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

What motivates you? What would make you do more?

Interesting 5 minute video - http://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg#p/a/u/0/u6XAPnuFjJc

What motivates me? Depends. Maintenance of the status quo? Getting on with going to work because it means I've earned my time off and money to spend on the days I dont work?

Oh, and boredom sometimes.

Cant see the vid though so I dont know what your context is...?

The vid is a short presentation claiming that financial bonuses only work for dull, repetitive work. Where work requires a bit of thinking or creativity, financial rewards are counter-productive and it's better to empower the worker. It goes some way to explaining why people contribute time and resources to things like Wiki, Linux and the Edited Guide for free.

Why I get out of bed in the morning?

My cat is very loud.

Financial bonuses have never made me work harder, I work as per the interest I have in the job, which is possibly what the video explores (I'm after 5 mins is way too long for my internet attention span).

But I always appreciate getting a bonus, or when I was a cabbie, and now I'm a dog walker, a good tip. I got a bonus at the Beeb once, and having never had an annual bonus before or since (the other years at the Beeb were pay rises or I was on short term contracts) I was pretty disgusted they'd even bothered paying it, as it wasn't even a week's wages! I'd worked really hard that year too, as there was a staff member missing from the team. Couldn't believe they thought 4 day's extra wages was a 'bonus' so when I handed my notice in, in July, and they said didn't I want to stay another month so I could get the annual bonus I laughed in the woman's face.

But I digress....

If I was doing boring work, no amount of money would compensate for the sheer dullness. Both of the jobs I've had that bored me stupid were better paying than other similar jobs I'd had, yet it's not enough. I'd rather be happy and interested, and lower paid, than BORED *ALL* *DAY* *LONG* and having more money.

Don't know where that stray 'I'm after' came from, but I forgot to answer the main question.

I get up in the morning for my dogs and family. Er, yes, that's the right order. J's a teenacher, so other Mums of teens should understand that one...

I usually get out of bed because my joints are too sore to keep lying still

But generally it's because there are so many things to be done. Many more things than I can fit into a life. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not, it's rarely dull though.

Robyn, the video is also about how different people have different senses of time, whether they live in the past, present or future. Worth a look if you get the chance.


The thing about Italy is a crack up. "We in the North do all the work so we want to chop the country in half"

I get out of bed ... basically when I wake, laying in bed awake is boring... if I had a job, any kind of job I'd probably wake earlier and so get up earlier at the moment I'm being lazy and not bothering to wake up until about 9 AM mainly because its then so hard to try and find things to fill the day with

Ah, interesting, I'll see what I can do later then

In that sense... Hm. Once I'm satisfied I've been in bed long enough, once I'm sated with being warm, cosy, comfy and denying that anything else exists to do except to luxuriate in comfort and *imagining* all the things I might do... Then I'll start thinking about what I can do when I get up (work notwithstanding).

Although nowadays my boyfriend gets up so early, it's usually a case of lying there awake and seeing how long it'll take before he comes back through and has a cuddle, then we get up together...

Because I have to.

My children gave me a mug which says 'I love mornings. I just wish they came later in the day.' Which sums me up perfectly. I have *never* been able to get out of bed with anything approaching enthusiasm, regardless of the weather, my personal circumstances, my job (and I love my job), or how much sleep I've had.

Once I'm up, though, I find it difficult to get back into bed, even when it's way past a reasonable bedtime. Bad case of inertia, not solvable by money.

Mol

Generally, it's because I'm late for work.

Other days it's because I really need to pee.

I like my bed. Does it show?

Bed is a wonderful place when you're in it by choice

Actually that* is true... when its nice and warm in bed, I don't desperatly need a pee, and its freezing cold nice winter outside the relms of my duck down and goose feather bedness... then the main reason I useually get out of bed is to pick the netbook up and leap back into bed in order to go online Even then though... hunger normally gets me up eventually ... that or needing the loo

Ahhhhhh. Bedpans

Bedpans? If I'm that* desperate I just wet myself... its even easier...
Actually... do bedpans still exist?

Badpans- reminds me of a conversation I had (and subsequently wished I hadn't) with a bloke who used to come into the pub where I worked. He was in a foul mood because he'd ruined all his tapes (people of a certain age will know what those are ). I asked him how he'd managed that.

He told me he'd woken up in the night and had knocked over his cola bottle. He then explained to me that the bottle didn't actually contain cola- he kept an empty bottle by his bed so he didn't have to get up in the night to pee!! He was a particularly heavy drinker r too, so the bottle in question was a fairly full two litre specimen.

Anyhoo- why do I get out of bed in the mornings? I suppose, because it's expected of me. Without me doing so, industry would crumble, the people would be leaderless, the planet would be at the mercy of every intergalactic villain with a big pointy stick. No, not really. Someone has to make the tea ....

How could he possible manage to pee in a coke bottle in the middle of the night when most men can't manage to pee within a normal sized toilet and not miss?

Because I don't want to have to clean dog piss out the carpet, mostly.

Bladder weakness.

To make a cup of tea which I then take back to bed with me!