Top 20 Motivation Hacks
zenhabits.net
zenhabits.net
Derek Silvers explains how this technique can backfire at http://sivers.org/zipit and in his TED Talk at http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/eng//id/947
In his words, "Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity just enough that you're less motivated to do the hard work needed."
Maybe announcing goals works for some people, but for me it definitely has the opposite effect. When I keep my goals private, I work to achieve them for my own sake. But when I announce my goals I feel like I'm working toward them to maintain the accolades from friends... accolades they gave me six months back when I merely announced that I'd be running that Marathon.
Whatever the explanation, I agree with you as to the effect in my own experience. Talking about something not yet done, especially as a goal, seems to be counterproductive -- I'll even use the word "jinx".
Edit: Hmm, on the other hand, having a hard and fast deadline -- especially an imminent one -- can be quite compelling and motivating. I continue to debate with myself to what extend I want to / should put myself into such positions (e.g. purposefully loading up the schedule). However, doing so is NOT the same in my mind as making a big public statement. MY knowing the deadline can be motivating. Talking with others about it can be dissipating.
Some might even be harmful, for example I remember a study saying public commitment actually reduces probability of finishing. (It wasn't called public commitment in that study, but basically talking about what you want to do before doing it. Just talking about it seems to already satisfy some goals).
One technique I use is to think about how I would tackle a task if I were to do it. So you start to break it down, think about the first step, and what would follow. Pretty soon what was an really objectionable undertaking seems achievable and I launch into it.
Yes, there are, but what nhangen is saying is very important - what if someone is in a totally wrong place (for himself), but tricked himself to be motivated to work on something which ultimately doesn't bring him happiness or fulfillment?
If you have to "#11: Reward yourself. Often.", isn't it an indicator that the intrinsic reward is lacking in the activity? Then why trick oneself to spend time on it?
However, we are human, and the most suitable work for an individual is still work, parts will be more painful than others. It's these parts where there can be, let's call them "disciplines" that will help.
[Disclaimer: I know I am a bit offtopic, but if someone told me what I wrote a year ago, I would be much more happy with my life. I've read tens of motivation/productiveness/get-stuff-done articles whereas what I needed was taking a proper holiday and rethinking my goals]
"Top 20 C Hacks:
1. Use a variable to store a value.
2. Use named functions to organize your code.
...."
I also agree with you that you have to work with the motivation that's already there. These techniques don't create motivation; they multiply it. On the other hand, intelligence and effort can be applied to anything, so lists like these are helpful for people who want to improve their edge.
You know how you tend to do all the things that you don't want to do (like dishwashing, cleaning your apt, laundry etc.) if you have to learn for an really really boring but difficult exam at university. At the point you have to do something that appears more worse you tend to say things like: "okay, I have to study, but I have to XY first - because it's important", but you would not do them if you didn't have to study..
Hack would be to use this system an always have some really pain-in-the-butt thing on your to-do list, then you're really glad to check off all the others first.
don't take this post too seriously, though.
The reason I ask is so I know who to listen to.
Leo Babuta:
"Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do."
Sebastian Marshall (http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/about):
"I track my time, set daily and weekly objectives, and succeed on them roughly 70% of the time. If I start getting into a groove where I’m succeeding at 100%, I up the difficulty until I’m back around 70%."
I'm inclined to listen to Sebastian because he seems smarter and more energetic, but it'd be nice if each one bragged about their achievements more so I could make a more informed decision.
On the other hand , if you read sebastian's page, you get the impression of a guy that talks a lot("I’ve been working and training to be the most skilled strategist of our era."), and travels , but with out difficult achievements in his past.
I've known a lot of people who have great opinions and ideas and are very talented at communicating but who otherwise haven't accomplished very much. Or, as I've recently heard a career strategy, "If you're not good at doing, then teach, and if you're not good at teaching, then consult."
In short, these articles exist because people are trying to rationalise their way past the cognitive dissonance of wanting to want things, without being willing to actually change themselves.
Decision making is fundamentally a process of "I want, there is no greater want, I can, so I will". If you're not getting to do what you want, it's simply that you have a greater want. Sometimes that's just a want to not actually exert effort.
tl;dr - you will not change what you do without changing what you are.
Perhaps the key to this is that the techniques trick people into being disciplined without realizing it, because otherwise it feels like a chore.
According to that book #5 is a big no no. Wiseman claims (and shows with references) that conducted studies suggest that visualisation actually has adverse affects on a person's ability to actually achieve a goal.