I've just finished writing what I believe is my best article on replacing procrastination with motivation, willpower, and drive. HERE is the link.I've devoted particular effort to developing this article because I'll be using it for three purposes:
- as the basis for the speech I'll be giving at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral this Monday,
- as the demo class that The Great Courses has asked me to do. Indeed, you'll notice that it is written as if it were a lecture for The Great Courses.
- as the basis for my NPR-San Francisco radio show a week from tomorrow, Oct 23.
8 comments:
Personally I'm ''struggling'' with motivation right now. The first six tips seem to be spot on in my situation.
I'm a freelancer illustrator, just began working online some months ago. This was always my dream job, as you probably know being an artist presents many economical obstacles. But I find myself procrastinating too much, it's so easy to get distracted when you work from home and have internet access. The eleventh tip, just doesn't seem right to me though, I believe there must be other ways to combat distraction, other than medication. It would be nice if you expanded on that, and recommended other methods.
All in all, it's a great article. I didn't find it preachy. I really liked the ''At the risk of being tough on you, if you're inert, instead of being productive and on the road to redemption, you're a parasite on society.'' part, it does sound a bit harsh, but it's so true, and people need to be said that kind of stuff to wake up.
I want to try the thermometer method, it sounds fun. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
Ars,
Great suggestion in asking for alternatives to drugs for ADD. There ARE, and I will add them now.
Marty
I found it curious that the subject of inspiration is missing from the article.
Good point! Will add!
How was your speech received?
Very well. The person who invited me, Rufus Watkins, wrote to me afterward, called my talk, "Super awesome!"
Buried in #1 (Embrace work) and #2 (Find inspiration) are three that I think should be broken out separately:
Picture the ideal state. Put up pictures of the thing you want or people who have what you want and look at them daily. The visual is important. Maybe you can think of Churchill once in a while, but lots of people need more than that. Pictures of people who are thinner/stronger are obvious motivation to someone wanting to get in shape and have helped me through the years. But it could be more subtle: I have a picture of a UC Davis grad with her horse on my wall. It keeps me motivated toward my long-term goal of being a counselor at a college that offers Equine Studies.
Concentrate on what it will feel like to be on the other side of the project/goal. To keep myself motivated on my master’s project, I thought how good it would feel to be able to say, “When I was in grad school…” in the past tense. I also thought how great it would be to see my name in the program of a national conference because I was speaking on the topic of my project. That finally happened, too.
Don’t underestimate the power of negative emotions in motivation. (“I’ll show him/her!) I've lost large amounts of weight using that one. Or I find a person in my kickbox or yoga class to compete with (unbeknownst to them). I think, "I'll kick their ass." (Doesn't work as well in yoga class.)
See if you can find a way to work this in, Marty... But is your procrastination trying to tell you something? If you don’t have your own “buy in,” no amount of biting the bullet will help. Maybe you need to revise your goal.
Another accountability story... One of my instructors made a commitment to himself not to be late anymore. He carried a sheet with him everywhere that had a table of 31 days (in columns) and if he made it to his final destination that day without being late all day, he checked off a day. Every Wed night, we watched him check off a box on his timeliness chart, clearly pleased with himself.
I’m glad you talked about ADD. After formal evaluation, I was told I did not have ADD, but I’m thinking of “appealing.” I’d like to see what difference drugs would make. Would I finally be able to finish EVERYTHING?
Dear Wanted by the FBI (Jeez, you don't sound like someone who'd be wanted by the FBI, except perhaps as a high-quality employee),
Your suggestions are fabulous. I will go back into the article and incorporate probably ALL.
Warmly,
Marty Nemko
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