

Get Off Your Butt: How to Get Motivated When You’re in a Slump - rblion
http://zenhabits.net/get-off-your-butt-16-ways-to-get-motivated-when-youre-in-a-slump/

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logophobia
Exercise. It gives you energy and takes your mind of things for a while. We're
not meant to sit on our buts in front of a screen all day. I know it's hard
when you're tired and overworked, but it's indispensible.

Also, sleep and eat well.

~~~
tomjen3
I disagree with you. If I liked the idea of doing pointless, repetitive manual
labor, getting sweaty, having my entire body hurt and then do it all over
again the next day, I wouldn't have spent so much time getting a degree.

~~~
leftnode
Wow, I've never seen a comment so adverse to exercise. It's been
scientifically proven that exercise is good for mental health in addition to
physical health.

There's no way you can be serious.

~~~
tomjen3
I am serious.

I also don't doubt for a moment that exercise is healthy for the body, just
like spinach, which I also hate.

But hey if you got some idea about how to make it more fun, I am open for
suggestions - I have no desire to die early.

~~~
trafficlight
What kind of exercise have you tried?

I'm more into weight lifting, myself. It's not at all tedious.

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tristanperry
Point 9 ("Realize that there's an ebb and flow") is definitely something to
remember. Even when I'm really motivated on a project, the motivation never
seems to last for longer than weeks. I guess knowing that this happens to
every body, and thus knowing to simply ride out the troughs (so to speak) is
the best way forward.

A quote I like which sums this point up is: "People often say that motivation
doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommended it
daily."

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mortenjorck
_6\. Commit publicly._

Gave me an idea.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2131849>

~~~
askbjoernhansen
Wasn't there research published sometime last year showing the opposite to be
true? (When you tell other people your goal) or what you are doing/going to
do, you internalize "I'm doing it" and then ... don't!).

I know for me it's true -- I'm much more likely to get the things completed
that I haven't told others that I'm working on.

~~~
JonnieCache
Yup, it was Derek Silvers in a TED talk.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHopJHSlVo4>

Well worth watching. This one is < 4 minutes. Cites his sources.

~~~
AgentConundrum
Blog post mentioned at the end, with links to sources and related materials:
<http://sivers.org/zipit>

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zemanel
i've been trying to pull out a smarty pants comment relating this article to
the robot on Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, without success, i feel saaad
_beer_

edit:

the point was that having a few beers helps, with a good friend. sometimes
it's a sign of exhaustion/burnout and a change of scenery really helps

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Polacrilex
A similar article that basically boils it down to one step:
[http://rejectiontherapy.com/awaken-your-motivation-in-one-
ea...](http://rejectiontherapy.com/awaken-your-motivation-in-one-easy-step/)

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astrofinch
Now that I have a notebook that I use to keep track of experiments I want to
try on myself, I can skim this article, add a half dozen sentences to various
parts of my notebook, and actually have a decent chance of trying out the
advice that it provides.

I think something about having this intermediate phase between reading self-
help advice and first trying it out helps me out a lot.

