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Understanding yourself is beneficial for self-reflection and your career. Knowing what motivates you and understanding your strengths can enhance your task performance and increase your enjoyment. Your drive is powered by both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Identifying what fuels your motivation can boost your productivity, as it is the force that guides behaviour.
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation stems from internal satisfaction derived from task completion, not from external rewards or punishment avoidance. The three primary elements of intrinsic motivation are autonomy, purpose, and mastery. Individuals who are intrinsically motivated act independently, believe their efforts are meaningful, and derive satisfaction from honing their skills.
For example, I enjoy overcoming challenges and acquiring new skills. I often set personal goals such as creating web-based games and participating in coding contests such as Advent of Code. Additionally, I study quantum computing out of personal interest, not for the pursuit of a degree or job.
I am highly motivated when I encounter interesting challenges and opportunities to learn something new. This allows me to focus for extended periods and easily achieve a state of flow. However, without the satisfaction of acquiring a new skill, I may struggle to begin tasks and my mind may drift while working on them.
Working in a team greatly boosts my motivation. Collaboration enhances my drive as it fosters a sense of belonging and yields satisfaction from jointly accomplishing a goal. This added accountability encourages me to complete tasks on time. Furthermore, fulfilling my responsibilities prevents me from feeling like I’m letting the team down.
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation is driven by external rewards or consequences. These rewards can be tangible, like money or grades, or intangible, like praise or recognition. Examples of extrinsic motivation include the desire to win competitions or prizes, earn loyalty points or discounts, or avoid negative outcomes such as punishments or fines.
Extrinsic rewards can effectively motivate individuals to start or complete a project in the short term. Implementing consequences for missed deadlines may further encourage timely task completion. Additionally, gamifying your to-do list by earning points and rewards for completed tasks can add an element of fun and motivation.
An example from my past experience is when I was a college teacher. I was motivated to grade assignments quickly to provide prompt feedback to my students. I consider this external motivation, as I was striving to meet a self-imposed deadline to exceed my students’ expectations.
Balance
Understanding the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in a specific situation can be very beneficial. Maintaining a balance between the two can lead to rewarding results. If you’re already interested in the work, there may be no need to introduce extrinsic motivation, especially if adding a financial component might make it feel more like work than play. Extrinsic motivation can be enhanced through feedback, which provides a sense of recognition for good work. While unexpected rewards do not impact intrinsic motivation, ensure that they do not lead to an expectation of future rewards.