polka dot suitcase

First of all, if you came here hoping for some play-by-play recap of the Super Bowl action, or if you’re thinking you’ll see some silly YouTube vid of writers tackling each other…ah, no.

But if you’re a writer, or even if you’re looking for ways to boost your own productivity, I may be able to help.

For six weeks, a bunch of writers over on Freelance Success are having a Query Challenge. That’s where we break into teams and earn points for marketing and landing assignments. It’s great on a bunch of levels: We get to bond with our writer breathren; we get to push ourselves to find new work; and we (hopefully) make new connections and earn income.

So, yesterday, in honor of the Super Bowl, I challenged my team to play a little virtual football ourselves. It’s kind of a spin off idea from my big fat alliteration week. Here’s how we played: If, in that single day, you got three pitches out, you earned a field goal. Seven pitches got you a touchdown.

Simple and silly? Yes. Effective? Sure! And what’s more — it was fun. So here’s my wisdom: Find ways to play around with whatever it is that’s on your plate. Doesn’t mean you’re not taking your work seriously (although I wouldn’t recommend smearing that black stuff under your eyes — it was a bear to get off and then I got it on my keyboard). Just means that you’re finding fun ways to motivate yourself and cheer yourself toward your goals. Score!