That was easy!
Have you ever had a great idea and then forgot about it, only to re-discover it again? Here's mine..
When I published my first book, 'How To Seduce Life' a friend gave me one of those easy buttons from Staples. She said, 'you want life to be fun, easy and abundant' so here is your easy button. Amusing.
Then I was playing with it one day and had an idea. What if each time I do something on my to do list, I get to hit the button. What the heck, why not try it. And of course I did not allow myself to touch it for no other reason other than the completion of something on my list.
I tried it for a week and darn if it didn't work! I got obsessed with earning the right to hit the stupid button and hear that voice say, 'that was easy'. I was doing more in the mornings than I normally did all day.
One day I told a teacher friend about my goofy idea. I asked him, why don't you try it on your students? After the students complete some task, they get to come up to the front of the class and hit the button. He said, ok if you buy me a button. That's the problem with my teacher friend; short arms and deep pockets. I went to Staples and bought him one.
A few days later he phoned me and said, 'I hate to admit it Edweirdo but you were right, the damn thing works like a charm. The kids love it and will focus like a pigion on a french fry to finish the task just so they can run up to the front of the class and hit your stupid button.
Why it works..
Because completing a task and then hitting the button gives you a shot of dopamine (one of the feel good neurochemicals). It's fun. Giving grown ups monetary rewards or kids cookies to motivate them wears off because the fun quickly goes away and its back to status boring. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin. Both have a negative effect because they are manipulative.
Watching a team sports game I got wondering about motivates the athletes. Sure there is the end prize, a championship. However, only one team wins it all. Teams have a ton of little celebrations. Scoring goals or touchdowns are examples. However, have you ever noticed players high fiving each others, giving fist bumps and pats on the bum? These are the mini-celebrations that motivate players to risk hurting their bodies to help the team win.
What kind of mini-celebrations do you during a normal work day? Yeah, just what I thought; none or damn few. No wonder so few people operate no where near optimal performance at work. And what if there is no one around to give the pat on the back for a job well done?
It is anticipation of the mini-celebration that releases the dopamine. So my easy button is my mini-celebration. It feels good to spank that baby when I check off another item off my to do list.
So what did I do with my breakthrough idea?
I went on an extended holiday and forgot about it. Idiot. Two days ago, I opened a drawer and spied the easy button. Then it all flooded back to me. So I repeated my little experiment. Same results. Got more done on my 'to do list' in the morning than I was normally doing all day. That was easy! Ok, I admit it, I'm a slow learner. Now my plan is to continue with it and see how long it continues to work for me. Maybe, I can finally get my book done.
Now I'm thinking..
What if I had a button that I could record messages on? So if the message 'that was easy' wore off, I could change the message? Or better yet, multiple messages so that it is a surprise which message I will get? Maybe I could get some lady with a sexy excited voice to record....'Yahoo handsome you did it again!' or 'Yeah baby you're the best' Ok, got a little carried away. Probably not a good idea if any co-workers or your boss heard that.
And now that I've completed writing this article, I can cross it off my to do list and go spank that button. That was easy!
When I published my first book, 'How To Seduce Life' a friend gave me one of those easy buttons from Staples. She said, 'you want life to be fun, easy and abundant' so here is your easy button. Amusing.
Then I was playing with it one day and had an idea. What if each time I do something on my to do list, I get to hit the button. What the heck, why not try it. And of course I did not allow myself to touch it for no other reason other than the completion of something on my list.
I tried it for a week and darn if it didn't work! I got obsessed with earning the right to hit the stupid button and hear that voice say, 'that was easy'. I was doing more in the mornings than I normally did all day.
One day I told a teacher friend about my goofy idea. I asked him, why don't you try it on your students? After the students complete some task, they get to come up to the front of the class and hit the button. He said, ok if you buy me a button. That's the problem with my teacher friend; short arms and deep pockets. I went to Staples and bought him one.
A few days later he phoned me and said, 'I hate to admit it Edweirdo but you were right, the damn thing works like a charm. The kids love it and will focus like a pigion on a french fry to finish the task just so they can run up to the front of the class and hit your stupid button.
Why it works..
Because completing a task and then hitting the button gives you a shot of dopamine (one of the feel good neurochemicals). It's fun. Giving grown ups monetary rewards or kids cookies to motivate them wears off because the fun quickly goes away and its back to status boring. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin. Both have a negative effect because they are manipulative.
Watching a team sports game I got wondering about motivates the athletes. Sure there is the end prize, a championship. However, only one team wins it all. Teams have a ton of little celebrations. Scoring goals or touchdowns are examples. However, have you ever noticed players high fiving each others, giving fist bumps and pats on the bum? These are the mini-celebrations that motivate players to risk hurting their bodies to help the team win.
What kind of mini-celebrations do you during a normal work day? Yeah, just what I thought; none or damn few. No wonder so few people operate no where near optimal performance at work. And what if there is no one around to give the pat on the back for a job well done?
It is anticipation of the mini-celebration that releases the dopamine. So my easy button is my mini-celebration. It feels good to spank that baby when I check off another item off my to do list.
So what did I do with my breakthrough idea?
I went on an extended holiday and forgot about it. Idiot. Two days ago, I opened a drawer and spied the easy button. Then it all flooded back to me. So I repeated my little experiment. Same results. Got more done on my 'to do list' in the morning than I was normally doing all day. That was easy! Ok, I admit it, I'm a slow learner. Now my plan is to continue with it and see how long it continues to work for me. Maybe, I can finally get my book done.
Now I'm thinking..
What if I had a button that I could record messages on? So if the message 'that was easy' wore off, I could change the message? Or better yet, multiple messages so that it is a surprise which message I will get? Maybe I could get some lady with a sexy excited voice to record....'Yahoo handsome you did it again!' or 'Yeah baby you're the best' Ok, got a little carried away. Probably not a good idea if any co-workers or your boss heard that.
And now that I've completed writing this article, I can cross it off my to do list and go spank that button. That was easy!
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