{"id":48028,"date":"2021-08-31T11:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T15:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=48028"},"modified":"2021-09-09T15:18:23","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T19:18:23","slug":"how-to-increase-intrinsic-motivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-increase-intrinsic-motivation\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel H. Pink on How to Increase Intrinsic Motivation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is intrinsic motivation<\/a>? What are the three elements of intrinsically motivated behavior? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the name suggests, intrinsic motivation is an internal drive to perform a behavior or engage in an activity. According to Daniel H. Pink, the author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us<\/em>, there are three components of intrinsic motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the book, he gives a number of tips on how to increase intrinsic motivation. We\u2019ve grouped them into three categories: 1) personal motivation, 2) motivation in the workplace<\/a>, and 3) motivation with your children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Increasing Your Personal Intrinsic Motivation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are exercises to bring more intrinsic motivation into your life and make necessary changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your sentence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A congresswoman once told President JFK, \u201ca great man is a sentence. Lincoln\u2019s was: \u2018he preserved the union and freed the slaves.\u2019 FDR\u2019s was: \u2018he lifted us out of the Great Depression<\/a> and helped us win a world war.\u2019 What is your sentence?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your sentence? What is the one thing you want to accomplish or be known for?<\/strong> You may need to reorganize your life to focus on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you get better today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In pursuit of your sentence, you\u2019ll need a lot of small tasks and setbacks. To keep yourself motivated<\/a>, ask yourself at the end of the day: \u201care you better today than you were yesterday?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write down your small incremental steps, like learning 10 foreign words, or running two laps. Remind yourself you won\u2019t be a master<\/a> by day 3, and that mastery is a journey of a thousand steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider taking a sabbatical.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people work hard for 40 years, spending the final 25 years in retirement. But why not take retirement 5 years later than you otherwise would, and sprinkle 5 years of sabbatical throughout your career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking a year off might give you valuable time for personal exploration and unstick you from the rat race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conduct deliberate practice<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to improve is to apply effort <\/em>toward improving performance. Don\u2019t just blindly do the same thing over and over again. Conduct deliberate practice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Set a stretch goal. Remember that the goal of practice is to improve performance, not to go through the motions. You need to strain yourself to reach higher each time.<\/li>
  2. Understand your weaknesses, and direct your effort there.<\/li>
  3. Apply full concentration and effort. It\u2019s going to be mentally and physically exhausting – but that\u2019s why most people don\u2019t do it, and that\u2019s how you\u2019ll get better.<\/li>
  4. Receive immediate and informative feedback. This will point out how to improve.<\/li>
  5. Repeat, with discipline. Mastery is the sum of thousands of small events, done day in and day out.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Improving Intrinsic Motivation In Your Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some tips on how to increase intrinsic motivation in your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Give 20% Time for Self-Chosen Projects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If 20% time is too extreme of a transition, just start with 10% time, limited to a receptive small group of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Turn an Off-Site into a Fedex Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many off-sites fee like awkward forced-fun days. Instead, set aside the day for when employees can choose what to work on, with the only rule being that they must deliver. They can deliver a new idea, a prototype, a better process, or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Conduct Anonymous Surveys of Autonomy and Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ask questions like \u201chow much autonomy do you have over your tasks at work\u201d and \u201cwhat is our organization\u2019s purpose?\u201d If you\u2019re a manager, it\u2019ll likely be surprising how inaccurately you perceive your workers to feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Give Yourself Performance Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019d be crazy to imagine an athlete like Lebron James getting feedback or coaching just once a year, in a 1-hour session. Try to seek more management feedback for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In addition, give yourself performance reviews. Set performance and learning goals at the beginning of the month, and then evaluate your performance at the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Encourage Peer-to-Peer Rewards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Add a policy such that at any point, an employee can award any other employee a $50 bonus after doing good work. This has two benefits: 1) it avoids the flaws of contingent rewards and 2) it carries a different meaning coming from colleagues instead of from managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Involve Employees in Goal Setting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bring employees into the goal-setting process. This will give them ownership over goals and make them feel more driven toward accomplishing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Design for the Majority of People who are Good, Not the Minority who are Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many companies set policies to minimize downside \u2013 to prevent slackers from taking too much vacation or getting distracted when working at home. The problem is, people often naturally react to restrictions by pushing the limits of rules, looking for ways to game the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But if you\u2019re hiring well, the majority of people should be behaving well, and the rest you should probably terminate. So design policies to assume trust by default. People will reciprocate the respect and trust they receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Introduce Changes Intelligently<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re an employee, you might feel powerless to change the entire scope of your company. Here are tips on how to achieve<\/a> change:<\/p>\n\n\n\n