Summoning up Motivation....

First of all, I'd like to report on my triumphs from the last few days:
- sent more emails to profs (I decided to spread this out a bit)
- create history test 2 & took this with the other test to school on Monday to get put into the print shop for copying
- Jacob Cox project - but only a very little

What I still need to get done, and priority:
- get Discussion Week 4 HSS PowerPoint together and online (2)
- read and create question sheet for WWII materials to put online (1)
- read one student's essay rough draft and comment (1)
- answer WWII question sheet in preparation for next Monday's class (3)
- more on Jacob Cox Project (2)
- more emails to profs (2)

Now, all I need to do is summon up the motivation. Ha. The thing is, for many of us procrastinators, things will always put off until we are "more motivated", "feel better", "more organized", or "have a bigger block of time". Many times I know I don't even form these excuses in my head as such - they take on much more insidious forms and are hard to identify as excuses. There is an exercise in my well-worn copy of PROCRASTINATION: Why You Do It, What to Do About It NOW (by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen - psychologists AND procrastinators), that asks you to make a list of your excuses, and to keep track of your excuses for a week. They also acknowledge that they may be hard at first to identify, because "These thoughts may be so automatic and familiar that they don't seem to be excuses at all." (p. 172) What makes them insidious is that "Many excuses have a kernel of truth. You probably do need to exercise, and you might be tired, bored, uninspired, hungry, or sick."(p. 173) The difference for nonprocrastinators (who, of course, often feel these things too) is that they decide what they can still do toward the project or goal, despite these things, and they do that. Procrastinators don't do anything.

So, even if I feel uninspired, unmotivated, tired, bored - whatever - my goal for today is to at least WORK on something, even if I don't get it done. But you know what? I've found that if I at least WORK on something, I can get into it, and I get more done than I thought I would, sometimes to the point of finishing it. Which is pretty cool.