Goal Setting
Setting effective goals means you are more likely to stay motivated. So what is the optimal way to set a goal?
Goal SettingThis module is about intrinsic motivation and how it can help you accomplish your goals. This is the first of two videos in the module. After each video, there will be a short quiz. You’ll have to get most of the questions right to complete the module.
Welcome to the Get It Done tiny course. This module is about intrinsic motivation—what it is and how it can help you accomplish your goals. This is the first of two videos in the module. After each video, there’ll be a short quiz. You’ll have to get most of the questions right to complete the module.
When you’re intrinsically motivated, you do something for the sake of doing it. The activity feels like an end in itself. You cannot separate pursuing an activity from receiving its benefits. Consider a stroll in the park on a sunny day or a nice meal with loved ones.
Some activities are more intrinsically motivating than others. For most of us, work is less intrinsically motivating than a relaxing vacation. But if you love your work, it’s still intrinsically motivating. To determine if you’re intrinsically motivated to do something, think about how much overlap there is between the activity and its goal. Does the activity feel as if it’s accomplishing the goal? If not, how far from your goal do you feel once you’ve finished?
Now think about a task at work that you dislike but unless you do it, you’ll compromise your work. Like completing an expense report or having a difficult conversation that you’ve been putting off. These activities are low on intrinsic motivation but they’re important for you. We call these activities “extrinsically” motivated; they aren’t enjoyable like the intrinsically motivating activities, but they help you achieve some external benefit.
Intrinsic motivation is the best predictor of engagement at just about everything. Think about the last New Year’s resolution you made. I can confidently guess that you were not too excited to follow through with that goal. No one sets a resolution to eat more ice cream or watch more TV. But I can predict how likely you are to keep your resolutions by gauging how excited—that is, intrinsically motivated—you are to follow through. Kaitlin Woolley and I ran a study that demonstrated just that: people who enjoyed exercising exercised more than people who enjoyed exercising less. And the participants in our study who said exercising was more important for them didn’t necessarily exercise more.
Where does intrinsic motivation come from? What causes it?
Now that you better understand what intrinsic motivation is and where it comes from, let’s test your knowledge with a few questions.
In this video you’ll learn about some myths and tricks of intrinsic motivation.
Welcome to the second video in this module on intrinsic motivation. In the first video, you learned what intrinsic motivation is and where it comes from. In this video, you will learn some misconceptions about intrinsic motivation, as well as how to make daily tasks intrinsically motivating.
Most of us believe we care about intrinsic motivation at work more than others. While most of us recognize that others care about pay and job security, we fail to realize that others care about learning something new or feeling good about a job as much as we do.
Not only do we underestimate others’ intrinsic motivation, but we also fail to predict our own. Most of us know that intrinsic motivation is important to us in the present, but we fail to realize that it will also be important in the future. We think that doing something moderately interesting with colleagues that we like is critical to getting us out of bed and into the office today, but we don’t think we will care about it enough when applying for a future job.
One way to overcome these biases is to set goals while you’re in a state similar to the state you’ll be in when executing them. Plan career transitions while you’re sitting at your desk at work. And plan your diet before dinner, rather than after, at the point when you’re completely full.
You have learned what is and what is not intrinsically motivating and what causes intrinsic motivation. Lastly, I’m going to share a few trade secrets on how to turn your boring or difficult activity into one that’s intrinsically motivating. Imagine that you want to exercise more but you’re finding it hard to summon up the motivation. There are several ways to make boring or difficult activities more intrinsically motivating.
Now that you know the myths and tricks to intrinsic motivation, let’s see how much you have retained with a few questions. Good luck!
Setting effective goals means you are more likely to stay motivated. So what is the optimal way to set a goal?
Goal SettingKeeping track of where you are can help you achieve your goals. What is the best way to monitor your progress and keep yourself motivated?
Monitoring ProgressWe never just want one thing. Knowing how to manage multiple goals will help you stay on track. What’s the best way to do that?
Multiple GoalsSelf-control helps you stick with an important goal when you’re tempted to do something else. How can you stay focused and avoid temptation?
Self-ControlDig further into the science of motivation in Fishbach’s Get It Done.
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