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Motivation & Discipline

11:43 PM, Monday May 16th 2022

So although I am an advocate of "Get disciplined, not motivated," I have an issue in which even though I can force myself to do the DrawABox homework, if I'm forcing myself to do it and I have no motivation/really don't want to do it, I tend to be apathetic towards the assignment and get frustrated easily with it. However, motivation is unreliable, and I don't want to wait around for motivation to strike, especially because I really want to get through this course before I dive more into art studies.

Something to consider is that I've had very little time to draw lately, so part of my lack of desire to do DrawABox could have to do with not giving enough time to drawing for fun.

So, what do I do? Do I just force myself to do it and hope I don't hate it, do I wait for motivation to strike, or should I just take a little break (perhaps a week) and draw for fun as much as I can during that time?

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9 users agree
2:13 PM, Tuesday May 17th 2022

"Action BEFORE Motivation" is the best phrase I have heard lately when it comes to this topic. Imagine that you need to do something, let's say wash the dishes. There is a pile of dishes in the sink and you are really not motivated to wash them. If you can get yourself to wash ONE dish, chances are you will finish all of them. The trick is to wash that first one.

Starting to draw is the trick. Once you start, continuing is easier. I have given this advice before, but I would assign yourself a daily minimum. I would make that minimum so small that you have no excuse not to do it, like draw a single line on a piece of paper or draw for 1 minute. I think you will find that you will keep going and the habit of starting will form. Motivation will follow.

10:27 PM, Tuesday May 17th 2022

It seems starting anything is always the hardest part. I've never thought of that "daily minimum" method before, thank you very much for that!

11:13 PM, Wednesday May 18th 2022

This daily minimum approach is one of the only ones that really works for me long term, so I highly recommend it, but it's important that you don't use it as a trick. The goal you set really is the goal and you're allowed to stop after doing it. Otherwise it can become pretty toxic as you feel bad not turning every quick session in to a multi hour skill grind, or you do less than you did yesterday, or literally any time you stop drawing.

I occasionally treat the minimum as also the maximum for a few days if I notice myself feeling bad about stopping.

1 users agree
11:13 AM, Tuesday May 17th 2022

so part of my lack of desire to do DrawABox could have to do with not giving enough time to drawing for fun.

If you have any amount of time for DaB, then why not alternate the DaB days and the 'drawing for fun' days as Uncomfy suggests in the section about the 50% rule? I too often cannot have time for both in a single day, so I adhere to this strategy.

12:28 PM, Tuesday May 17th 2022

I'll try that out, thank you! That might also make it easier to balance everything since I have quite a few other hobbies I'm trying to manage

0 users agree
5:20 PM, Tuesday May 17th 2022

The 3rd option is what got me through 3 DAB related breakdowns haha. I got stuck on L2 dissections, L4 and L5. Switching 100% to fun drawing gave me the energy to restart DAB each of these times.

If you find yourself with little time, maybe it's best to take a break from DAB and spend that free time drawing for fun (or doing other things). DAB will be there no matter what.

10:26 PM, Tuesday May 17th 2022

Thank you, that's very helpful to hear

3:13 AM, Wednesday May 18th 2022

This surely has helped me. When I switch to just drawing for fun, I see just how much DaB has helped me improve the way I draw. That's a huge motivation to get back.

Also breaks are important. Take breaks from both drawing for fun and the assignments. Come back stronger.

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