Forcing Myself to Work

noobert

I have a problem. If i don't like/enjoy something, i just won't do it. School work, House work, Work work are all affected by this.

Luckily i really enjoy my Job, and at home, I've managed to rig it so that i do things i pretty much enjoy, so those aren’t really a problem... most of the time.

The real problem starts with education. Say i have an assignment, if it is for a subject i like it will get done as fast as i can (sort of like finishing a game you really love). However, if it is on a subject i dislike, i'll put it off. Even when i set aside time to do it, i will work on something i enjoy instead. If i do manage to get it done, i'll get a very low grade. I guess i just don't really care.

Help?

BobCesca

I've had this for the past 6 years...the only solution I've found is locking myself up in the library at Uni with nothing but a pad of paper and the books I need (the web is such a good distraction - I should be studying now!) and just getting it done.

I know it's not a super solution, but that's all I've found that works, and just trying desperately to find something that is vaguely interesting for the assignment you're working on, or a future motivation (e.g. my motivation for Greek when I really don't want to study is I won't get a job if I can't teach Latin and Greek).

At the end of the day, you just have to take the rough with the smooth.

Silmaril

Welcome to life.


There is no easy answer to a problem like this. Some people just really struggle to be motivated. One way you might try is to get yourself to realise that if you don't do these shitty things you don't enjoy, you won't be able to do the things you do enjoy later on.



The only one who can make you do this stuff is you.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

I hate the web. It pwns me. Locking myself somewhere without a computer can do wonders. I get so distracted. Like RIGHT NOW! Damnit. I am making a resolution now to quit IM, PA Forums, YouTube, YTMND, and news blogs from Monday - Thursday (on that note, is there any prog for OS X that I can lock programs on a a timer?)


One thing to do is be like, okay, I will work for, say, 5 minutes really hard on this thing, which isn't that hard... and then once you do those first 5 minutes, then the rest is just like, meh, ok, might as well... it works.

Szechuanosaurus

Time management helps. A combination of Getting things done and the frog eating principle (If you eat a frog in the morning, nothing as bad will happen to you for the rest of the day) should go a long way. Managing your time more efficiently and forcing yourself to get the shitty jobs out of the way first thing gives you more time to do the things you enjoy doing and as a result means you resent doing the other tasks less.

So with school work for example, leave the project that you'll really enjoy doing and instead focus solely on doing the one that disinterests you first. Don't switch between them, because that wastes time repeatedly re-organising your workspace. Do the crap project from start to finish, get it out of the way and then you'll be able to move on to the thing you enjoy doing. It's like training a dog with tasks and rewards. If you give the dog the treat first, it won't jump through hoops no matter how hard you yell, but teach it that jumping through a hoop results in a treat and it'll jump through the hoop at the slightest command.

naporeon

I can tell you that I had huge problems with this at university.

My solution was to make everything a game or a challenge. My usual method for doing this was to put off assignments until the last possible moment. I work best under duress, and the time crunch made things interesting for me. While it may look like simple procrastination on its face, I believe that this method kept me afloat at university.

I would also make things interesting by imposing artificial restrictions on my writing. For example, I would sometimes assign an abnormally low "cap" on the number of conjunctions I could use in a paper. Sometimes, I would try to go an entire page without saying "the". That sort of thing.

Later, I did the same sort of thing when I took the LSAT. I only slept for two hours the night before, didn't eat breakfast, and drank about a half-dozen Red Bulls on the way to the test center.

So my suggestion to the OP, be it for school or for life, is to try to make things into a game. Then try to win the game. It has definitely worked for me.

Fristle

naporeon wrote: »

I can tell you that I had huge problems with this at university.

My solution was to make everything a game or a challenge. My usual method for doing this was to put off assignments until the last possible moment. I work best under duress, and the time crunch made things interesting for me. While it may look like simple procrastination on its face, I believe that this method kept me afloat at university.

Hi, I am also a procrastinator. I like this approach too. The first thing to do is to make an arbitrary goal. Make it very specific, and make it something within reach. That builds the rules for your game. Then you play it. Play it to win. Achievement Unlocked!

This really helped me get into shape. I spent almost the first 25 years of my life just slouching around. Exercise as a "routine" made me cringe. Then I looked at it as a game. Exercising to set new personal high scores and continuing to "beat" myself at a game, really helped me do it. I went from being unable to run for 90 seconds, to running a ten mile race a year later.

naporeon wrote: »

Later, I did the same sort of thing when I took the LSAT. I only slept for two hours the night before, didn't eat breakfast, and drank about a half-dozen Red Bulls on the way to the test center.

Holy crap. So how did that work out for you?

naporeon

Fristle wrote: »

naporeon wrote: »

Later, I did the same sort of thing when I took the LSAT. I only slept for two hours the night before, didn't eat breakfast, and drank about a half-dozen Red Bulls on the way to the test center.

Holy crap. So how did that work out for you?

So well that when I *retook the LSAT, I did more or less the same thing. I just PMed you a screencap of the results, since I don't really like to number-drop in public.

But germane to the OP, the point is that making a game out of everything--even something as serious as an entrance exam--can help greatly with both performance and motivation.

*

I retook the test because--no joke--a motorcycle club rallied directly outside our test center, causing one portion to be interrupted for almost 30 minutes, and adding a flag to all of our test scores. I didn't want any admissions people thinking that the pause gave anyone an unfair advantage.