Post by Katy on Aug 27, 2014 17:13:08 GMT
Okay someone help me work through this idea. It's like two parts positive reinforcement and one part secret santa.
There's this thing I saw during NaNo, a forum where you could sign up for, like, a penpal. And whoever you're assigned to is responsible for sending you random little gifts, like pens or erasers or stuff like that.
And there's also this realization I had that I work better for positive reinforcement than rewards OR punishment. Like I try to deny myself stuff a reward (none of this chocolate until I write the chapter!), but there's nothing I want badly enough for that to work. I don't want the chocolate or the gummies or the cheeseburger or The 13th Warrior on DVD enough to make me write. There's no carrot sweet enough.
And the stick makes me mad, even when I'm hitting myself with it on purpose. (Timer says I can't go on tumblr 'til I've written for 20 minutes? Watch me.) It's a seriously unhelpful reflex.
But! Positive reinforcement! That's my JAM. Praise and little unexpected treats selected and given to me by friends or family who are proud of my accomplishments.
So then I thought: Is there a way to combine all those things?
Like could we have a message board on here where people sign up to be Positive Reinforcement SecretSantas Writing Buddies. The Secret Support Group. Support Group++. Whatever. If you sign up to be a Secret Writer, you get randomly assigned one of the other people on the board. And you get randomly assigned TO someone on the board. And you're responsible for sending little treats like a pencil or a pen or a postcard with a lot of praise on it (note I said praise and not positive thoughts. "You can do it!!" doesn't hit me as hard as "You've done so much! I'm so proud of your progress!!" But! We could have each person express what they're looking for in a Buddy, and you have to check what those needs are before you get started. Hmm.)
Anyway, we could set a timescale for it. You're in charge of X person's positive reinforcement request for Y amount of time, during which you must send at least Z number of positive reinforcements of their general interest.
Does any of that sound reasonable? Or even make sense?
There's this thing I saw during NaNo, a forum where you could sign up for, like, a penpal. And whoever you're assigned to is responsible for sending you random little gifts, like pens or erasers or stuff like that.
And there's also this realization I had that I work better for positive reinforcement than rewards OR punishment. Like I try to deny myself stuff a reward (none of this chocolate until I write the chapter!), but there's nothing I want badly enough for that to work. I don't want the chocolate or the gummies or the cheeseburger or The 13th Warrior on DVD enough to make me write. There's no carrot sweet enough.
And the stick makes me mad, even when I'm hitting myself with it on purpose. (Timer says I can't go on tumblr 'til I've written for 20 minutes? Watch me.) It's a seriously unhelpful reflex.
But! Positive reinforcement! That's my JAM. Praise and little unexpected treats selected and given to me by friends or family who are proud of my accomplishments.
So then I thought: Is there a way to combine all those things?
Like could we have a message board on here where people sign up to be Positive Reinforcement Secret
Anyway, we could set a timescale for it. You're in charge of X person's positive reinforcement request for Y amount of time, during which you must send at least Z number of positive reinforcements of their general interest.
Does any of that sound reasonable? Or even make sense?
