h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I'm being apathetic at work (I'm lawyer), I find that it is helpful to go to my journal file (basically, a diary I keep on the computer) and type out the work I need to do and the fact I'm avoiding it (e.g., "Right now I am avoiding drafting the software license for client xxx. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't seem to make myself open the file..."). For some reason, once I've got it written out, I can see for myself that I'm not getting anywhere avoiding the work so I can get down to it...unless of course I'm avoiding work because of a pre-occupation with something going on in my personal life, but the journalling works there, too. I write out what's bothering me in excruciating detail, then write down the fact that it's making me waste time and avoid work, which eventually leads me to get started on the work.

When I'm being apathetic about housework, I recall or re-read to myself the opening chapter of Cheryl Mendelson's housekeeping manual _Home Comforts_. The opening chapter includes a philosophical defence of housework as meaningful, rewarding, and universally appropriate to all persons, whether male or female, working outside the home, etc. That usually reminds me of why one does housework and makes me appreciate the fruits of my labour when I finish.

When I'm being apathetic about exercise... well, sadly, I haven't found anything that works consistently in this area of my life. Sometimes recalling to myself the times I've enjoyed the particular activity (a particularly beautiful day jogging by the Ottawa river, for example) or when I've been rewarded by the activity (e.g., using handweights all one summer which led to muscle definition in my arms for the first time in my life) can get me going. Sometimes scaring myself by thinking about how big and flabby I'm getting will motivate me. But like I said, some days nothing works and I find myself falling back on cop-outs like "I walk to work -- that's better than nothing" or "Sure, I'm inactive now, but I was pretty active last summer... the benefits haven't faded entirely yet, surely". If someone has a surefire way to move past apathy in exercise, I'd be glad to hear it.

Indigo S.

that's the first post I've read that says to me 'this could work for you'. I'll try these tips Indigo

Pimms

That is good advice Indigo.

I can add a few tips to that.

1) When I'm being apathetic at work/procastinating I find it really helps to take an hour and clear my desk of the accumulated things to do, make some neat piles, file some stuff, write a to do list. After that I generally feel better and am capable of doing some productive work.

2) Tell other people that you need to do a certain task. I hate going to the dentist and had been putting it off for 12 months. To conquer this, I told my girlfriend, my mother and the secretaries at work that I needed to go to the dentist. After two weeks of non-stop reminders and nagging I cracked and went. It's pathetic, I admit it, but it did work for me. (Happy ending - no fillings )

3) Apathy at home. Apathy in terms of going out, doing sport. Two key things - firstly creating a routine - build your exercise into things that you do every week, preferably where you meet other people, so you'll feel you're letting them down if you don't turn up.

Secondly just force yourself out of the house. Tell yourself you'll enjoy it when you get there/afterwards even if you have to go through the rain and cold to get there. Once you're out of the house, you'll be able to get on with things no problem.

4) Boring stuff. At the moment I have a lot of boring and bureacratic things to do in order to prepare some travel in Africa. I know I need to do two things a day to get it all done in time. So I set myself that target, do the two things and then forget about it for the rest of the day. Much better than making myself sick of the whole trip by trying to do it all at once.

5) Indulge now and then. Time spent doodling, sleeping, wasting time on H2G2, or reading a fun book helps recharge batteries and remain creative. Many of my best ideas come to me in the bath or during a weekend lie-in. A life that is 100% efficient, would, I submit, be awfully sad.

Sprout

Hello there everyone -

There are some fantastic tips here, but I thought I'd pick up on what Indigo said about avoiding exercise... I have a 3-part strategy here.

Firstly, you've got to know why you exercise, or do any activity that requires discipline. With exercise, it may be helpful to set measurable goals to focus on (e.g. run 10k in 45 minutes or something) so it might be handy to enter yourself in the local 10k race or something. And then tell people you've entered so you can't get out of it.

Then secondly, when you're tempted to skive off, you use 'WARRIOR MIND'. I read about this in some mountain-climber's book. Tell yourself a normal person would stay in bed but you are special kind of person, you are a WARRIOR and as such you are happy to endure small discomforts in order to achieve your goal from part 1. Then grit your teeth, get out of bed and get on with it. If you can't find the motivation now, you need to question if your goal is something that you really want.

And thirdly, after you've shaken off your inertia, remember how it feels. You're probably just enjoyed the exercise and felt really good about it, so hold that feeling and use it as reinforcement when it comes to stage 2.

I think the problem with going down the gym is that lots of people don't know why they want to be there, and vanity is not normally a strong enough reason. Then the gym just takes your membership fee. But if you say to yourself, I'm doing these squats so I can spend 20% more time on the slopes on my next skiing holiday (and thus get 20% more holiday for the same money), then you'll do them.

I know this sounds corny but it works for me... I've got to the stage now where I have to stop myself from exercising because my mind wants to push my body harder than it will go.

Cheers

BB

"I've got to the stage now where I have to stop myself from exercising ..."

I would have said that sounds corny, but I've had a similar experience. Normally my daily workout includes running on a track just behind our house. But when the weather doesn't allow that, e.g. too hot in the summer if I don't get up early, I ride an exercise bike. To get my mind off this boring activity, I've found that playing a video game while I ride can cause me to go PAST my goal distance on the odometer. The mindless television shows don't work, but some of the videotaped lectures can work, e.g. from The Teaching Company.

Steve

I do agree with what you're saying. It makes the exercise seem a lot easier, too, if you're concentrating on something else. I suppose that's why running with someone else is much less work, because you've got someone to talk to.

Peculiarly enough, I read in a book about running that top athletes tend to avoid disassociating during a race, even a distance, endurance race; they tend to be more 'present in the moment', concentrating fully on their own performance and the competition. I certainly go to the other extreme - thinking about anything else to get away from the pain! - but I guess that just goes to show I'm not too much of an athlete when it all comes down to it.

Cheers

BB