Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

sivers.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 179 posts

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#101

Post by rubbingalcohol »

mindgam3 wrote: post #89

This very much depends on how motivated you are by external validation. For some people, the fear of losing social capital by not following through on a public commitment is motivating enough to accomplish stretch goals. Source: used this technique to overcome my own procrastination trying to launch my first app as a solo founder. It worked, and I went on to raised a million VC to see if I could scale up the vision o…

I announce my projects so people can tell me how stupid I am and it makes me more determined to succeed and show them how they are actually the ones who are stupid. I guess I'm petty like that.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#102

Post by kyllo »

v64 wrote: post #98
dreeves wrote: post #96

This is (mostly) wrong. Sivers himself seems to have regretted how his talk was interpreted and posted this semi-retraction: https://sivers.org/zipit2 But identity-based goal or not, the conclusion that you make yourself less likely to achieve a goal by telling people about it defies common sense. I mean, here's the peer-reviewed science saying my common sense is wrong -- http://www.psych.nyu.edu/gollwitzer/09_Gollwi…

Not generalizing, but for me personally, I'll often tell people about my plans as a way to hold myself to them. If I keep it to myself, it's easy for me to talk myself out of it, but once it's out there to other people and I know they're going to ask me for followup, I can commit.

I always think this way, but once I make a commitment, now I basically have a deadline, which for me, causes the procrastination impulse to kick in, and it takes effort to fight it.

I think that telling someone I'm going to do something makes me want to do it a little bit less because now I'm doing it for them, not for myself.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#103

Post by v64 »

kyllo wrote: post #102
v64 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not generalizing, but for me personally, I'll often tell people about my plans as a way to hold myself to them. If I keep it to myself, it's easy for me to talk myself out of it, but once it's out there to other people and I know they're going to ask me for followup, I can commit.

I always think this way, but once I make a commitment, now I basically have a deadline, which for me, causes the procrastination impulse to kick in, and it takes effort to fight it. I think that telling someone I'm going to do something makes me want to do it a little bit less because now I'm doing it for them, not for myself.

Yeah, I think it's definitely something that will vary by personality. I'm somewhat of a people pleaser so the external motivation works well for me.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#104

Post by tighter_wires »

mindgam3 wrote: post #89

This very much depends on how motivated you are by external validation. For some people, the fear of losing social capital by not following through on a public commitment is motivating enough to accomplish stretch goals. Source: used this technique to overcome my own procrastination trying to launch my first app as a solo founder. It worked, and I went on to raised a million VC to see if I could scale up the vision o…

please tell me you called your app "GoalTender", if it involves payouts for social goals.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#105

Post by zarro »

How about keeping a plan secret makes you more motivated to accomplish it.

In the opposite case, you were already rewarded before the successful action, in this case, you will only get the reward once it succeeds. It forces you to focus on accomplishing instead of on giving off the appearance that you will be successful.

Although often the former may depend on the latter.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#106

Post by mindgam3 »

rubbingalcohol wrote: post #101
mindgam3 wrote: post #89

This very much depends on how motivated you are by external validation. For some people, the fear of losing social capital by not following through on a public commitment is motivating enough to accomplish stretch goals. Source: used this technique to overcome my own procrastination trying to launch my first app as a solo founder. It worked, and I went on to raised a million VC to see if I could scale up the vision o…

I announce my projects so people can tell me how stupid I am and it makes me more determined to succeed and show them how they are actually the ones who are stupid. I guess I'm petty like that.

I feel that. One could argue that all ambitious entrepreneur types are motivated at least partly by a burning desire to prove that the other guy or “the system” is in fact the asshole.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#107

Post by zarro »

viburnum wrote: post #64

Announcing plans is good because then you can actually get some satisfaction from it. You’re never going to accomplish anything anyway so you might as well take the happiness where you can get it.

I don't think that they understood your next level satire.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#108

Post by dzink »

The article linked is not the one of the actual study. Here is the actual study: https://s18798.pcdn.co/motivationlab/wp-content/uploads/site... A cursory look shows the study talks about identity projection and actions (law students given extra material and asked to watch it, are less likely to watch it if they have told their observer they are going to watch it). However the difference is 1 minute of less watching and could be attributed to other factors.

Additionally, the same author has published research 5 years later (https://s18798.pcdn.co/motivationlab/wp-content/uploads/site...) that explains goal projection in public places is helpful as " is part of our everyday life and is fostered by high-goal commitment, perceiving others as similar, and ongoing goal striving.". So it is one thing to say you are going to be better at something by own self-study, but another when you are actually pursuing something and need help to achieve it. Announcing something allows you to connect with others sharing the same goal to get help or community, and shows you continue to be committed.

Feel free to read the studies and see if you can draw other conclusions, but this is not as black and white as the article claims.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#109

Post by mindgam3 »

tighter_wires wrote: post #104
mindgam3 wrote: post #89

This very much depends on how motivated you are by external validation. For some people, the fear of losing social capital by not following through on a public commitment is motivating enough to accomplish stretch goals. Source: used this technique to overcome my own procrastination trying to launch my first app as a solo founder. It worked, and I went on to raised a million VC to see if I could scale up the vision o…

please tell me you called your app "GoalTender", if it involves payouts for social goals.

Not bad, except the thesis involved social capital, not actual cash.

The actual app was “mafia” branded, playing off of Mafia Wars which was big at the time. Your friends on the app would motivate you with virtual gifts and (naturally) virtual threats, like posting a dead fish on your wall.

Re: Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them (2009)

#110

Post by matwood »

I don't know about plans, but it does help to identify as 'the person who...' as long as those are the attributes you want. The person who executes or the person who is in shape or eats well are all positive traits that can be cultivated and self-reinforce. For me, there is more general bang for the popsci buck in the above than announcing plans.
Post reply on HN