Rewards

by Tawny

I love rewards. I'm a fan of using bribes to get myself to work hard. M&M's are a regular staple on my desk, not just for tossing at my kids when I'm in the middle of a scene and can't be interrupted, but for that end of a page celebration. When I finish an entire book, I reward myself with a massage - which is both indulgent and necessary since I'm usually tied in knots by the time I hit 65k words. I reward myself --and commemorate-- each book contract with a new pair of shoes.

My kids love end of the school year rewards. It could be a trip to the beach, a day at the bookstore or just a cuddle on the couch movie day with popcorn, as long as we call it a reward. They love that acknowledgment of hard work (and believe me, my kids consider school lots of hard work worth acknowledging LOL) .

My husband considers the first day of the weekend his (as opposed to mine via a honey-do list) as a reward for working hard all week. He's pretty easygoing about changing that day around if necessary, but he does like at least 4 hours to just chill and unwind.

So I started thinking about rewards. Are they indulgences? I just said to my daughter tonight 'You can't be rewarded for every thing you do. Doing a good job is supposed to be it's own reward." But then I think about denying myself my own rewards and get a little pouty :-D

So what do you think? Are you a fan of rewards? Or do you think they are an overindulgence?