
Top 20 Motivation Hacks - djshah
http://zenhabits.net/top-20-motivation-hacks-overview/
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pittsburgh
I agree with 19 of these motivation hacks, but I've found that #2 doesn't work
for me. (#2: Make a big public commitment.)

Derek Silvers explains how this technique can backfire at
<http://sivers.org/zipit> and in his TED Talk at
<http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/eng//id/947>

In his words, "Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity
just enough that you're less motivated to do the hard work needed."

Maybe announcing goals works for some people, but for me it definitely has the
opposite effect. When I keep my goals private, I work to achieve them for my
own sake. But when I announce my goals I feel like I'm working toward them to
maintain the accolades from friends... accolades they gave me six months back
when I merely announced that I'd be running that Marathon.

~~~
6ren
Similarly, Bob Shaw (science-fiction writer) says he likes to discuss story
ideas with people - but he discovered that if he has a good story idea, and he
_tells it to someone_ , it satisfies some of the story-telling energy, and he
has less motivation to actually write it. I'm not sure if that has the same
root as ego satisfaction (is "story-energy" having something great that _you_
thought of? maybe); but it contributes to the same result.

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Tichy
"Top" by what measure? Has it been measured?

Some might even be harmful, for example I remember a study saying public
commitment actually reduces probability of finishing. (It wasn't called public
commitment in that study, but basically talking about what you want to do
before doing it. Just talking about it seems to already satisfy some goals).

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nhangen
Can we stop calling things hacks? You're either motivated or you aren't, and
if there isn't enough motivation day after day, perhaps it's a sign that
you're in the wrong place.

~~~
parallel
Perhaps "hack" isn't the right word but there are techniques or tricks that
will result in higher productivity.

One technique I use is to think about how I would tackle a task if I were to
do it. So you start to break it down, think about the first step, and what
would follow. Pretty soon what was an really objectionable undertaking seems
achievable and I launch into it.

~~~
greyman
>> >> but there are techniques or tricks that will result in higher
productivity.

Yes, there are, but what nhangen is saying is very important - what if someone
is in a totally wrong place (for himself), but tricked himself to be motivated
to work on something which ultimately doesn't bring him happiness or
fulfillment?

If you have to "#11: Reward yourself. Often.", isn't it an indicator that the
intrinsic reward is lacking in the activity? Then why trick oneself to spend
time on it?

~~~
parallel
Yeah, I take the point. I wouldn't like to lead a work life where my only
motivation comes from artificial rewards or motivational hacks. If there is no
intrinsic motivation in the work then something fundamental has gone wrong,
like career choice.

However, we are human, and the most suitable work for an individual is still
work, parts will be more painful than others. It's these parts where there can
be, let's call them "disciplines" that will help.

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Creyels
A human behaviour I observed, that could be hacked:

You know how you tend to do all the things that you don't want to do (like
dishwashing, cleaning your apt, laundry etc.) if you have to learn for an
really really boring but difficult exam at university. At the point you have
to do something that appears more worse you tend to say things like: "okay, I
have to study, but I have to XY first - because it's important", but you would
not do them if you didn't have to study..

Hack would be to use this system an always have some really pain-in-the-butt
thing on your to-do list, then you're really glad to check off all the others
first.

don't take this post too seriously, though.

~~~
aaronblohowiak
"productive procrastination"

~~~
Creyels
Thanks a lot!

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astrofinch
So what has this guy achieved? Writing a popular blog is a solid achievement,
but it's not an amazing one.

The reason I ask is so I know who to listen to.

Leo Babuta:

"Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do."

Sebastian Marshall (<http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/about>):

"I track my time, set daily and weekly objectives, and succeed on them roughly
70% of the time. If I start getting into a groove where I’m succeeding at
100%, I up the difficulty until I’m back around 70%."

I'm inclined to listen to Sebastian because he seems smarter and more
energetic, but it'd be nice if each one bragged about their achievements more
so I could make a more informed decision.

~~~
ippisl
Lee babuta "my story" page: <http://zenhabits.net/my-story/>

On the other hand , if you read sebastian's page, you get the impression of a
guy that talks a lot("I’ve been working and training to be the most skilled
strategist of our era."), and travels , but with out difficult achievements in
his past.

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gutini
Hmm, I appreciate this list, however Leo has also written about being "goal-
free." <http://zenhabits.net/no-goal/> Seems a bit conflicting.

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mdpm
There is only only one motivation, ever. Actual desire.

In short, these articles exist because people are trying to rationalise their
way past the cognitive dissonance of wanting to want things, without being
willing to actually change themselves.

Decision making is fundamentally a process of "I want, there is no greater
want, I can, so I will". If you're not getting to do what you want, it's
simply that you have a greater want. Sometimes that's just a want to not
actually exert effort.

tl;dr - you will not change what you do without changing what you are.

~~~
billswift
Commitment equals action. If you are not _doing_ something then you are not
committed to it. If you want to do something, but you aren't doing it, _find
out what is blocking your commitment to it_.

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dan-k
I find it interesting how he contrasts being disciplined with keeping up
motivation and focus. I think the truth is actually the polar opposite of
this; maintaining motivation and focus is most of what constitutes
"discipline." In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if most "disciplined" people
you know use at least a couple of these techniques.

Perhaps the key to this is that the techniques trick people into being
disciplined without realizing it, because otherwise it feels like a chore.

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siphr
Nice validating read. All of the points quoted in this are discussed in detail
in Richard Wiseman's "59 Seconds" book. He references scientific studies
associated with all of these points.

According to that book #5 is a big no no. Wiseman claims (and shows with
references) that conducted studies suggest that visualisation actually has
adverse affects on a person's ability to actually achieve a goal.

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vwcoder
I have played about with different ideas around motivation for a long time. I
also tried to develop my own web apps to remind me of where I wanted to go.
When I have time I keep adding to this <http://www.mapourlives.com>. A freebie
sign up for anyone.

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poissonpie
I actually like the "hold yourself back" idea. The "tortoise and the hare"
comes to mind here.

~~~
billswift
A better way of putting it would be "Pace yourself".

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Apocryphon
Ironically, I was not motivated enough to read through this entire article.

~~~
icebraining
I was only motivated enough to read the headlines.

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dolvlo
So #1 is basically "be delusional". Got it.

