The idea was to test out my working strategy on my MPI306 animation assignment. After all, that was what I designed my strategy for. However, by week 8 I noticed something wasn’t quite right. My strategy remained the same and I believed it was very straightforward and foolproof, but my problem was that I hadn’t started anything. My working strategy appears to work, but without motivation to use it, it is worth nothing.

So that is my next area of research: motivation.

In all honesty I am not surprised that I didn’t use my working strategy. I did think that I would do the work because I went to the trouble of creating a strategy, but apparently I need more than that. Admittedly I’ve had a lot of personal problems this year, this term in particular, and this hasn’t helped motivate me to do my uni work.

I am thinking the best plan of attack would be to class my personality traits and working habits and work from there to find a way that I can motivate myself. I am deferring the first 6 months of next year, which is a start. I believe that I am tired after 16 years of schooling and that some time off might refresh myself – though that remains to be seen. This assignment will continue well after the due date as I want to find a way to motivate myself.

MOTIVATION

As I mentioned previously I think the best way for me to find a way to motivate myself would be to ‘study’ myself and discover what my personality is like and how it affects my motivation. To do this I have taken a number of tests and self evaluation checklists on the internet. I don’t consider them entirely legitimate, but I do believe they are valid enough to show a trend in results which can therefore give me a semi accurate image of what I am like. And I myself know what I am like, so I can vouch for their accuracy.

I found the following checklist from Virginia Tech University, Virginia, USA. It is rather basic but I think it is useful for pinpointing areas that could be affecting my motivation.

MOTIVATION CHECKLIST

The following checklist may prove helpful in getting at the sources of poor motivation. If you want to improve your motivation you may want to choose a self-directed improvement program or use the information as a focus for counselling.

1. Really preferring something other than attending this university:

N Would prefer not to go to college.

N Would rather attend another college.

Y Would prefer a different kind of training.

2. College as means to ends other than learning:

N To avoid getting a job

Y To find a mate

Y To have a good time

Y To get away from home

N To prove self-worth

3. Distracting personal problems:

N Conflict with same sex

Y Conflict with opposite sex

Y Conflict with parents

N Lack of confidence

Y Undefined resistance to college

N Angry at the world

Y Overuse of drugs or alcohol

Y Fear of evaluation

Y Difficulty in making decisions

Y Lack of financial resources

N Marriage problems

N Phobias and other anxieties

Y Insecurity

N Loneliness

4. Lack of interest

Y Undefined vocational goals

Y Undefined educational goals

Y Course material is not what I think is important

N Interest in school is not the “in” thing among my friends.

5. Continuing self-defeating behavior patterns:

Y Excessive dependence on parents or others

Y Fear as a motivator

Y Parents as motivators

Y Grades or academic achievement as motivator

Y High school habits

[http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/motivate.html]

I have put Y (yes) or N (no) next to each point as I feel it applies to me. Some affect me more than others, but all in all I appear to have a lot obstructing me from my main goal, which is getting through university.

I had no idea I had so many things negatively affecting my university degree until I completed this checklist. I knew I had problems with everything I ticked ‘yes’ to, but I had never thought to expose them all in one place and evaluate how they are affecting me.

MOTIVATION AND CONCENTRATION

Quick-Scoring Achievement Motivation Quiz

While taking the quiz below keep track of your score on a sheet of paper.

Points

1. 0 I have no clear goals in life.

1 I have a general idea of a career in which I want to succeed

2 I have set daily objectives which advance me toward my long-term goals.

3 I set daily, weekly and quarterly goals which will advance me toward my long-term goals.

2. 0 I am too proud to accept help, no matter how stuck or lost I get.

1 I will accept help, but only when it’s offered.

2 I actively seek out expert help whenever I get stuck or lost

3 I am acquainted with most campus resources and regularly use them without becoming dependent upon them.

3. 0 I tend to give up after the first setback.

1 I eventually bounce back from a setback after a period of immobilization.

2 I analyze my setbacks instead of kicking myself or blaming others.

3 A setback inspires me to try again, using new methods if needed.

4. 0 My fantasies about career success are limited to scenes from

“Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”

1 My fantasies about career success include practical details of my future world of work.

2 My fantasies about career success include thinking about practical steps I can take on a daily basis.

3 My fantasies about career success include long-range, intermediate, and daily plans to reach my goals.

5. 0 Most of my goals are so high that I seldom reach them or so low that I

reach them with very little effort.

1 At least some of my goals are moderately difficult – high enough to challenge me but low enough not to overwhelm me with anxiety.

2 Most of my goals are moderately difficult.

3 Most of my goals are moderately difficult, and increase their difficulty as I reach them.

Scoring:

0 Points – If you don’t crawl out from under the doormat and join the human race, you will have about as much a chance at success as a slug with a lobotomy.

1-5 Points – The beginning stages of the blue-chip mindset are showing. Still a ways to go though.

6-10 Points – You’re on the way, but watch out – success can be addictive.

11-15 Points – Blue-chip material. You can turn your dreams into reality.

From The Blue Chip Graduate by Bill Osher and Sioux Henley Campbell

[http://www.ucs.umn.edu/lasc/handouts/achievement.html]

Unfortunately for me, I scored a total of 0 points which apparently makes me on par with a lobotomised slug. Silly metaphors aside, it has highlighted the fact that I really don’t have any solid goals in my life. I want to earn myself some money, work hard, have a career, etc, but I don’t have a plan of attack to get myself there. When I imagine myself in a few years time, I see myself enjoying the spoils of my hard work. What that hard work actually consists of remains to be seen.

I am wary of this kind of quiz as I tend to take a negative approach to questions about my work and uni, which means I chose the most negative responses I can give. Today I was asked what I had been up to lately, and I replied “failing all my subjects”. This is definitely not the case, but I seem to like the drama.

However, this isn’t to say that I don’t deserve the results I got for this test. This quiz has made me realise that I need to start planning my long and short term goals better than I have been. Locating the things that are lowering my motivation and recognising that I have little or no plans for my future has made me decide to try and find a way to turn things around. I believe it is called being proactive.

STRESS

While researching motivation I came across the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) by Thomas Holmes & Richard Rahe. It is a list of 43 life events that each have a different numerical value assigned to them in ranking order. To complete the evaluation you need to highlight which events have happened to you in the last 12 months and add up the points next to them to find your final score.

“If your score is 300 or more, statistically you stand an almost 80% chance of getting sick in the near future. If you score is 150 to 299, the chances are about 50%. At less than 150, about 30%. This scale seems to suggest that change in oneÕs life requires an effort to adapt and then an effort to regain stability.” [http://www.ucs.umn.edu/lasc/handouts/socialreadjustment.html]

The scale is below. I found several slightly different versions of it, but the top 38 or so are always the same regardless of what version is being taken. There is also the option to create your own event and assign points to it as you see fit (though it is important to remain within reason – for example a pet running away is not worth 70 points, etc).

Assessment:

1. Death of a spouse 100

2. Divorce 73

3. Marital Separation 65

4. Jail term 63

5. Death of a close family member 63

6. Personal injury or illness 53

7. Marriage 50

8. Fired at work 47

9. Marital reconciliation 45

10. Retirement 45

11. Change in health of family member 44

12. Pregnancy 40

13. Sex difficulties 39

14. Gain of a new family member 39

15. Business readjustments 39

16. Change in financial state 38

17. Death of a close friend 37

18. Change to different line of work 36

19. Change in no. of arguments with spouse 35

20. Mortgage over $ 50,000 31

21. Foreclosure of mortgage 30

22. Change in responsibilities at work 29

23. Son or daughter leaving home 29

24. Trouble with in-laws 29

25. Outstanding Personal achievements 28

26. Wife begins or stops work 26

27. Begin or end school 26

28. Change in living conditions 25

29. Revision of personal habits 24

30. Trouble with boss 23

31. Change in work hours or conditions 20

32. Change in residence 20

33. Change in school 20

34. Change in recreation 19

35. Change in religious activities 19

36. Change in social activities 18

37. Loan less than 50,000 17

38. Change in sleeping habits 16

39. Change in no. of family get- together 15

40. Change in eating habits 15

41. Vacation 13

42. Holidays 12

43. Minor violation of laws 11

[http://chipts.ucla.edu/assessment/Assessment_Instruments/Assessment_files_new/assess_srrs.htm]

I scored 334 however this isn’t considering the fact that a lot of what I ticked isn’t as bad as what is being implied by the test. In reality I think I would have scored around 284 or so once you take some points away from a few of the events I selected.

This shows me that I have about a 50% chance of becoming ill in the near future. More importantly it shows me that I have been under a lot of stress this year, which means that my study problems are more than just a lack of motivation. Or more accurately, my motivation has been affected by the life events that have occurred to me during these past 12 months.

SOLUTION

Now I have established what is causing my lack of motivation I can attempt to find a way for me to adjust my habits and ability to cope with stress. By doing this I can ensure my motivation is not affected by the events in my life.

The first step is to take care of myself by making my body as healthy as I can. I have perused several sites and they all suggest regular exercise, good sleep and healthy eating as ways to protect your body from stress. Exercise allows you to release tension, sleep stops you from becoming delirious and blowing your problems out of proportion, and eating well helps you to function at a basic level you need.

In a way, this is very much like Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs.png]

This year I have had trouble with some of the needs in Esteem and Love/Belonging, and this has affected the way I approach the needs in the Self-actualisation category.

I believe that by going home for the first 6 months of next year I can meet the needs I have been neglecting/missing this year. This will prepare me to completely give myself to the needs at the top of the pyramid, much like I did in my first year of uni. And then I will hopefully make use of the working strategy I created for myself, though only time will tell.

“If you know exactly what you are going to do, what is the point of doing it?” – Picasso  

I have trouble with both written research and creative practical assignments. As a result I have decided to research a working method that is structured so that it is comprehensive to encourage thoroughness yet flexible so as to be applied to both kinds of work.

I have begun creating a rough sketch of what the preproduction and production process of my assignments should be like. For this part of my research I have been referencing exclusively from Research and Composition: A Guide for the Beginning Researcher.

At the moment my reasearch is split into three sections: Ideas, Research and Time Management. Ideas and Research can be performed simultaneously or seperately (one after the other) depending on the assignment, with Ideas being more applicable to practical creative assignments than written research assignments.

Ideas (practical creative assignments)

I have a lot of trouble coming up with ideas for my creative assignments. Usually I have a vague image of a still from a scene in my head that is unattached to a story or an articulated event. Rather, it is a snapshot of something I find interesting (such as a fight scene or a stormy beach etc) asking me to design a story around it which more often than not is too difficult a challenge for me to meet. So essentially it is not finding the idea that is my problem. Rather, it is the development of an idea into a coherent story/script that is the biggest hurdle in my creative process.

So far I have found one way of combatting this mental block. I am yet to test it out, so it remains a theory for the time being. I have decided that going to the library and looking through creative books and videos (such as photography, fine art, cinema, and poetry) could assist me in finding ways to develop my ideas into finished works.

The visual stimulants (photography, fine art, cinema etc) could help me with visualising my thoughts. This means I would have a better idea of character and set concepts and for the composition of scenes for storyboarding. Obviously the idea is not to copy another artists work. It is about gaining an idea of what is acceptable aesthetically and what is original (and cliched, so you know what to avoid). It also helps to see other completed works to get an idea of how to tell a story both visually and structurally (does it have to be told in a linear fashion or could you tell the story from end to the beginning or from someone elses perspective etc). Of course, this would only be helpful if the student is willing to analyse and learn from the resources.

Written works (scripts, stories and poetry) are helpful with providing examples of how well written pieces should sound. This means the student can get an idea of what sounds good and what does not sound so good. They can also learn about grammar and different writing styles (such as prose, haiku and ballad). A brilliant piece of work could have started as a small idea that turned into a poem, then a story, then a script. Reading a wide variety of writings allows you to develop an idea with ease using the techniques you learn from those writings.

All of the practical and written works mentioned above could also provide inspiration for the student, and a formula to work to if they are unsure of how to go about their work in the beginning.

Research (written research assignments and some practical creative assignments)

Once you have your idea or have been given your research assignment question it is a good idea to research your topic. A good place to start is the encyclopaedia. An encyclopaedia will give you a general overview of what you are researching. Research should never end with the encyclopaedia! Once you have an understanding of the topic you can use the encyclopaedia to direct you to other resources. For example, in the topic of vampires the encyclopaedia might mention the names of some specific vampires or vampire countries that you may wish to research further.

Additional research can be done in the library and on the internet, though it is important to be cautious when using the internet as some sites are not as trustworthy as others when it comes to the legitimacy of their information.

For the most part I use Google to search the web for sites. Google seems to be the most reliable engine for returning relevant and usable sites, but you still need to be careful. I also use SIGRAPH and CTHEORY to find information online. These sites provide entry to a good database of articles and writings on many different topics.

Time Management (written research assignments and practical creative assignments)

As I mentioned in my last post I am terrible with time management. As a part of my research into finding a better working method for myself I am looking into ways I can save time so I can spend it on being more productive.

So far I have learned the importance of aquainting yourself with your library and the services it provides. It seems very simple however, I have to admit that I didn’t attempt to use the uni library until second year, all because I decided to skip the library tour in O-week and was too scared to go in and ask the librarians for their help. So I spent first year commuting to and from the National Library in Canberra every so often to do my research for my assignments. Was the uni library as hard as I thought it would be? Not at all. Those hours I spent driving to my resources could have been spent with my resources being productive. I have learned that every hour counts.

Something else I have learned since first year is the importance of keeping an organised and readily available copy of your bibliography. This saves hours of poring over pages of notes in an attempt to find a resource to add to your bibliography or to rehire. This also works for quotes. Keeping page numbers and titles with each quote can save a lot of time at the end. There is nothing more frustrating than finishing an assignment only to realise you have 5 unsourced quotes and 20 resources to go through to find them.

Areas I need to research are: preproduction and motivational techniques. I will also provide a diagram illustrating how the working method I am developing for myself can be applied to both practical creative assignments and written research assignments.

Inglish, J., Jackson, J., Research and Composition: A Guide for the Beginning Researcher, Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, 1977

Problem:

“if you know exactly what you are going to do, what is the point of doing it?” – Picasso

This quote sums up the attitude I have developed during my time at university towards work. It is my working method and my excuse.

As a working procedure it is both fantastic and flawed. I enjoy it because it allows me to excuse myself from conventional working practices (in my case preproduction and pipelining). As a result I can concentrate on making works using intuition rather than pre-planning. In my experience this way of working appears to be favoured by those who are more creative than technical.

However, this way of working is flawed because of its lack of respect for preproduction and the purpose it serves. Skipping the preproduction stage can result in misguided hours being put into projects that amount to nothing, which can be very frustrating for everyone involved. As a working method for university it is particularly inefficient because the nature of the marking process can involve regular presentations of works in progress.

It is difficult for a lecturer to guage the potential success or failure of a work if they do not have continued access to it over the period before it is due. This does not necessarily pose a problem to someone using the working method being discussed as it is possible to present what work has been done (as opposed to presenting a storyboard or script of what work will be done). The marker can then achieve some idea of what the end product is going to be, even if the subject of the work is not yet finite.

However, in my case this working method does cause a problem. I do not bother with preproduction because I wait for an idea to present itself to me that I can run with. This would not be a problem were I to find inspiration early on. But I have noticed over the past 3 semesters that this is not the case. Overwhelmed for choice, I sit on an idea until another more interesting one comes along. I am flighty with my choices, each idea stimulates me for a short period of time before it becomes a chore to complete, at which point I tend to abandon it in favour of another.

I get frustrated because due dates draw close and I have no work to show for my work in progress and no ideas for a story. Yet I refuse to attempt to write up a script, block it and complete it because I don’t like knowing what I am going to end up with.

Solution:

I need to find a way I can work that allows me to feel like I can adapt what I am creating as I create it. I dislike preproduction because it ruins the surprise of what I am creating for myself – I enjoy never knowing exactly what I am going to end up with.

As a result, I must find a working strategy that includes or can be manipulated to include the essence of Picasso’s quote (which is essentially a summary of my current working method) while offering a way to introduce more structure into what I am doing so that I am always creating and expanding ideas rather than sitting on them and suffocating them.

Areas I need to research are: time management, preproduction, aquiring ideas and motivational techniques to keep myself on track.