Self Motivation the Mathematical Way

Posted by Justin Dickinson on July 5, 2007 in Productivity

Problogger recently posted on a technique to maintain personal productivity through a daily point system. I love this idea. I do think that the system detailed there is a bit ambitious for a novice blogger. Here’s my modified system. In true Justin style, it’s probably more complicated than necessary.

Aim for 25 points a day during the week and 75 points over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) for a week long total of 200. In this system, you can do 20 points one day and 30 the next. Each week it restarts though, this aren’t cell minutes.

10 points for a “real” blog post. That means one that is not a linking post (like this one), is at least a page long, and is based on some research or a couple drafts.
10 points for starting or continuing a pet project or personal experiment (new recipe if you’re a chef, a widget or something similar for us digital cooks)
10 points for completing a project ahead of schedule.
10 points on going out with friends you haven’t seen in at least a week (real life going out. not electronic)
5 points for a linking or other short blog post.
5 points for new networking
5 points for completing a project on time
3 points for each blog draft outline (more than just bullet points, a decent rough draft)
3 points for each old friend or colleague you reconnect with (email, phone, facebook, linkedin). Try to have a good back and forth conversation, not just a ‘hey there’
3 points for contacting a fellow blogger or professional in your industry
2 points each for commenting on blogs in your industry
1 point for commenting on your own blog (this counts for other author’s posts if you contribute to a group blog like I do)
1 point for each industry-specific article you read (and bookmark to del.icio.us). I mean really read, like, you could summarize it in conversation over dinner.
1 point for each term, historical event, new technology, etc you research with intent to incorporate into a blog post.
1 point for every great idea you write down
1 point for completing a task on your to-do list that doesn’t fall into any category above (smaller, miscellaneous tasks)