more writing, and fun supplies -- such joy in that!

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I'll be celebrating the finalization of the cover for my first novel this month!

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that's amazing! a cover makes the book feel so really real! congratulations!

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I'm celebrating half way through my poetry course! It's a lot of work and logistical juggling, but I've made some new poems and have a spine for a mss. yay.

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ah, yay--the spine! I'm so glad to hear that. I feel like once you've got the shape, you can write into it, instead of kind of casting around. (for me, anyway, though I think we approach shaping a manuscript similarly!)

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I love this so much! I’ve been trying to savor & celebrate all the little milestones too!

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so glad! it really makes a difference to mark the small things along the way!

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This was a lovely thing to get to on a bleak Monday morning as I settle into the first day of semester and staring down what always feels like an unmanageable teaching load. Thank you.

Hence, one of my goals for March is to not let work get in the way of keeping my creative brain fuelled and being driven. I'm committed to write each week (mostly on Substack, but also on some ongoing projects), even if it's something I'm not happy with or if it's just experimentation. The notion you mention about being OK with something at mediocrity hits deep -- it's a realisation I'm trying to lean into of late. I've approached too much of work with perfectionism in mind, often beating myself up if I don't reach it or worrying what others might think or just overworking myself needlessly whilst not nurturing the other parts of me that matter. To some extent, I have to let that go, especially because I know the next 12 weeks of teaching, research and grant writing can drive me to burnout.

I do weird little things with milestones, especially when they are deadline-fixed milestones. I'll set little future calendar notes to myself, congratulating myself or offering words of comfort, like "See, I knew you'd make it through it all OK". They give me pause when they arrive in the future. It's like a little package I'm sending out into time for myself for later. Totally weird, haha.

Also a big fan of going for a special meal with my wife, either booked far into the future or just on the spur of the moment to embrace the now.

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Thank you for this! Such a smart and balanced way of thinking about goals and the intersection between work and creative life. Your comment about perfectionism makes me think of some of the research I've read on self-compassion, and a takeaway that's been really meaningful for me--that beating ourselves up for not doing more, etc doesn't actually help us be more productive, and it certainly doesn't make us happier. I hope you're able to be a little mediocre in the next 12 weeks!

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Thanks Nancy, appreciate it. Hope you have a great week, one that is equal parts mediocrity and sheer brilliance!

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The day I turned in my manuscript, I had friends over for cake and champagne. I custom ordered a cake for the occasion 😜

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I love that! *turning in* the manuscript is such a big deal, but I don't always think to celebrate those less visible parts of the process! So smart!

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Learning to celebrate my little wins/accomplishments is something fairly new to me. And I love it. I'll get myself a nice tube of lipstick from time to time. Last week it was a sterling silver ear cuff from Etsy. I'll give myself extra time to read up everything good that shows up before me in a day if I've written consistently and well for a many days in a row. Today, I'm going on a special hike with my dog to reward myself for cooking (and a little cleaning) I did yesterday.

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yes! and I love the range of rewards here! hope your hike is great!

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