Can't do an essay standing up : )

This blog entry had me thinking of how people can create extreme goals.
I find when people don't finish a task it's because they were looking only at the end goal result. It'd be impossible to finish a book without writing a paragraph at a time. It'd also be impossible to write a paragraph without revising it a few times to get it just right.
Another example is when I hear people say they want to run a marathon. It is completely possible for anyone to run a marathon, however when they make this goal they cannot even run down the street. Then they normally delay the training and believe that later on they'll be more motivated which is an unrealistic view. Of course I do this myself, everyone does with many tasks. Looking only at the end result goal is an external motivation which proves to be less effective in task completion than internalization. If we can find ways to internalize our goals then it would become more probable to successful task completion. This is the reason why people who want to quit smoking must quit for their own reasons and not because their spouse told them to.

Staying in your chair I believe does work. I find I will always doubt a task before doing it but I will always be happy that I did it afterwards. So often for me when I get home from work at around 4pm and I’m really tired I’ll doubt whether to go for a bike ride or do research or some of the other things that enrich my life. If I force myself out the door with my bike I’ll love that fact that I went out afterwards. Otherwise I’ll be at home sitting in front of the television wasting time watching american idol (I don't even like the show but will watch it!). The same theory works with being in your chair and writing anything that comes to mind. Even just sitting there and throwing words on a page and drawing lines to similar ideas works because something will come of it and it’s all apart of a process to finishing an assignment.
One strategy for completing an essay that I use is I figure how much time it will actually take to finish the essay. You figure maybe 1-2 hours a day for a week and that should be enough and that is a realistic goal. Then stick to that plan regardless of the time wasted by just sitting there and doodling on the page. After a while doodling on the page will get boring and something will come to you and you’ll start off on the essay. You could even think of that boring doodling as a part of the actual process in which you need to be there for that hour to get started.
Not to make this entry too long but I find my problem is my mind will actually get tired and I’ll want to get away from the task. Physiologically I’m not tired but psychologically I am. And coffee can only get me going for so long! ; )