The most pressure I’ve ever felt was in the late summer of 2020. With a job offer in hand and twins on the way, I needed to finish my Master’s thesis. I was stressed about being able to provide for my family and overwhelmed by the undertaking of writing the thesis. Partly because of the stress, I had trouble motivating myself to write all day. Sitting down in front of my laptop and writing this paper was HARD. So one day, I did the only reasonable thing and searched around Google for solutions. What I found taught me about giving motivation control over my productivity.
What is Motivation?
Motivation is the internal drive to accomplish something. As anyone who’s failed at a New Year’s resolution knows, motivation ebbs and flows. Sometimes, I can be incredibly motivated to read or do some cleaning. Other times I have to be dragged off the couch to get anything done. But external forces can influence motivation. For example, telling me that there’s ice cream in the freezer for when the dishes are done gets me to pick up a sponge at breakneck speed. But too much external pressure can have a negative effect, like when I was trying to write my Master’s thesis. Even when I felt motivated to write, the huge ordeal ahead of me crushed that feeling. That led me in front of my computer one afternoon, struggling to work up the fortitude to crank out another couple pages. That’s when I found the mindset shifting motivation advice.
Motivation Doesn't Have to Be In Charge
The advice was simple: you don’t have to feel motivated in order to do good work. That tough love advice was exactly what I needed to hear. Yes, the task was daunting. But what I really needed was to take big swings at it until it became more manageable. The feeling of motivation wasn’t important, writing was. Once I started to focus on just writing the thing, it came easier. Writing that thesis was never easy (and neither were the multiple rewrites), but getting myself in front of the screen typing away at it was a lesser problem. This became my mantra as I geared up for my morning or afternoon sessions of writing. “I don’t have to feel motivated to do good work” became a bit of a mantra for me. I would repeat it to myself when I felt listless at the screen. It may sound crazy, but it had a real effect on how I worked. I wasn’t beholden to my flighty feelings. I had a thesis to write, a hard deadline to meet, and I did it. You would think that after a lesson like this, I wouldn’t struggle with motivation anymore. But you would be wrong. As I entered the professional world I met with a new sort of motivational challenge.
Motivation for the Long Term
Finishing my thesis was a short term endeavor. That’s why I was able to gut it out despite my lack of motivation. But I needed a different approach with a full time job with decades ahead of me. Over a long period of time, it’s useful to align motivation with personal ambition. Getting to work in the morning is easier when the daily grind is in service of a higher personal goal. For me, I figured out my ambitions by focusing on the lifestyle that I want to live. As specifically as possible, I thought about the life that I want. This includes where I want to live, what I want my work schedule to look like, and what I want to be doing with my time. With that in mind, I’m working backwards to gain the skills I need to build that lifestyle. Realizing that my ability to live the lifestyle I want is directly tied to how good I get at my job is a powerful motivator! Now I can work with motivation through the doldrums of trying to solve a difficult problem halfway through a project.
Motivation in the Small Moments
Even with this long term overarching plan, there are plenty of mid-afternoons where I feel sluggish. Five Hour Energy has made who knows how much money advertising to people who get tired in the mid-afternoon. And Five Hour Energy directly inspired a trick I use in these moments. I tell myself “anyone can work for five minutes.” Working for five minutes is easy. And after those five minutes, I work another five minutes. By this point, I’m typically back in my work groove. I may need to jump a little cognitive hurdle to get there, but I’m energized again after exerting my brain a bit. Doing this while having a good plan of what I want to accomplish is enough to get motivation to toe the line again.
Motivation for all Scenarios
Work presents many different scenarios where motivation has to be overcome or collaborated with. Not giving it control over every situation is key for getting good work done. Sometimes I still have to repeat to myself “I don’t have to be motivated to get good work done.” This is especially helpful when I’m trying to finish something for a deadline. When things needs to get done fast, this is the tactic I use. And other times, I can ride motivation’s momentum in support of my deepest goals. I find that this one works best in the earlier to mid stages of projects. There’s a lot to get done and to figure out but no end in sight. This is the cruise control tactic. But in those afternoon moments when I really just don’t want to work, I can still always work for five minutes.
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