Motivation

[srichard]

It's that time of year, and I have three seminar papers due in fifteen days (curse you, coursework, when will you be done?). I'm maybe a third of the way done, and am putting off doing any more substantive writing until the end of this week, when classes will be finished

Comments

[perpetua_redux]

Sex.

[joliecanard]

My boyfriend tried doing this to me once. He refused to have sex with me until I finished a paper. It didn't work that well, though, since it took me just as long to finish the thing, and I was extra cranky.

[perpetua_redux]

Do other motivators work? (e.g., if I finish this paper, then I get to take a nice hot bath or other such rewards mentioned above).

[joliecanard]

They only work when I break it up. So "If I write x pages tonight, I get to y," works. I think finishing the paper and getting it out of the way is, for me, such a huge reward on its own that piling on more motivators don't help.

[pippingeek]

i tend to do sort of the opposite with my reward system. since i'm easily distracted, but also badly need exercise and tend to feel guilty taking out worktime to do, well, anything, i started exercising first thing in the morning, preferably something fun like trapeze or a walk/run in the woods or something. so then when it's time to work, i have no e3xcuse to slack off, because i've already taken my recreation time for the day, so if i want additional recreation it can't happen till i've finished all of my necessary goals for the day. of course, this works better when you only have a few necessary goals, because if your list is too big you never get extraneous me-time, but with judicious list management, it can be an excellent system.

[pansette]

You wake up in the morning and get on a trapeze?

I'd die.

[pippingeek]

well, right now i only do that on saturdays because i don't have one at home and that's the only morning time the studio is open, but it's a great way to wake yourself up and feel all graceful and strong and arty plus get your cardio and stretching in. of course, i've been doing it for a year and a half, i'm not sure i'd recommend it to a novice. and fwiw, it's single-point dance trapeze, not the crazy jumping-off flying circus trapeze most people think of. (here's what it looks like for anyone desperately curious, tho i'm not as strong nor flexible as elsie and serenity)

[tigg]

To reward myself...

I'm going to read a book!

Oh, wait. One small problem with that: I've already read more than 200 books this year for school. I'm not sure I know how to read as a reward anymore, although I do have a couple of novels I want to read in with the 65 books for winter break.

Alternately, it's all about the movies. I LOOOOOOOVE movies.

(And I'm also finishing three papers and lacking motivation; my rough drafts are done, but tomorrow I have to revisit the 37-page rough draft of one paper and make it actually coherent. And shorter.)

[rabswom]

I haven't really solved this problem yet. I'm currently procrastinating working on a paper due in 10 days that I just don't feel like working on.

[txteva]

days is fine... its when it gets to hours...

[rabswom]

I *can* work on an external deadline. The problem is learning to work when there isn't one.

[in_da_lifeworld]

i start with a drink to calm myself down and also to spoil myself since poor baby is going to start something that is going to be oh-so-hard to start. pout. i try to match my drink to the theorist or material... like a nerdy, alcoholic martha stewart

[srichard]

Dare I ask what drinks go with Lacan, Cixous or Spivak?

[in_da_lifeworld]

hm. theres this french liqueur that comes in a curry flavour... it tastes like cinnamon hearts and is actually kind of nice

the mathematician next to me suggests something pretentiously opaque.