Every professional has different needs to create a productive environment. Some people need to be in an office to help them focus. Others need a quiet space. Social settings help inspire some people while nature can be a good outlet for others. As I continue writing more content for the Unintentional Calamity Project I find that my needs to inspire creativity and cultivate motivation are not being met. In an attempt to solve the problem, here’s an outline of my professional motivation triggers and what might help me (and others reading this) explain how motivation works.

Self Evaluation

One thing that an undergraduate degree does not prepare a student for is how to grade oneself. It is always left up to teachers to say how good or bad a project was. In a sense, self-worth (at least in the lens of GPA) gets tied to an outside source. Regardless of how a student feels about their work, the outside opinion is the only one that matters. This makes sense, as teachers who have more domain knowledge can do a better job at judging how much progress was made and where a given student should be.

After graduation, this outside perspective is practically non-existent. If a student is lucky enough, the company they end up at might actually have bosses who want to help their employees grow by giving a healthy feedback system. Unfortunately, it feels that more often than not, that student will only have feedback from a mentor or friend if they ask. This is a huge shift in how a student learns to improve. Rather than depending on a teacher to give advice, the student now must spend a majority of the time making sure they are meeting a standard that was previously made for them.

I find that as I progress throughout this project, it is hard to set standards for myself. I did not have four years of professional writing experience, so it is hard to gauge if my timeline is reasonable. Additionally, there is no expectation that this project finishes. This skill of self-evaluation outside my main domain is a huge barrier towards being motivated to complete this project.

Making a Path

For many Americans, life is pretty structured for a young person. Parents start developing their child by outlining the things they do in their life. Teachers cultivate skills and inspire that child to become the best professional and active citizen they can be. Friends and extended family provide social support to help a person flourish in a new environment. All of this typically is provided until one moment when everything is taken away. It’s the equivalent of ripping a rug from under someone’s feet. One moment, you can see where the path is leading you. Someone else dug out the rut that you’ve been trudging in. The next moment, you are completely lost.

That is the feeling that I currently have. Without teachers to support, academic peers to provide feedback, or active people to inspire my personal motivation, it is hard to want to continue making a path to follow. Before being on my own, it was really easy to follow that predefined path. Now there is a lot more work involved from digging the ground up to planning where I should go next.

I realize that my motivation to dig a path is almost non-existent. Sometimes, I just have to bite the bullet and do something I really would rather avoid. Path building might never be something I want to do alone, but when I do finally dig it feels much less menacing to find where I should step next.

Slowing Down

College is intense. Even if classes don’t provide a lot of homework, there is so much going on. Events are constantly being hosted, friends are out partying, life is new, and there is so much to explore. As first years grow into second years and third years, that pace tends to slow down. Students become more focused on their studies, but they still stay active. In reality, it is not unusual for a student to be doing some type of activity (studying, exercising, partying) from dawn to dusk.

Life after school is different. It isn’t a short burst of four years. Instead, it is the long haul. While it would be fun to keep going at the pace school pushes people to go, it is okay to slow down. Staying up until ten every night trying to study isn’t always the most healthy habit.

Despite taking better care of yourself after school because there is less going on, motivation doesn’t necessarily carry over. It’s hard to get back into motion when you aren’t in that fast paced life. For this project, I am taking it slower as the current pandemic is stressful and a lot is going on at the national level. When there is open racism and so much hurt and hate, the atmosphere can have an affect on people’s mental health. Getting used to the new pace, but not stopping, is a hard to handle. Regardless, it is something I have to work on.

The Motivation Rut

The combination of learning how to self-evaluate, forge my own path, and slowing down without stopping have put me in a motivational rut. Everyone has weaknesses, I just happen to be confronting mine only a month after graduation. Now that these points have been identified, hopefully I will be able to climb my way out of this motivation rut that I currently find myself in.