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Lazy? Or Right on Schedule
Q. I've been working on a big project for a long time. Although I try to move ahead every day, sometimes I have to force myself to accomplish even a small task. When I skip a day, I feel guilty. How can I stay motivated?" A. When you're working on a book, job search, business start-up, dissertation, or special project, you can feel consumed by the project. And often you feel as though you can't afford to take a break, let alone a day off. I once heard a writer say, "Sometimes I'm really productive. I write five pages on my book! Then the next day I'm drained. So I review what I've written or organize my research files." And I feel the same way. I resist taking a day off to read a new mystery, go for a hike, visit an art museum, or watch a season of an HBO series on DVD. But the next day, invariably, I wake up eager to work. And I accomplish everything I need to do, and more. Frankly, I've never found staring at a blank screen (or paper, in the old days) does much good. Resistance means, "Time for a change of pace!" These beliefs are supported by scientific evidence. Psychologists who study these up-and-down activity blips have found a certain randomness operates in human productivity levels. For example, an employee "Bill" varied his arrival time at work. When Bill was late, his boss yelled at him. When Bill was on time, the boss offered praise. Sure enough, Bill responded. The day after the boss yelled, Bill was on time. And the day after the reward, Bill slacked off and arrived late. So, concluded the boss, praise doesn't work. And punishment does. There was only one problem. A computer demonstrated that Bill's arrival times showed a pattern of random variation. In fact, the computer could predict quite accurately how Bill would perform - with or without praise and blame. The same pattern has been found among students: some days you learn faster while other days you just don't get it. And some days you're productive and efficient, while other days you're sluggish. If you've studied statistics, you're probably guessed that we're talking about regression to the mean, which is very powerful. People usually have an average level of productivity. When they work hard one day, they tend to slow down the next. So here's an exercise. Suppose you have a writing project. You set a goal: write 500 words a day. For other projects, find a daily activity level that's easy to observe and measure. For the next 30 days, track how many words you write (or how productive you are in the task you've chosen). Some days you'll write 1000 words, other days none, with lots of variation. Each day just record your word count, without judging your output. At the end of 30 days, calculate an average. And calculate again after 60 days. You may find that your natural average is 300 words a day. You can lower your daily goals - or recognize that you work best with your random pattern. Obviously, if you have a deadline, you may have to increase your output. Professional writers typically write 1000-3000 words a day. But if you're making acceptable progress toward a goal, you can begin to understand, accept and work with your natural rhythm. Regardless, beating yourself up and feeling guilty won't work. If you're constantly falling behind, maybe it's time for a change of career - a chance to enjoy marching your life to a new beat. Most of all, I ask my clients to remove the word "lazy" from their vocabularies - forever! When you're berating yourself for lack of progress - stop! Chances are you're right on schedule. Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., helps midlife professionals who want to make huge, medium and small career changes. Strategize, get unstuck, start a business or start over. Fr^e Report: Ten secrets of managing a major life change. mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com Contact mailto:cathy@cathygoodwin.com or call 505-534-4294 http://www.cathygoodwin.com
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Sarah Palin docu wins record ratings for Fox News (Reuters via Yahoo! News) In a week of records surrounding the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel earned another one with its weekend documentary on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace advertising business is operating ahead of expectations and its digital ad business is performing better than the marketplace, the company's chief operating officer said on Tuesday. DGAP-News: Northwest Oil & Gas Trading Company, Inc.: Acquisition of a promising gas project (n-tv.de) Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. News that counts: Editors' Picks for Wednesday from The PD (The Plain Dealer) The news is strictly by the numbers today: 4 The four big-league presidential/vice presidential candidates roamed Ohio Tuesday, coming within 28 miles of one another. We count the visits so far -- Barack Obama, eight; John McCain, 11. 8... For consumers, good news down the line (Sun-Sentinel) Whether you buy a new iPod or not, there may be good news for you in Apple's release of new iPods on Tuesday . False bankruptcy item highlights risks in online news (Market Watch) Investors are getting a fresh lesson in the power and perils of lightning-fast news on the Web in an already fast-moving market. Relief: Cubs get good news on Zambrano, Harden (ESPN) The Cubs received encouraging news on pitchers Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano on Tuesday. Petraeus to Brief FOX News on Final Battlefield Tour (Fox News) Gen David Petraeus, fresh off an announcement that thousands of U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq, will give his final U.S. interview to FOX News Wednesday before handing over control of U.S.-led forces in Iraq to Gen. Raymond Odierno next week. Brooklyn elevators among city's worst, News finds (New York Daily News) They break down constantly and don't get fixed for weeks. Others are filled with the sour stench of dried-up urine. Elevators at public housing developments across Brooklyn are among the worst in the city, found a Daily News survey of 36 projects. Yahoo News Redesign May Pull a Technorati ? Why Not Twitter? (Wired News) Bloggers have uncovered URLs for a new Yahoo News layout which includes a ?Most Blogged? section. The list is presumably based off Buzz Tracker, which displays related blog posts and those that link back to an article. But wouldn't a "Twittered About" section make the site seem more cutting-edge? Site: news - Google News PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - Dec 4 - Reuters
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for motivation ND's Weis gives Wolverines motivation (Post-Tribune) SOUTH BEND -- It's impossible to get through a Notre Dame-Michigan game without a little artificially induced motivation. Buckeye finds motivation plentiful for season opener (The Alexandria Town Talk) DEVILLE -- Some teams have to search for motivation to play a game. The Buckeye Panthers actually have a choice when it comes to preparing for their meeting with the St. Mary's Tigers. Charges of political motivation spice up debate at city council (The Sun Chronicle) ATTLEBORO - Take tight city finances, throw in charges of political motivation and add an impending primary election and you have a formula for a bitter and explosive debate - and that's what happened Tuesday on the city council floor. Motivation easy to find for Southern (The Joplin Globe) Motivation won?t be a problem for Missouri Southern in Saturday night?s MIAA opener at No. 7 Pittsburg State.?It?s going to be a great atmosphere,? Lions running back Toderick Hunt said. ?A lot of people, the adrenaline is going to be pumping. I know for me when it?s like that, that?s when I perform the best because it?s time to go. It?s time to go.?A sold-out Carnie Smith Stadium likely will be ... Get some motivation to move this fall (Delaware Coast Press) Summer is winding down and coming to a close. Life seems to pick up pace at lightening speed as soon as September arrives. Vacation time has ceased, the kids are back in school, and -- whether it makes you happy or sad -- bathing suit season is just about over. Haug: Spa will only boost motivation. (Crash.net) Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief admits that the disappointment of Spa will only drive McLaren on. Buttle calls it quits (Fort Frances Times) By admin Thursday, 11 September 2008 - 2:35pm. TORONTO?At a time when many Canadian athletes are finding motivation in the allure of competing at the Vancouver Olympics, Jeffrey Buttle found his desire to skate for gold on home turf just wasn?t there. Sharon Little has a lot of determination and motivation to perform (The Kansas City Star) Tragedy inspired the perseverance that led Sharon Little to music. “I was never really into popular music or popular culture growing up,” said Little, a Philadelphia native and the fourth of seven children. On Soccer: Dynamo reassess game with Quakes (Houston Chronicle) Having won six of their last seven games, the Western Conference-leading Dynamo have plenty of success from which to draw motivation ahead of this weekend?s match against the Earthquakes in Santa Clara, Calif. By Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ (Manila Bulletin) NETWORKING is now used for marketing, manufacturing, for communicating down and up loading, for political information and motivation, for preaching the Gospel. A real trend is interactive echoing of what has been given, for commentary, better understanding, and socializing. Site: motivation - Google News Pistons' Wallace uses technical foul as motivation - The Associated Press
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