Writing comments doesn't feel like "writing" to me; It feels like talking.
I've actually written some pretty long comments on reddit. Yesterday, I talked with one of my coaches and put some thought into why:
1) I don't have any memories of feeling anxiousness from commenting on reddit. This is unsurprising since it has never been assigned to me by a teacher/parent. If I ever feel like "Its unclear why I would respond to this or what I would say to this", I just choose not to comment.
2) I have memories of writing a comment and other people upvoting it or telling me that it was helpful. I don't have this for essays. I driven by making people happy, so that is a meaningful reward.
3) Because of those positive memories, as I am writing, I can imagine that a sentence I am about to write is going to be helpful. That imagining is a bit of positive re-enforcement that I can chase, inherent to the task. It is like when I was a kid and I would do math homework and I would solve a problem and see that I'd solved it. It is one of the tricks of TDD.
So, my plan this Saturday is to seek out the things that could possibly be intrinsically rewarding about writing:
A) Look for interesting phrases that I can craft to clearly explain something.
B) When I start on a section, write a question that someone could ask on a reddit thread, which this section answers.
C) When I write a section, imagine myself saying this as an explanation in response to that question and imagine someone else expressing gratitude for that explanation.
D) To avoid procrastination, mentally rehearse the act of starting and getting into the task. Simulate the trigger-response-reward in my mind so I can build the neural pathway. The reward I imagine should not be tied to completion, but come from the "I've just gotten started" state.
I've actually written some pretty long comments on reddit. Yesterday, I talked with one of my coaches and put some thought into why:
1) I don't have any memories of feeling anxiousness from commenting on reddit. This is unsurprising since it has never been assigned to me by a teacher/parent. If I ever feel like "Its unclear why I would respond to this or what I would say to this", I just choose not to comment.
2) I have memories of writing a comment and other people upvoting it or telling me that it was helpful. I don't have this for essays. I driven by making people happy, so that is a meaningful reward.
3) Because of those positive memories, as I am writing, I can imagine that a sentence I am about to write is going to be helpful. That imagining is a bit of positive re-enforcement that I can chase, inherent to the task. It is like when I was a kid and I would do math homework and I would solve a problem and see that I'd solved it. It is one of the tricks of TDD.
So, my plan this Saturday is to seek out the things that could possibly be intrinsically rewarding about writing:
A) Look for interesting phrases that I can craft to clearly explain something.
B) When I start on a section, write a question that someone could ask on a reddit thread, which this section answers.
C) When I write a section, imagine myself saying this as an explanation in response to that question and imagine someone else expressing gratitude for that explanation.
D) To avoid procrastination, mentally rehearse the act of starting and getting into the task. Simulate the trigger-response-reward in my mind so I can build the neural pathway. The reward I imagine should not be tied to completion, but come from the "I've just gotten started" state.