A Rating System For Motivation

In a fit of level 2 motivation I came up with a rating system for motivation. I noticed, while I was busily avoiding other work, that I have a continuous, but relatively well defined, scale of levels of motivation. To understand this I normally think about right before and after a deadline. Before the deadline I am working at my peak. Its not even that I want to work anymore, Right before a deadline, I am work. I don't screw around, I take short lunches, stay late, I do what it takes to get things done. After a deadline, however, that drive is gone. The day after a big deadline, its all I can do to get myself to even make an effort at work. The difference between these extremes is what I think of as the scale of motivation.

Along with this scale I have noticed a practice that I think of as "wheel spinning". When I'm doing good work, I focus on a goal. My goal is to get a draft of this out, to run code that does that, to derive such-and-such result. When I'm not focused I tend to think more about a process, I want to write, to analyze, or to program. These open ended tasks can lead to some interesting brainstorming and discoveries, and I think I've flipped at least one paper based on what I do, but when I actually have a goal, its not a good way to work. Wheel spinning happens when I'm not motivated enough, when I don't want to focus on the goal, or I don't have enough energy left to make myself focus on the goal.

So without further wasted writing (I'm kinda at level 1 or 2 right now and don't want to spin my wheels) my scale for motivation.

5 At motivation 5 I am totally in my game. I will make progress on usually one activity at the detriment of other parts of my life. I will not waste time on Reddit, emails, instead I try to work without any break. At level 5 motivation I feel bad when not working. While this may sound like working at peak efficiency, I might consider this too focused. I will miss important emails and tasks if they can be put off even a little at level 5.

4 At level 4 motivation I am focused and getting things done. Level 4 is perhaps my "target" level of motivation I still get things done but I don't outright ignore the rest of my life. I may answer emails slower, but otherwise I am still able to help others. At Level 4 I may take occasional Reddit breaks, but will stay focused on a task for a long time. While Level 5 might be my most motivated, I might consider level 4 my healthy high point in motivation.

3 Level 3 can be thought of as a "normal" amount of motivation. I will work towards a goal, but won't over focus on it. Ill be available to chat with others about their work, or whatever book they've been reading. I'm unlikely to spin my wheels at this level, but I will if I don't have any pressing tasks. I will take pretty regular breaks for stretching or Reddit.

2 Level 2 can be thought of slightly demotivated. I am unlikely to focus on a task without effort and will be much more likely to spin my wheels. I will welcome distractions and I will take frequent breaks for Reddit, especially when starting a task. I've been stuck in level 2 for a while now, needing to spend energy to keep myself on task instead of getting into the natural rhythm on a level 3 or 4 day. A day or two at level 2 is normally fine, but I tend to get a bit depressed if I spend too long there.

1 At level 1 I'm essentially trying to make it to the end of the day without overtly having checked out for the day. I will have spent enough time on Reddit to have read all the interesting posts available at the time. I will seek distraction, and will spin my wheels. I am usually on at level 1 if I'm feeling particularly bad, or tired. If I don't have a good reason to be at level 1 It will make be feel depressed after one day.

0 At level 0 motivation I will go home. I will not feel good about this. This has happened many times at the end of the day, normally taking home at a reasonable time, but an hour earlier than planned because I hit a dead end in a project. This has happened perhaps once outside of the end of day scenario, where I was so out of sorts on my way into the day that I ended up leaving in the middle of the day.

So, why does this matter? Why would I come up with such a silly system? Well partially procrastination, Friday was pretty solidly in the ones and twos on motivation, I was ready for the week to be over and was counting down the minutes until I could see the hit new superhero movie. Beyond that, however, I find that thinking about these things, and recognizing my own patterns will help me be more active in response to them.

For me, thinking about patterns means mapping them to numbers, that's part of how I'm wired. For you, it might now, and maybe you don't worry about your own motivation. Good for you. For the rest of us, knowing ourselves may translate into better ourselves. In that just writing this blog post was exercise enough to derive a good. Beyond that, however I'm thinking it might be interesting to chart motivation over time. I strongly expect I have day-of-week patterns that could be planned around if I were more aware of them.