Follow a science writer using a motivation trick - a STEM career glimpse

If you wish you could get more done, try this trick. It works for me. Maybe it will work for you too.

I use this trick when I'm working on a new writing, but have no deadline to drive me to make progress.

Sometimes choosing my own deadline helps: "I'll complete the first draft by March 31."

What helps ten times more is simply telling a friend. And what helps even more is telling a friend whom I'm scheduled to meet, what I'll get done by the time we meet: "I'll finish revising once by the time I see you."

For my writing, this works best with friends who are also writers. For my science work, it works best with friends who are also scientists. They understand what it takes to get the exact kind of hard work done. Their cheers are most gut-felt.

Best of all, they can also tell me what they'll get done by the time we meet. We can help each other even if the work is not team work.

Try this for a project dear to your heart, especially if it has no deadline and you wish you could make more progress.

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