Recently a friend of mine was having difficulty finishing something she was supposed to do. She had no inspiration, no motivation, and consequently was very discouraged. So I shared with her my super secret college strategy for paper writing.
When I had a paper to do, and knew it would be a biggy, I would create for myself a haven of writingness. It was a sanctuary of creativity. A temple of you-have-to-get-it-done-so-you-might-as-well-enjoy-yourself-as-much-as-you-can-along-the-way-ivity. I would light the lamp on my computer desk, put on some soft classical music, light a candle, and, most importantly, I would get a snack. Usually chai or m&ms worked best.
And this brings me to my point: the power of the snack. Ohhhh, how well it worked! Just ooooone more paragraph and then I can eat this little stack of m&ms I set up. Or sip sip sip sip sip DONE the paper! The motivation of food is nothing to be trifled with.
This has gone on to aid me in other areas of life as well. Reading my Bible when I have to read extra readings, for example. I'll see if I can make this piece of hard candy last as long as it takes me to read the whole of Psalm 119... Or cleaning my room! Or writing a blog. I have before me tea with honey, cheese and crackers, a clementine, and the ends of several uncooked green beans (I already finished those). And look at the result that's coming from it!
This is a tool teachers can use, as well. Bribes, obviously, are great things. You have to be careful with these, though. I was pretty embarrassed when the headmaster walked in to my classroom one day to see my students munching chips and drinking soda. Yeahhhhh.
But snack time, at it's scheduled time, is a useful tool as well. Suppose you forgot to plan enough for that day's lesson. You can "lose track of time" and allow snack to go for 20 minutes or half an hour if need be. Or suppose you need to get through extra material and don't want to allow even the 10 minutes. Then you can say you're going to have a "book club discussion" like those smart people have in coffee shops. You pull the desks into a circle and let them eat while they discuss, and they try to be extra smart to fit the image.
Ah the power of the snack. Never misunderestimate it, my friends. It can be the ultimate motivator, bribe, or comfort. And now I've got to go; I think Jenny Craig is on my lawn yelling mean things toward my house. Weird.
3 comments:
Hahaha... Jenny Craig! That's great :) I like eating snack while I work too.... unfortunately, I still get distracted and decide to enjoy the snack while I just check Facebook first, or my email, or blogs, or Rhett and Link, or ..... but at least I enjoy the snack! ;)
Power snack...like power nap?
: )
I do the same thing, eat while writing papers, but not as a reward. More as stress reliever...not good, not good :)
Post a Comment