Tis the season for gift lists. This is a little different. These are gifts for you to give your brain, for doing a good job on something it resisted doing. If you have a fidgety (inner) child this gift list is for you.
When you want to reinforce good behavior, you get a cookie, right? Or a sticker on a calendar? (Some of you are already pushing back – I’m not a “good dog” or a toddler in potty training, you might be saying.) And if you’ve read this far, I’m going to assume you are correct. Not a dog… not a toddler.
But your brain is a big baby. It needs rewards.
Pushback again? Yes, we’re writers and our brains are… creative, complex, brilliant, imaginative, whirring, fabulous machines – not babies, you may be thinking.
All true. We are the best weirdos. And it’s our brains that make us so. And yet writers get “up in our heads” and cannot bring ourselves to write, some days. Sometimes we write – feel great – and then we get “busy” for another decade.
How do we bring our brains in line, and get ourselves doing what we truly want done on a regular basis?

Brain-based rewards

What are brain-based rewards? You can reward yourself for meeting a deadline, sticking to a schedule or doing any job that requires convincing or cajoling. And the more you actually stop and give yourself a reward that your brain can feel, the more closely associated that task becomes associated with reward. 
Reward is a natural process during which the brain associates diverse stimuli (substances, situations, events, or activities) with a positive or desirable outcome. This results in adjustments of an individual’s behavior, ultimately leading them to search for that particular positive stimulus.
It is not simply that you begin to think “do this, get that,” it’s that the reward salts it in much deeper and makes the response far more automatic, using dopamine. A hit of dopamine can reprogram your initial dread or distaste for the work or task. My desk is full of little things that give me pleasure… a head massager, crayons, makeup brushes that I  like to brush my face with. A fidget gadget.

You absolutely don’t have to “defend” what rewards or sensations work for you, please you.  You can kiss the side of your fist, if  it feels right. You and your brain get to decide what will feel sensual, and feel rewarding. In this case, sensual means – engages any one of your senses.

  • Food or drink – taste
  • Sticker or Crayons – sight
  • Putty or Play-doh, gadget or toy – touch
  • Music or clicker – hearing
  • Candle or oils – smell

Sensory Gift Ideas

Here’s a list of sensory gift ideas, all available online:

Variety is so appreciated, especially when you curate items of different textures and levels of sound. And fortunately, most sensory items aren’t expensive so don’t hesitate to experiment and see which items appeal to your baby brain.