Activating and sustaining
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Activating & Sustaining
EFFORT
It's an INTERNAL state that propels individuals to behave in a manner which enables them to achieve particular goals.
What is motivation?
This is the important bit!
Daniel Goleman, psychologist and Harvard graduate, created emotional intelligence in the '90s. He outlined four key elements of motivation: personal drive, commitment, initiative, and resilience.
These could be condensed into two key elements - the ability to:
1. Initiate goal-oriented effort
2. Sustain goal-oriented effort.
to begin, get started
to carry on, keep at it
What techniques do you use to initiate your work or get started???
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think of a looming deadline?
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imagine the trouble you'll be in if you don't do it?
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think of the reward you'll give yourself afterwards?
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give yourself a small task or chunk of work to make it manageable?
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Use 10 minute sprints? A technique where you tell yourself you'll just do 10 mins, but which then makes it easier to carry on.
And what do you do to keep yourself motivated when the work is hard or you're flagging?
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Remind yourself of why you're working towards these grades?
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Give yourself a pep talk where you remember how far you've already come?
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Use others' achievements as inspiration?
What would happen if you only had motivational techniques for initiating effort, not sustaining it?
Do you need different techniques for initiating and sustaining effort?
What happens if the only techniques you have are for sustaining effort with none for initiating effort?
Do you need different techniques for initiating and sustaining effort?
What motivated 'the hardest geezer' to run the length of Africa?
Raising money for charity initiated his epic run...
...and also sustained the effort needed to overcome:
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challenging terrain and weather
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health problems
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armed robbery
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visa problems
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loneliness
Now think about you...
What motivates you to get started on work? To avoid a detention? To get an immediate reward like pocket money?
But will this be enough to sustain your effort when the going gets tough?
(although admittedly not as tough as running the length of Africa!)
Now think about you...
What motivates you to get started on work? To avoid a detention? To get an immediate reward like pocket money?
But will this be enough to sustain your effort when the going gets tough?
(although admittedly not as tough as running the length of Africa!)
Scaring yourself by imagining failing everything
Begging for a £20 cash payment for every good grade you get.
Devising a punishment for not doing work.
Telling yourself, 'I'll just do twenty minutes, then I'll stop'.
Developing a clear sense of why grades are important and the freedom they can give you.
Initiating -getting started
Sustaining - keeping going
Which of the following might you use to initiate effort and sustain effort?
Listing the grades you want and then telling other people that's what you're aiming for.
Looking in the mirror and shouting, 'Come on! You can do this! Let's go!'
Scheduling a small reward after every hour of work.
Comparing yourself to others who are working harder and imagining that they're revising right now and you aren't.
Deactivating all your favourite apps on your phone and choosing a date when you're going to reactivate them.
Looking at your worst grade and feedback to make yourself feel so bad you do some work.
Making a list of topics and ticking them off one by one as you revise them.
Visualising the consequences of success.
Making a list of family and friends who'll be proud of you if you worked hard and did your best.
Offering to revise something so you can teach it to someone else.
Putting an inspirational quote over your desk or using it as your phone wallpaper.
Keeping a calendar and crossing off each day if you've done some work that day.
Having a start time that you stick to every single day with an alarm that goes off on your phone at that time.
Speaking out loud to yourself, going through a prepared speech that starts, 'I'm working hard now because in the future...'
Arranging to meet someone else so you can test each other once you've covered a topic.
Initiating -getting started
Sustaining - keeping going
Which of the following might you use to initiate effort and sustain effort?
No judgement here!
We're not making any judgements about these possible techniques. Some will work for you in some situations, some in others. But you need a mix: some that will work to get you started... and some that will work to keep you going.
No judgement here!
Make a list of your three best tactics for initiating effort and your three best tactics for sustaining effort.
Now print off your list and decide where you will put it. Where will you look when you need motivation? Above your desk? In the front of your notes folder? Stuck to the fridge? On your phone home screen?
How many setbacks does Eddie the Eagle have?
Let's admire his sustained motivation in the face of obstacles!
Michael David Edwards, better known as Eddie the Eagle, is an English ski jumper who became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. Despite many setbacks, his motivation and effort never faltered. He continued to pursue his dream... and made it to the winter Olympics in 1988.
Vince Lombardi, American football coach
The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
Activating & Sustaining
EFFORT
It's an INTERNAL state that propels individuals to behave in a manner which enables them to achieve particular goals.
What is motivation?
This is the important bit!
What techniques do you use to initiate your work or get started???
-
think of a looming deadline?
-
imagine the trouble you'll be in if you don't do it?
-
think of the reward you'll give yourself afterwards?
-
give yourself a small task or chunk of work to make it manageable?
-
Use 10 minute sprints? A technique where you tell yourself you'll just do 10 mins, but which then makes it easier to carry on.
And what do you do to keep yourself motivated when the work is hard or you're flagging?
-
Remind yourself of why you're working towards these grades?
-
Give yourself a pep talk where you remember how far you've already come?
-
Use others' achievements as inspiration?
What would happen if you only had motivational techniques for initiating effort, not sustaining it?
Do you need different techniques for initiating and sustaining effort?
What happens if the only techniques you have are for sustaining effort with none for initiating effort?
Do you need different techniques for initiating and sustaining effort?
No judgement here!
Make a list of your three best tactics for initiating effort and your three best tactics for sustaining effort.
Now print off your list and decide where you will put it. Where will you look when you need motivation? Above your desk? In the front of your notes folder? Stuck to the fridge? On your phone home screen?