Reward Yourself!

As many of you know, I have been busy the past few months writing "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Speed Reading" (due out in May 2008). I worked hard and finished submitting the complete first draft in what I believe to be record time. In order to get this done, I woke several days a week at 5am to get in some writing before the kids were up and worked many evenings and weekends foregoing television, reading, and the hardest - sleeping! I still prepared for and spoke at conferences, facilitated the scheduled corporate training classes and continued to care for my family as always.

What kept me motivated were the little rewards I built in to compensate myself for this crazy schedule.

A reward is something abstract or concrete given or received in return for a service, merit, hardship, etc.

When you reward yourself, however, the reward should ideally match the accomplishment. For finishing this book within my editor's timeframe, I had the privilege of spending a week on a Caribbean cruise with my family. What a treat! For smaller accomplishments, like finishing homework or preparing for an important meeting, a reward might be to make time to talk with an old friend or to watch a favorite TV show. For bigger accomplishments, like getting a college degree or getting a raise, a reward might be to arrange for an extended vacation (like I did) or buy a new technology toy.

Rewarding yourself on a regular basis is a great way keep motivated to set and reach goals while keeping yourself inspired and happy. Think of them as personal thank-you's for hard work and a job well-done. Here are some of my favorite rewards in no special order. What are yours??

  • Take a nap
  • Walk a few miles (with or without a dog)
  • Enjoy a longer work out
  • Take a yoga class
  • Enjoy a therapeutic massage
  • Watch a (favorite) TV show
  • Get a manicure
  • Go to the movies (or rent an old favorite)
  • Make a lunch date or phone time with a friend
  • Arrange a visit with old friend
  • Enjoy a warm (bubble) bath
  • Buy something new to wear
  • Download new songs for an iPod
  • Make time to read for pleasure
  • Get more sleep!

I challenge you to start incorporating more rewards into your daily life because after all, you DO work hard and no one else will do it for you!

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Abby Marks Beale is founder of The Corporate Educator, a professional speaking and training company specializing in helping with busy people work smarter, faster and just plain better. Go to www.TheCorporateEducator.com.