{"id":531,"date":"2019-10-02T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T17:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/?p=531"},"modified":"2019-07-03T09:58:52","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T14:58:52","slug":"how-to-motivate-yourself-3-steps-backed-by-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/2019\/10\/02\/how-to-motivate-yourself-3-steps-backed-by-science\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Motivate Yourself: 3 Steps Backed By Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

You make goals\u2026 but then you procrastinate.<\/p>\n

You write a to-do list\u2026 but then you don\u2019t follow through.<\/p>\n

And this happens again and again and again. Seriously, what\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n

Why are we so good at thinking of what to do but so terrible at actually doing those things?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The problem is you\u2019re skipping an essential step. Here\u2019s what it is\u2026<\/p>\n

The Mistake Every Productivity System Makes<\/h1>\n

Productivity systems rarely take emotions into account.<\/strong>\u00a0And\u00a0feelings are a fundamental<\/a>\u00a0and unavoidable part of why humans do what they do.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t ignore our emotions. Because of\u00a0the way our brains are structured<\/a>, when thought and feelings compete, feelings almost always win.<\/p>\n

And we can\u2019t fight our feelings. Research shows this\u00a0just makes them stronger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Via\u00a0The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can\u2019t Stand Positive Thinking<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u2026when experimental subjects are told of an unhappy event, but then instructed to try not to feel sad about it, they end up feeling worse than people who are informed of the event, but given no instructions about how to feel. In another study, when patients who were suffering from panic disorders listened to relaxation tapes, their hearts beat faster than patients who listened to audiobooks with no explicitly \u2018relaxing\u2019 content. Bereaved people who make the most effort to avoid feeling grief, research suggests, take the longest to recover from their loss. Our efforts at mental suppression fail in the sexual arena, too: people instructed not to think about sex exhibit greater arousal, as measured by the electrical conductivity of their skin, than those not instructed to suppress such thoughts.<\/figure>\n

So what does the unavoidable power of feelings mean for\u00a0motivation<\/a>?<\/p>\n

In their book\u00a0Switch<\/a>,\u00a0Chip and Dan Heath<\/a>\u00a0say that emotions are an essential part of executing any plan:<\/p>\n

Focus on emotions. Knowing something isn\u2019t enough to cause change. Make people (or yourself) feel something.<\/figure>\n

We need to think to plan but we need to feel to act.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So if you\u2019ve got\u00a0the thinking part out of the way<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 how do you rile up those emotions and get things done? Here are three steps:<\/p>\n

1) Get Positive<\/h2>\n

When do we procrastinate the most?<\/strong>\u00a0When we\u2019re in a bad mood.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Via\u00a0Temptation: Finding Self-Control in an Age of Excess<\/a>:<\/p>\n

So procrastination is a mood-management technique, albeit (like eating or taking drugs) a shortsighted one. But we\u2019re most prone to it when we think it will actually help\u2026 Well, far and away the most procrastination occurred among the bad-mood students who believed their mood could be changed and who had access to fun distractions.<\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, research shows happiness\u00a0increases productivity<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0makes you more successful<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What does the military teach recruits in order to mentally toughen them up? No, it\u2019s not hand-to-hand combat.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0optimism<\/a>. So how do you get optimistic if you\u2019re not feeling it?<\/p>\n

Monitor the progress you\u2019re making and celebrate it.<\/strong>\u00a0Harvard\u2019s Teresa Amabile\u2018s research found that nothing is more motivating than\u00a0progress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Via\u00a0The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work<\/a>:<\/p>\n

This pattern is what we call the progress principle: of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most powerful is progress in meaningful work; of all the negative events, the single most powerful is the opposite of progress\u2014setbacks in the work. We consider this to be a fundamental management principle: facilitating progress is the most effective way for managers to influence inner work life.<\/figure>\n

(More on how to get happier\u00a0here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Okay, so negativity isn\u2019t making you procrastinate and holding you back. But what\u2019s going to drive you forward?<\/p>\n

2) Get Rewarded<\/h2>\n

Rewards feel good. Penalties feel bad. And that\u2019s why they both can work well for motivating you.<\/p>\n

Research shows that rewards are responsible for three-quarters of why you do things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Via\u00a0The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Researchers find that perceived self-interest, the rewards one believes are at stake, is the most significant factor in predicting dedication and satisfaction toward work. It accounts for about 75 percent of personal motivation toward accomplishment. \u2013 Dickinson 1999<\/figure>\n

So treat yourself whenever you complete something on your to-do list.<\/strong>(Yes, this is how you train a dog but it\u00a0will work for you too<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Having trouble finding a reward awesome enough to get you off your butt? Try a \u201ccommitment device<\/a>\u201d instead:<\/p>\n

Give your friend $100. If you get a task done by 5PM, you get your $100 back. If you don\u2019t complete it, you lose the $100.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your to-do list just got\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0emotional.<\/p>\n

(More on how to stop procrastinating\u00a0here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

So you\u2019re feeling positive and there are rewards (or penalties) in place. What else do you need? How about nagging, compliments and guilt?<\/p>\n

3) Get Peer Pressure<\/h2>\n

Research shows peer pressure\u00a0helps kids<\/a>\u00a0more than it hurts them.<\/p>\n

(And face it, you\u2019re still a big kid, you just have to pretend to be an adult most of the time \u2014 and it\u2019s exhausting.)<\/p>\n

Surround yourself with people you want to be and it\u2019s far less taxing to do what you should be doing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Via Charles Duhigg\u2019s excellent book\u00a0The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business<\/a>:<\/p>\n

When people join groups where change seems possible, the potential for that change to occur becomes more real.<\/figure>\n

The Longevity Project<\/a>, which studied over 1000 people from youth to death had this to say:<\/p>\n

The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become. For people who want improved health, association with other healthy people is usually the strongest and most direct path of change.<\/figure>\n

And the\u00a0research on friendship<\/a>\u00a0confirms this. From my interview with\u00a0Carlin Flora<\/a>, author of\u00a0Friendfluence<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Research shows over time, you develop the eating habits, health habits and even career aspirations of those around you. If you\u2019re in a group of people who have really high goals for themselves you\u2019ll take on that same sense of seriousness.<\/figure>\n

(More on the science of friendship\u00a0here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ve got all three methods going for us. How do we wrap this all together and get started?<\/p>\n

Sum Up<\/h2>\n

Got today\u2019s to-do list? Great. That means the most rational thing to do now isstop being rational<\/em>. Get those emotions going:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get Positive<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Get Rewarded<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Get Peer Pressure<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can do this. In fact, believing you can do this is actually the first step.<\/p>\n

    What\u2019s one of the main things that stops people from becoming happier? Happiness\u00a0isn\u2019t part of how they see themselves<\/a>\u00a0so it\u2019s harder to change.<\/p>\n

    Think of yourself as a motivated, productive person. Research shows\u00a0how people feel about themselves<\/a>\u00a0has a huge effect on success.<\/p>\n

    Via\u00a0The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    For most people studied, the first step toward improving their job performance had nothing to do with the job itself but instead with improving how they felt about themselves. In fact, for eight in ten people, self-image matters more in how they rate their job performance than does their actual job performance. \u2013 Gribble 2000<\/figure>\n

    Still unsure if you\u2019ll be able to beat the\u00a0procrastination<\/a>\u00a0demon? Then skip right to #3, peer pressure.<\/p>\n

    Forward this post to at least two friends and\u00a0start holding each other accountable<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Now you\u2019ve got something outside of yourself that\u2019s watching and motivating you. And everything is easier \u2014 and more fun \u2014 with friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    You make goals\u2026 but then you procrastinate. You write a to-do list\u2026 but then you don\u2019t follow through. And this happens again and again and again. Seriously, what\u2019s the problem? Why are we so good at thinking of what to do but so terrible at actually doing those things? The problem is you\u2019re skipping an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14,9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-advice","8":"category-general-post","9":"category-life-of-a-grad-student","10":"category-tips"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/motivation.gif","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":543,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531\/revisions\/543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}