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Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

Cultivating desired habits with if-then plans

15/3/2018

20 Comments

 
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Pi-day yesterday reminded me of my post last summer reporting on my audit of time spent at my desk (as, thanks to the wonders of Excel, I showed some of the results in a pie chart). Since then, without consciously making any changes, I’ve been fairly content with the proportion of my time I allocate to fiction, but I did give some thought to how I might cultivate desired habits if things should slip.

One of the simplest, yet surprisingly effective, strategies for developing a new habit, is to pair the desired behaviour with something you already do, making what’s known as an IF-THEN plan. According to Heidi Grant Halvorson, Associate Director the Motivation Science Center at Columbia Business School, who blogs with Psychology Today, “you are two to three times more likely to succeed if you use an if-then plan than if you don’t”. Heidi Grant Halvorson The Science of Success (2011)
 
I’m a little embarrassed to report the plans I came up with as, being so many, I seem to have managed to overcomplicate a very simple technique. If I genuinely needed to reintroduce a fiction-writing habit, I’d have to prioritise two or three of these, but they might give you an idea of how it should work in practice.
 
IF composing a book review THEN spend the rest of the desk time on fiction
IF composing a blog post THEN spend the rest of the desk time on fiction
IF it’s got to 11 a.m. and you’re not writing fiction THEN seriously consider your priorities for that day
IF starting the day with a blog post THEN consider it a warmup for fiction
IF responding to the flash fiction challenge THEN combine it with a draft post or review
IF reading and responding to blog posts THEN do so at the end of the writing day
IF incorporating live links into a blog post THEN limit them to no more than six
IF you’ve worked at fiction for three hours THEN it’s okay to do something else
IF writing an article for payment THEN treat it as seriously as fiction
IF unable to get into fiction writing THEN adapt a piece of flash or edit something already written
IF you come across something that needs a quick fix in the middle of another writing task THEN add it to a list to check off at the end of the day
 
Have you come across IF-THEN plans before and, if so, have you tried to implement any? If not, do you think they might be of any help with your writing and/or online life?


Over at the Ranch, Charli is celebrating for years of flash fiction prompts with an extremely appropriate type of cake. It got me thinking about how weird the concept of vegetables in cake would have seemed in my childhood, and even more so for the central character of my current novel-length WIP Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home. Although it’s involved some time travel (the IF-THEN part of this post appeared yesterday, although that might have been Charli’s today), I couldn’t resist adding it to a post about pie.
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Occupational therapy at St Luke’s


Flaying the first carrot, Matty recites to help the work along:

Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,

Waiting in a hot tureen!

No, that will not do! This soup will be the colour of sand. But hopefully not the texture. Chuckling, a more appropriate rhyme comes through to her:

Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run

Don't give the farmer his fun, fun, fun

Nearby, the chimp-woman creams butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. Far too much of either for soup. And now the artist adds flour! Carrots in a cake? Has she landed in the funny farm?


Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
20 Comments
Norah Colvin link
16/3/2018 07:40:01 am

Hmm. This is interesting, Anne. I usually think of the 'if then' as a causal relationship. These 'if then' statements you have posted don't seem to quite fit my preperception. What I like about them is that, for you, they all point to fiction as a priority. One that I totally agree with is leaving reading of blogs and dabbling in social media until my writing day is done. I still haven't got the proportions established correctly though and probably end up spending almost as much time on the latter as I do on the former. Neither seem to receive as much time as I'd like to give them. If, in the time I have allocated to writing, I don't quite finish what I wanted to, then I delay blog reading until I have reached a stage in my writing I am happy to leave. If my time runs too short, then it takes ages for me to catch up on all the blog posts I'd like to read. If that happens, then I try hard to not feel guilty and make it a point to accept that I do what can, and what I can't, I don't. If I have understood your 'if then' statements correctly, then I hope you'll be happy with my response, then (another then!) you and I can both have a good weekend. :)

Reply
Annecdotist
16/3/2018 08:48:17 am

I also wondered – just after I’d pressed PUBLISH – whether my statements properly aligned with the IF-THEN method! But I think they’re okay, even if I haven’t stuck to them. I’m not up-to-date on the psychology of causality, but it often turns out that when we think A causes B it’s actually another factor C that we haven’t even thought of. I suppose this method capitalises on our tendency to build associations between different events in order that, in time, we’ll feel that the THEN is inevitable once we’ve done the IF.
I think you are extremely generous in your support of other blogs to an extent that wouldn’t be sustainable for me. I used to be much more active on the meme days (#SundayBlogShare #MondayBlogs #TuesdayBookBlog #WWWBlogs #TranslationThurs #Fridayreads – there’s probably one for Saturday too!) but now participate on an ad hoc basis. I know I miss out on a lot of good stuff, as well as risking losing readership for mine (although I do always try to reciprocate when people leave a comment on my blog), even though I post every three days or so (which to me is quite frequent) blogging is less of a priority than it used to be.

So here I am at the beginning of my day thanking you for your contribution at what I assume is the end of your working day. I’m hoping that means you got everything done that you wanted to and are free to enjoy your weekend.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
17/3/2018 09:44:10 am

Hi Anne, I was thinking of the if/relationship of events and things rather than psychology e.g. if you add yeast the bread will rise (hopefully), if you turn the handle then the door will open, unless it's locked. So maybe the Cs are sneaking in there as well too.
I'm not nearly so good at Social Media as I used to be (and I wasn't even good then). I'm spreading myself thinner (but thicker around the middle - how does that work?)
I'm pleased you told us at the Carrot Ranch that you'd added your flash to your post. If you hadn't then I may not have come back to read it. (Oh dear, one really shouldn't let me get started.)
It's a great story and I particularly like the last line - had quite a chuckle at that, considering the setting of your novel. :)

Annecdotist
17/3/2018 05:57:56 pm

And then psychology comes into some seemingly straightforward causal relationships in the material world – for example, if I don’t expect the door to open (because I don’t expect to have much control over my environment), I might not move the handle in a way that it will open easily even if it’s unlocked. But that’s a whole other story.
But sorry you had to make a return visit for the flash! I did wonder about that when I added it but couldn’t resist the tenuous connection between the topic and cake. I’m glad that line made you chuckle. Hopefully there’ll be more chuckles to come when the novel finally sees the light of day, although it’s a very sad story. I’ve stopped working on it for the time being so it was funny to come back to it for the flash and I haven’t quite captured the voice in this, but even so I felt a dilemma between being faithful to the character and not confusing the reader too much about what was going on. Hopefully I haven’t strayed too far either way.

Susan Osborne link
16/3/2018 10:48:41 am

I'd not come across the If/When technique but I might use it as a means of containing my Twitter lurking time. Thanks, Anne.

Reply
Annecdotist
16/3/2018 12:49:33 pm

Glad it was useful, Susan. I really wasn’t sure about posting as my plans seem to have got out of hand! Good luck with reining in your Twitter habit.

Reply
Molly Stevens link
16/3/2018 11:18:38 am

I’ve just had an aha moment reading this. I read and comment on other’s blogs early in the morning. Like I’m doing right now. And I realize this shortchanges my own creativity and energy for writing. Thank you! I’ll postpone this as an ‘after I’ve written for the day’ activity! And I like your flash on carrot cake, too.

Reply
Annecdotist
16/3/2018 12:47:42 pm

Glad it was useful, Molly. I sometimes get caught out that way too as it can suit me to read blogs in the early morning but then I have the dilemma of whether to comment while the ideas are fresh in my mind or after I’ve done other stuff.
Enjoy your carrot cake!

Reply
Anurag Bakhshi link
19/3/2018 05:19:34 am

What a whimsical little piece, and I loved the rabbit poem :-)

Reply
Annecdotist
19/3/2018 08:46:04 am

Thanks, that’s the joy of living in Matty’s head!

Reply
Irene Waters link
19/3/2018 05:29:51 am

I have for years seen blogging as a warm up to writing (not fiction in my case). If then I use as a reward system by making the 'if' something I don't want to do and the then as the reward for having done the task I'd prefer to put off. I agree Anne that vegetables in cakes weren't heard of when I was a child (or not that I can remember) but these days anything goes. As a child if one was to do that you would have, like your flash character, been considered ready for the funny farm.

Reply
Annecdotist
19/3/2018 08:45:02 am

Rewarding ourselves for those dull tasks is another useful way of getting things done, but the if-then method of building habits is slightly different in that it’s pairing the new activity with something you’d do anyway. A bit like it’s morning so I’ll brush my teeth.
I also sometimes use the blogging bits as a warmup – that’s what I’m doing this morning! – but sometimes visiting other blogs I get overwhelmed by so many ideas it’s can be hard to stop and switch to the main activity. On the other hand, I’ve just checked out your clever 99-word story for the prompt and I’m still smiling! Now that’s the perfect start to the writing day.

Reply
Charli Mills
19/3/2018 08:45:27 pm

I like your take on Pi Day! Not sure if this fits the if/then model, but I've always enjoyed delaying gratification, such as enjoying an activity or a treat if I get my work done. I hadn't thought about using existing habits to help along the cultivation of others.

Matty is such a delight! I hope you keep her going after her book debuts!

Reply
Annecdotist
20/3/2018 09:55:55 am

Thanks, Charli. As I said in my reply to Irene’s comment, the if-then plan is slightly different to using rewards. Since my psychology is now a bit rusty, I hesitate to pin it down this way, but I think they’d both be classed as forms of conditioning: if-then is classical conditioning (think of Pavlov’s dog salivating at the sound of a ringing bell that had previously been paired with him being given food); rewarding yourself is operant conditioning (pigeons learning to peck at a light). Apologies if I’ve confused it further!
Matty still has a lot to teach me – maybe there’ll come a time when I can put together a webpage to celebrate her in a series of 99-word stories.

Reply
Charli Mills
21/3/2018 05:55:55 pm

Ha! Then perhaps I prefer the pigeon approach! But I'm going to pay attention to the if/then construction and consider how I might you use. Thanks for differentiating between dogs and pigeons in psychology.

I would encourage you to use Matty's 99-word stories as a marketing communications strategy to support her novel. I think others will fall in love with her and enjoy getting to read more of her in snippets. This is why I write flash (wink, wink). It's part of a strategy! I think it's a fun way to build a platform, engage community and delight discovery among targeted readers who are then directed to such a place as a website or collection of shorts.

Annecdotist
21/3/2018 06:47:40 pm

That's a great idea, thanks. Might be able to turn it into an if-then plan.

Robbie Cheadle link
23/3/2018 04:13:28 am

I work full time, Anne, so I have limited time to write but I usually do so in the early mornings on weekends. I find 3 hours is about my maximum writing time in one sitting so 5am to 8am works really well. Lovely flash too.

Reply
Annecdotist
23/3/2018 09:03:37 am

I think three hours is a good length of time for writing, Robbie, and I certainly admire your ability to get up at 5. Great to have that quiet time while (hopefully) the rest of the household is asleep.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
25/3/2018 12:29:37 pm

Wonderful conversation. I enjoyed it so much. Everyone has something interesting to share. I was intrigued by something you said in your response to me, that I think has quite a powerful significance that I'll need to work on. If we don't think the door will open, we don't turn the handle with enough confidence to make it open. Boy is that true. The big breath I have to take before each new step. Sometimes, if I convince myself it's not worth the effort, then I don't even bother. But mostly I do. :)

Reply
Annecdotist
26/3/2018 01:54:52 pm

Yes, I’ve enjoyed this discussion, and it makes me think I need to write again on the difference between reward strategies and if-then plans since both can be used to encourage particular behaviours, but in different ways.
Interesting that my comment about expectations about opening the door resonated. There are times when I’ve not only not expected the door to open, but not actually seen it was there. Can be alarming, but I muddle along.

Reply



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