I've written before about my strategy for writing a first draft. That's about as disciplined as I get. In between projects or drafts, I tend to slack off. When my guilt catches up to me - but before my will to work refills - I rely on the "counts as writing" method.
While I enjoy my day job, it is almost entirely analytical, so it's important to me to do something creative when I get home. Often that is writing but another hobby of mine is creating games. Like an old lady who sews blankets, I have bins filled with colored dice, game tokens, blank playing cards, poker chips and various discarded prototypes. Occasionally I get one of these prototypes out and tinker with it for weeks on end - especially when I'm avoiding my second or third draft of a manuscript.
One prototype that I've been fiddling with for years now is Torchbearers. At least that's what I call it today. Originally I called it Penny Dungeon because every turn was decided by the flip of a coin. That system is way too involved; now turns are decided by a binary dice roll. The original concept for Torchbearers is "D&D for people who think D&D is stupid" - I wanted to trick my friends into a roleplaying session.
A four player cooperative game, each player draws a character that has unique abilities, strengths and flaws. There are 12 characters with the goal of different experiences each play, as new strengths and flaws come into the game. The objective of the game is to uncover all the tiles of an unmapped cave before the torches run out. However, the game itself is not my point - it's the creative activity I'm focused on.
Writing can burn me out. And when a beta reader calls with feedback, no matter the tone I always take it hard and further procrastinate my edits, thinking perhaps this novel is complete unsalvageable garbage. "Counts as writing" tasks take my mind off that. Fiddling with game mechanics, buffing or nerfing a character, thinking up new abilities and the like help me to continue being creative during a time where I fear the project I have poured my heart into is a failure. Plus hobbies like this represent another chance to work with artists I really like and pictures from my brain onto a page. No matter if I make money or not, seeing a professionally printed prototype, seeing custom art or a hand-drawn, commissioned map is a special experience. And always after tinkering, I come around to the idea of having another go at the next draft of my current manuscript.
I've seen the phrase "counts as writing" used as short-hand for procrastination but to me, creative activities that aren't writing are pivotal to the writing process. Building, creating, prototyping, and whatever are important to me to keep my creative juices flowing when I need some space from a story. Yet another thing I do only for the love - this game will certainly make no money.
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