The Self-Motivation Cycle

I've blogged before about the so-called Issue Attention Cycle and its possible consequences for the current era of nearly universal interest in environmental issues.  I experience something similar when it comes to my interest level in writing and other creative pursuits.  A big part of it is mental stimulation; both the summer when I started my first job, and this past summer when I transitioned up here to Microsoft, have been very productive periods.  (There might also be a Seasonal Affective Disorder angle, which would be unfortunate considering how little sunlight I'll be getting here in Seattle.)

As an example of the current downswing, I got motivated enough to sign up for Seattle Bioneers, a two-year-old satellite to the nineteen-year-old annual Bioneers event held in San Rafael, CA last weekend.  I learned ( lots of awesome stuff there )

...and I thought it would motivate me to change my life somehow, or at least follow up to learn more about the several interesting organizations I discovered.  But so far it hasn't worked out that way.  Today and Monday, I was able to talk myself into eating vegetarian meals at the Microsoft cafeteria (after having met someone wearing a "Real Environmentalists Don't Eat Meat" T-shirt at the conference), but Tuesday I met a chicken wrap I just couldn't resist.  Also, I felt like I should have been pumped enough about the event to post about it on Monday, but obviously that didn't work out either.

But!  I now have a plan to force myself into being more motivated.  In the past, the first thing I've done when logging onto my home computer in the evening is read the comics.  No more!  Henceforth, I will both read my email and do something else constructive before allowing myself to slack off for the rest of the evening.  That may go against Cecile Andrews's concept of unrushed living and real appreciation for leisure (she says Americans have forgotten how to just do nothing)...or then again it may not.  But I think I'll at least feel more like I'm getting somewhere with my life.