Incentive
About 3 days or so I suddenly realized that trying to accomplish a goal with no incentive is somewhat of a effort in futility for me.
Explanation: I decide upon goal X. The initial thrill of Goal X is enough to get me to do it for about an hour. Without further incentive I forget about Goal X and return to all of my previous activities, especially the ones Goal X tried to modify.
Normally goals are easily attainable if they are involved with other people (i.e. a group of people trying to achieve the same goal), you are liable for that goal (via a boss, teacher, etc.), and there are clear checkpoints (measurable things that track your progress or mark achievement/failure). A timeline is also important.
Well what happens if your goal is something that you can't do in a group and doesn't have a real discernable end-point? For example: stopping a certain activity like procrastination. How do you take a very vague individual character trait and track your level of slack-assery, measure your changes/week, and hold yourself accountable. If I don't do something it is because I am already doing the reward I had planned out for myself if I had done my job. For example I plan on finishing project Z and rewarding myself with reading comics. Suddenly I find myself reading comics and project Z sitting there feeling stood-up and dejected.
It isn't that I don't love you, project Z, it is just that you really don't compete when it comes to doing other things. No offense but anything that feel like work causes me to ENJOY avoiding it. The best part about slacking off is that I actually feel like the danger almost a subconscious rush of not doing what I damn well should be doing.
Hence this post and project Z still sitting there.
Now think about this: lets say I have a behavior that I want to change but dare not tell anyone I have in the first place for fear of ridicule. Lets say that behavior is kicking adorable puppies whenever I get the chance. Why would I do that? For god's sake why kick adorable puppies when no one is a-lookin'?!
Alright, assume I'm a sadist and I can't afford pschiatric aid.
What do I do? How can I possibly reward myself for not doing such a thing? Is this like smoking where I track puppies kicked over time and chart my self-restraint?
Quick I need a chart. I'll decrease puppy kicking by 1 every week until I'm down to zero. Problem is I can not be a part of puppy kicking related material, like looking up on the internet for puppies being kicked! God forbid someone stumble upon my secret!
Wow, that little rant took a turn for the worst. I'm going to take my procrastinating-imaginary-puppy-kicking-fetish-self outta here!
Explanation: I decide upon goal X. The initial thrill of Goal X is enough to get me to do it for about an hour. Without further incentive I forget about Goal X and return to all of my previous activities, especially the ones Goal X tried to modify.
Normally goals are easily attainable if they are involved with other people (i.e. a group of people trying to achieve the same goal), you are liable for that goal (via a boss, teacher, etc.), and there are clear checkpoints (measurable things that track your progress or mark achievement/failure). A timeline is also important.
Well what happens if your goal is something that you can't do in a group and doesn't have a real discernable end-point? For example: stopping a certain activity like procrastination. How do you take a very vague individual character trait and track your level of slack-assery, measure your changes/week, and hold yourself accountable. If I don't do something it is because I am already doing the reward I had planned out for myself if I had done my job. For example I plan on finishing project Z and rewarding myself with reading comics. Suddenly I find myself reading comics and project Z sitting there feeling stood-up and dejected.
It isn't that I don't love you, project Z, it is just that you really don't compete when it comes to doing other things. No offense but anything that feel like work causes me to ENJOY avoiding it. The best part about slacking off is that I actually feel like the danger almost a subconscious rush of not doing what I damn well should be doing.
Hence this post and project Z still sitting there.
Now think about this: lets say I have a behavior that I want to change but dare not tell anyone I have in the first place for fear of ridicule. Lets say that behavior is kicking adorable puppies whenever I get the chance. Why would I do that? For god's sake why kick adorable puppies when no one is a-lookin'?!
Alright, assume I'm a sadist and I can't afford pschiatric aid.
What do I do? How can I possibly reward myself for not doing such a thing? Is this like smoking where I track puppies kicked over time and chart my self-restraint?
Quick I need a chart. I'll decrease puppy kicking by 1 every week until I'm down to zero. Problem is I can not be a part of puppy kicking related material, like looking up on the internet for puppies being kicked! God forbid someone stumble upon my secret!
Wow, that little rant took a turn for the worst. I'm going to take my procrastinating-imaginary-puppy-kicking-fetish-self outta here!