Tip 24: Find delight in the discipline
A tip from author Madeleine Dore to find delightful discipline in doing and release yourself from the pain of productivity guilt.
Hello and happy to see you this Monday!
After failing1 to make progress with my novel in January, I was keen to restart.2 Full of motivation and desire to get back to the thing I want to do more than anything else, that fills me with fulfilment like no other task, I set myself some goals and made a plan.
It would all start with setting my morning alarm an hour early to write before work.
How did I quickly go from the excitement of writing to creating a punishing schedule and regimen to beat myself up with?
Delightful discipline
Madeleine Dore writes about ‘delightful discipline’ in I Didn’t Do The Thing Today. She suggests that we put fascination, curiosity, and enjoyment in place of punishing rules.
For her, the essence of delightful discipline is finding motivation for things simply by making it more appealing to do them. She writes:
“After all, we’re far more likely to find motivation and sustain momentum if we enjoy something. Even for difficult things, we can find a way to enjoy them - make them easier, smaller, and fun.” Madeleine Dore
Stop punishing yourself and find your delight
Whether writing is something you want to do, or something you have to do, it doesn’t need to be punishing.
If you want to return to a neglected piece or writing or keep your momentum going on a current work-in-progress, find joy within it or attach something pleasant to it. This is after all how habits are formed, by rewarding a routine so your brain knows it is worth repeating.
I’d love to hear how you find delight in discipline. Pop a comment below or click the heart if this inspires you to become curious and seek out joy.
So, what happened to my early-morning regimen? I found a compromise by setting my alarm half an hour earlier and treating myself to a nice breakfast before writing. Full of tasty food and nicely caffeinated I was happy to get to my desk early. I managed a full week of writing before work - my first streak after January's broken pattern. And that is a delight all of itself.
Keep going,
Bec ❤️
We’re celebrating our first year of writing on Substack with a live ‘Ask Us Anything’ webinar on Thursday 29 February. Send us your questions, sign up to join us or receive the recording. We can’t wait to answer your writing productivity questions.
By the way, my excuses are all excellent - work, illness, life, you know the story.
We’ve written before about the Fresh Start Effect and how temporal landmarks like birthdays, New Year, the first of the month or first day of the week have an impact on our motivation. I find it fascinating that starting something on a Mondays boosts your chance of success more than if you started mid-week.
Bonus tip - find your fresh start. It’s Lunar New Year and we’re entering the year of the dragon - that sounds like something to fire you up!
I have 2 weekly writing blocks with a beloved friend who is also doing doctoral writing; there is delight in chatting about our lives prior to and after each pom period. I don't want to disappoint them or me by cancelling these times. This strategy has disciplined my use of time. Thanks for affirming the value of this strategy!
I'm in the editorial process of my first novel. My editor returned everything back to me the first week of November, and I told myself that I was going to take a break before I started on the revisions and get through the busy holiday season. It's now February 17 and I'm still procrastinating...
I need to find 'delight in the discipline'. Thank you for the gentle nudge.
I'm going to set a weekly writing goal and release myself from this slump.
I love the idea of rewarding myself, like going for a nice walk outside, or even enjoying a nice coffee with a friend. I know I can get there. xx