Ayelet Fishbach’s Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation was an informative read, offering exactly what the subtitle suggests: interesting (surprising?) lessons from a variety of angles on what creates motivation (or not) for people. Given the research, the book also provides some guidance on approaching oneself and others to improve motivation.
At first the book seemed to be going in the direction of a self-help book, suggesting how the contents would help the reader become better at staying motivated and reaching goals. But then it really shifted into the science and studies around motivation. The challenge I had was that there didn’t feel like a solid “story” through the book. The science contributes to this: one set of research results points left, and another set of research results points right - all depending on the context and setting of the individuals involved. Lots of head scratching, but I suppose that is some of the reality of being people in this world.
The book is broken into four sections. The first contains chapters on goal-setting, being clear about what one is reaching for in a goal, and how one might use (or abuse) incentives to help keep motivation rolling. I liked the first chapters emphasis that goals are not intended to be chores, but things we want to reach for or achieve. Chores are easily thrown to the wayside, or become … a chore. The second section discusses motivations - both strategies to boost motivation and those scenarios in which motivation changes. This was a section where it was easy to get lost in the research. Our motivations vary significantly depending on our content - even on the context around one goal (have you just started? are you near the end? are you stuck in the middle?) How do we use (negative) feedback to reinforce motivations? When does feedback kill motivation? I liked the idea that when we can lean on our expertise and experience that negative feedback can be fitted into a bigger picture and used as redirection and reinforcement, rather than discouragement.
In the third section the author branches out from individual goals to the reality of our lives - we have many goals, and some of those compete with each other for time and attention. Some even compete directly for the end results: exercise for health or eat for pleasure (and possibly lead to poor health). How do we juggle multiple meaningful goals? How do goals build together into a personal “goal system”? Can we be patient and or show some self-control in dealing with all these options - especially when the short-term excitement wants to trump the long-term value.
And then the final section of the book brings in the idea that not only do we have multiple personal goals, but there are other people around us with goals - some that we share in common as part of a family or organization. Interestingly, when we pursue goals around others - others aiming for the same goals as in a race or competition - we tend to have stronger motivation than we would if we were doing this alone. And in collaboration, we can find motivation stronger to win together (so long as we don’t fall prey to the “someone else will do it” problem of group work). And how to have happier relationships? Support their goals, instead of demanding that they support your.
Of course, reading a book about motivation research needed a little motivation itself. I amused myself by having to create motivations to finish the book: Finish a chapter - get a snack. Or maybe convince myself that there might be something interesting around the corner. And the closer I was to the end, the more I was motivated to finish.