These Boots Are Made For Walking

If you ask any writer, one of the things we often struggle with is dedication. We regularly have ups and downs, often depending on whether a book (or life) is working with or against us. One of my tricks for staying motivated (whether it’s my writing or cleaning the house) are my shoes. My sneakers to be specific, or running shoes as some people like to call them.

Once they’re on and laced up (okay, I usually keep them laced all the time and just slip them on) it’s a lot harder to curl up comfortably on the couch with a great book, and I don’t need to tell you guys how tempting that is.

My sneakers give me a purpose and keep me focused on work. Although one of the perks of my job is the freedom to work in my pj’s if I want, I get more done when my feet are ready to go. Just glancing down at them is a constant reminder that I can’t slack off, no matter how much I want to pretend that my three munchkins aren’t often tearing along behind me, sabotaging my efforts when I’m in domestic goddess mode (which isn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounds).

Now if I could just find a way to harness the energy to do my tidying up after my kids were tucked in, I could at least enjoy a clean house for more than twenty minutes at a time and maybe squeeze in a few more pages of writing.

So what tricks do you use to help keep yourself on top of the things you need to get done?