image cc by wockerjabby - http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabi/
This is a simple one, as far as tools go.
No need for electricity, programming skills, or the sacrificing of cattle, goats, or virgins.
What you need: a calendar.
What type of calendar? A big paper one. Remember analogue? This calendar is not to be found on your phone, your laptop, or your office computer.
If you can get one with a big picture of kittens for every month, you’re on the right track.
It doesn’t matter what the pictures are, of course. I’m sure even Justin Bieber would do.
At a pinch.
The only vitally important feature of the calendar for this exercise is a nice square box for each day.
At the start of the month, I write the daily word count target next to the month name.
And each time I hit that word count target through the month I take a think red pen (is that a second tool?) and put a great bloody cross through the square of the day.
That’s it.
Why do this?
Motivation.
I can look at my calendar and see a regiment of red crosses marching across the page. Fleeing the kittens. (I don’t actually have kitten pictures. Honestly.)
And should I ever feel like skipping a day, I can look at the calendar and imagine the imperfection of a solitary unmarked day. Sitting there. Mocking. Laying its guilt on me.
Tell me what picture you have on your calendar.
Mine was actually a present from my eldest girl – Isla. Each month I have a photo of some distant star cluster or nebula. Space porn, I suppose.
