Introduction
When we plan to do some work, especially exciting to us, we often feel immensely motivated. We literally can't wait to get our hands on the desired activity. Then, we move into the execution phase, where, in the case of a simple and reasonably short task, we do not experience a significant decrease in motivation and there is a high probability that we will be able to complete the task. But what about the case of long-term activities? The vision of completing something over several months can be discouraging in the very beginning, even though the benefits of completing it will prove to be enormous.
Fortunately, there are several techniques that allow us to sustain motivation, and sometimes even boost it. First, I will tell you about the most obvious one, which is the mechanism of reward, and I will reveal the secret of how to make it work for tasks that require a lot of time. Then, I will move on to beliefs about the work being done and feedback from others. Finally, I will share my knowledge about estimating the probability of success. Let's get started!
Mechanism of Gratification
The mechanism of gratification is nothing else than rewarding yourself in some way, it could be playing your favorite computer game or going out for a cake after a long day's work (or even just the feeling that you have accomplished something). It is important not to focus your attention on the reward all the time. If we work on a task but keep thinking about the evening outing, we can grow impatient, so it is best to redirect this attention to things related to the current work.
Segmentation
The mechanism of segmentation and multiplication of rewards is another way. They consist of identifying many intermediate stages and associating a specific reward with each of them. In this way, the total value of rewards can be greater, the more stretched out in time the task is. For example, while working on a large task that we anticipate will take 5 days, we can do something nice for ourselves after each day of work. Similarly, we can break down the task into stages regardless of the duration and reward ourselves in a certain way after each one.
The Magic Half
A commonly used mechanism for sustaining motivation is the belief that when we complete half of the task, it's downhill from here and therefore easier. Moreover, the subjective location of the magic half can change during the progress of the action. It is worth keeping this magical half in mind and then moving it along with the progress of the work as it increases our perseverance.
Belief in Freedom of Choice
Research conducted by psychologist Jack Brehm in 1966 showed that all forms of limiting freedom of choice create resistance, which ultimately means interrupting behavior if the opportunity arises. Therefore, it is worthwhile to give ourselves and others (if we delegate tasks) some freedom of choice. In a situation where we impose on ourselves, or someone else, the execution of some activity, this work may take longer, be unpleasant, or, in extreme cases, completely abandoned. The awareness that there is a choice, that we can either carry out the task undertaken or stop it, can be a factor that increases perseverance.
Feedback on Achieved Results
If we don't know whether the task we are doing is bringing us closer to our goal, our motivation will decrease. It is always worth estimating how close we are to the goal and it is also worth giving feedback to others, which will be an assessment of the relationship between the assumed and achieved results. Information that allows us to determine that the action is approaching the result is an important premise for sustaining motivation. Information that "it's bad" because the activity does not bring us closer to the result, or even moves us away from it, sometimes becomes a premise for correcting behavior and mobilization, and sometimes for interrupting the action. This also applies to self-evaluation of our own actions.
Multiple Estimation of the Probability of Achieving the Assumed Result
Certainly, every programmer has faced a problem in their career, where they estimated the completion of a task for a few days and problems started to pile up shortly after starting work on it. Did you feel demotivated to continue working at that time? Unfortunately, if the probability of success in our heads decreases, our motivation to act will also decrease. Therefore, it is important sometimes during the execution of a task, when we see that it is not going as we planned, to stop for a moment and consider whether it would be valuable to deliver some easier/less complicated solution in the beginning, which we can quickly implement.
Such multiple estimations and adaptation to their requirements help to maintain motivation and engagement. It is also worth noting that this is not about changing the final result and benefits from it, but about dividing it into smaller pieces so that the execution of these individual segments is as realistic and enjoyable as possible for us.
Conclusion
Our motivation to act consists of many different elements that can help or hinder us depending on how we approach the work being done. Although there are many of them, I think that one conclusion and thing you can implement here and now is to break down the task into the smallest possible stages. Notice that this topic came up when we talked about rewards, estimation and even feedback (you will sooner hear that you are closer to the end of a small task than to a big one). So now look at your list of tasks and think about how small you can break them down and DO IT.
