The New Need Motivation Thread

[biodork]

Awhile ago we had a need motivation thread for those of us who basically needed motivation for things we were doing at the time. A lot of us were applying to graduate schools, but it wasn't limited to that. We would come here to post updates and encourage each other to get done whatever we needed to work on. Well since it's 2006 and there's different people on here I thought I would start something new!

So what do you need motivation for? I am starting the grad school application process again (joy ) so I know it would be helpful to have one of these to update what I'm working on. This year I'm applying to 6 or 7 different schools. The programs are all basically PhD's in Biomedical Science/Human genetics.

My timeline goes like this: I'd like to have all my materials and everything done and sent off by the end of November. The end of December is the deadline for a lot of schools, so I just want to get it all done at once. The first thing I'm going to do is get my personal statement finished. That's going to be the hardest thing. After that I just have to finish the applications and get my transcripts out.

That's it for me right now! Anyone else?

[yankeeyosh]

My #1 motivation is to have a job that I enjoy, that I am proud of, and that I get a sense of accomplishment from. I hope to accomplish this by the end of the year.

Number 2 is to find someone who has like-minded interests, and who doesn't mind a geek :). Same timeline...although I guess this really shouldn't be rushed.

[biodork]

I think the job timeline is good! But I definitely think you're right about finding someone, it's not a good idea to put a timeline to that one. That is a lot less easy to control and could really disappoint you if it doesn't happen by the end of the year. That one you just have hope happens. But it doesn't mean you can't try! :)

[SmilesSoSweet]

My biggest issue right now is weight loss. I'd like to lose as much as I can (in a healthy way) by Thanksgiving because that's when I'll be dress shopping for my maid of honor dress with my friend who will be shopping for her wedding dress. Of course I still want to continue to lose weight after that as well. The wedding isn't until next summer and I won't hit my goal weight by Thanksgiving. I need more motivation to work out. The couple of times I do work out (I really should be working out at least 3-4 times a week instead of just 1-2 times) I have a great workout and feel great. I just get lazy and don't work out as often as I like.

I just weighed in last night at my WW meeting. I've lost a total of 30.6lbs. I'm 1/3 away from my goal. :)

[lonestar]

I am enrolling in a technical college to get my Certified Flight Instructor ratings and build up hours...I am pretty excited.

[labrat2111]

I need to get back to sending out resumes every night now. I interviewed for 2 jobs 2 weeks ago and one has said no and at the other (I interviewed for 3 different departments) 2 depts have said no and they are waiting on the 3rd so back to job hunting I go. It is hard to have a set number of resumes to send out because my job search is kind of limited but I do want to find something by october because that is when my current job will end.

Also I need to start losing some weight. Because I hate job searching it stresses me out and takes up a lot of my non-working time so I've been snacking like crazy and not exercising so I've put on an extra 15 pounds in the last 3-4 months. So I really need to cut out some of the junk and start bike riding again and running occasionally while the weather is nice. Although finding a job would help go a long way in less stress and more time to exercise.

[biodork]

I just weighed in last night at my WW meeting. I've lost a total of 30.6lbs. I'm 1/3 away from my goal. :)
Congrats! That is awesome. :)

I actually need motivation to do strength training. I do some with my physical therapy twice a week, but that is just for my neck and shoulder muscles so I need to work on other areas too. I want to do more after my physical therapy, but once I get done and come home I just am not in the mood anymore. If only I had more days like today :) I have more motivation when I have the day off and nothing else to do. lol

[biodork]

I need to get back to sending out resumes every night now. I interviewed for 2 jobs 2 weeks ago and one has said no and at the other (I interviewed for 3 different departments) 2 depts have said no and they are waiting on the 3rd so back to job hunting I go.
Awww no candy job? :(

[lonestar]

I gotta also figure out why employers don't like me. It was brought to my attention by another poster that I may have a problem because I didn't hear back on a bunch of jobs that I have applied for - I gotta figure out somehow what I am doing wrong. Did I go to the wrong undergraduate school? Do I not have enough experience?

[crystal_dance]

I need to get my thesis rolling. I'll be meeting my advisor next week and we'll hammer out the details of what I should be doing. I'll need to coordinate my thesis work with work at the office so that I can sort of "combine" tasks.
My goal is to start disciplining myself with some effective time management so that I can have some serious progress by the end of this year.

[mishl982]

Hehe this is kind of dumb, but the other day I was watching Friends and it was the episode where it was Halloween and Monica was Catwoman. I want to be catwoman! So I thought, how awesome would it be if I lose weight due to my going to the gym almost everyday that I could look hot in a Catwoman suit?

Hehe but anyway my goal is to continue going to the gym every chance I can and to work on getting toner and slimmer.

[PenforPrez]

What DON'T I need motivation for right now?? :rolleyes:

The biggest thing I need motivation for is my quiz bowl marketing (I call it marketing) project here in Missouri. I'm nowhere near where I want to be in getting tournaments to use the format I'm pushing. It's especially important now as I've set a HUGE goal for 2008.

I also wish I had more motivation to just start talking to women I meet socially. It's something I've always had great worry and anxiety about; I've never been good at it. But it's something I need to do. I just need to be more comfortable in social situations generally.

Paul

[rocket333d]

There's a million things I gotta do.

-Get this job permanent. There's been a lot of chatter in HR and I think this might be it. Oh please lawd, benefits, benefits! Health insurance, vacation, COMMUTER RAIL DISCOUNT! PLEASE!!!!!!!

-Get a new car. Unfortunately, this cannot happen until the above is fulfilled.

-Start saving. I need to start saving for retirement, and my boyfriend and I want to go to Disney World sometime as I have not left New England in seven years.

-Finish the script for the web cartoon I've been working on. I'm halfway done, but I'm stuck. I know what needs to happen, just how to write it all out is bugging me. I used to stay up late into the wee hours and something would come to me eventually, but that's no longer the case.

-Character design for this one guy that I cannot seem to figure out how to draw. I have him in my head, it's just he's a fat guy and I don't know how to draw them, despite there being so many I have had crushes on. Don't even get me started on fat women. They are a million times harder to draw!!!!

-Cast voice actors and figure out how to turn people down who say, "I picked you second-last for kickball that one time in 4th grade, can I be in your cartoon?" And record the script, of course.

-Storyboard. Not that I've ever done that before. I've cleared off two walls in my room just for this purpose. Augh, this part seems hard.

-Learn Flash. Well, crap. I did make an animated bouncy ball once, though. That was awesome.

Seriously, though. As daunting as all of it is, I really really want to do it. I've just got some hurdles. I can't wait to have a finished product up on the web.

[labrat2111]

Awww no candy job? :(

Nope. They got back to me just 3 days after my interview to tell me no. It sucks but I didn't have a good feeling about the interview. They kept asking me if I was happy being only a technician so far and what was I doing to get an engineering position? I told them about all the projects that I had worked on and things I have done about and beyond a technician's role to manage small projects or save the company money. They didn't seem too happy with the answers such that I would have had to have saved the company a million dollars or something to get the job.

Anyway I guess I try and look on the positives that I got a lot of candy and they do reimburse 48.5 cents/mile to drive up for the interview so I submitted my form for the 92 dollar reimbursement and it only cost me 20 dollars in gas/tolls to drive up.

[Politica2020]

I need motivation to get out of this rut and regain the ambition I had back in college for my career. I once had political aspirations, hence the name... At school I was very involved in the community, organizations, and active in politics on a state level. Now that I'm here in D.C. (which should be the ideal location) I feel lost, like I don't count, basically like a small fish in a big pond, and that I'll never be successful here.

So, I need to get back to my old self, regain confidence, get out there and meet people, join some organizations, get involved, and GET BACK ON TRACK!

[PenforPrez]

I need motivation to get out of this rut and regain the ambition I had back in college for my career. I once had political aspirations, hence the name... At school I was very involved in the community, organizations, and active in politics on a state level. Now that I'm here in D.C. (which should be the ideal location) I feel lost, like I don't count, basically like a small fish in a big pond, and that I'll never be successful here.

So, I need to get back to my old self, regain confidence, get out there and meet people, join some organizations, get involved, and GET BACK ON TRACK!

My username denotes the same. Have you found anything in the political realm? I always thought a job in politics would be nice. I'm separated from Howard Dean by only two degrees of separation; sadly, that's no help. :sad:

Paul

[lonestar]

Start by assisting in campaigns at the local level - that is how my friend got into it..he said its better to start in a state capital city or even a county seat and work local elections. He said unless you have a Kennedy School of Government Masters degree or a law degree from an ivy, you pretty much have to work your way up. In politics, it often means starting off working for free. I worked NYS Assemblyman Sam Hoyt's campaign in 2004 and it was a lot of fun...he didn't pay me but I got to know him real well and even got a recommendation out of him!

[crystal_dance]

I've been thinking about applying to the Kennedy school someday... I'm not sure where that would lead me to in American politics given that I'm of East Indian descent and with the level of "fear of the unknown" going around, I wonder where I'd even stand on the popularity chart.

[PenforPrez]

I've been thinking about applying to the Kennedy school someday... I'm not sure where that would lead me to in American politics given that I'm of East Indian descent and with the level of "fear of the unknown" going around, I wonder where I'd even stand on the popularity chart.

It would depend on where you ran. You wouldn't have a problem in a VERY urban area; Brooklyn and Queens come to mind right away.

[coll214]

Ha, I just need motivation for about everything right now:

- I have to get back to applying for jobs like lonestar. I've had a few interviews that didn't go anywhere b/c they either cancelled the jobs or went w/ another internal candidate. While i'd like to stay here since they pay for so much of grad school, i have to look outside too. But what i really want is to be in the damn library!!!

- Get my ass back to the gym on a regular basis. One week i'll be good going 3-4 times, the next maybe twice. It's right down the street so there's no excuse.

- And let's just say get out of my self-destructive relationship woes.

[lonestar]

I gotta stop eating Whataburger for a while...I haven't gained any weight but I know I will soon if this continues.

[crystal_dance]

I've had a few interviews that didn't go anywhere b/c they either cancelled the jobs or went w/ another internal candidate.

In april I interviewed with a very respected wall street firm who put me through many gruelling rounds of interviewing. Things looked so positive, with one particular hiring manager telling me that they're really impressed with me blah blah and hinting on hiring me. Finally, they tell me that I'm their #1 pick, they're totally floored, think I'm perfect and all that crap... but they can't hire me because the job they want to put me in has been "scrapped" due to some internal restructuring.

hah, that remind me of the ol' dating line- "you're great and anyone should be lucky to have you. It's not you, it's me."

[Politica2020]

Start by assisting in campaigns at the local level - that is how my friend got into it..he said its better to start in a state capital city

Thanks for the advice, but I did work for a state capital for 3 sessions and was very active in the 04 Presidential elections. So I have the connections, its just a matter of me being motivated to get up and use them! :sad:

[astronaut83]

I have to start putting myself on a really tight budget. I want to save money so I can have some to fall back on when I move out. I hope to move out before January.

But first, start looking for a ring. I plan on having one by October so I can propose to my bf in November. I have to keep this low key because my family is old-fashioned and would disagree in me proposing, but I don't care.

Also, losing the five pounds I gained from work wouldn't hurt.

[PenforPrez]

But first, start looking for a ring. I plan on having one by October so I can propose to my bf in November. I have to keep this low key because my family is old-fashioned and would disagree in me proposing, but I don't care.


. . .you're proposing to HIM?? I've never heard of that before.

Paul

[mishl982]

My friends and I are going to run the PACE Race on October 21st. I signed myself up today. We needed to sign up for a 5K in the fall (the last race was in June) so that we don't slack on running.

Well too late because I've slacked already! I need to get my running butt back into gear. I've only been running 1.5 miles lately but it shouldn't be too hard to get back to 3 in a month and a half.

[biodork]

Heh yeah I definitely need to get myself in gear to run the 5k! Although I haven't signed up yet, I will soon.

Oh and I'm planning on starting to write my personal statement on Sunday. :)

[biodork]

Time for an update!

I just finished my first draft of my personal statement. Go me!

AAAAAND I'm signed up for a 5k and just today did 3 miles running on the treadmill. That felt really good.

:)

Anyone else have updates?

[mishl982]

Anyone else have updates?
Um... I did a kick ass dance in hip hop today to Nsync!! heeee

hahah actually it's hard to keep up with running when I have hip hop twice a week. I could run after the class but it's been kicking my ass, not to mention adding an extra 45 minutes to my workout runs into dinner/lunch time (depending on the day).

But I am committed to running every day I'm at the gym and not in hip hop!

[SmilesSoSweet]

Anyone else have updates?

It's in my signature, but since March 28, I've lost 33.6lbs! :)

The weight loss is slowing down (about 1.5lbs/wk) which is normal so I just have to keep going at it and not stop.

I'm up to 3-4 times a week working out. I'm trying to up that to 4-6 times/wk.

[PenforPrez]

Anyone else have updates?

I was at a live, non-broadcast talk show in St. Louis that I go to tonight. Wound up sitting next to a charming young woman who is new in town. Got to talking, got her phone number. :razz: I used to NEVER do that.

Strangely, I'm finding more single women now that I'm trying this whole confidence thing. :p

Paul

[astronaut83]

Anyone else have updates?
I'm currently waiting for a credit check for an apartment. Plus, I may be looking for a ring late next week.

[CityGal]

So glad this post exists. Like many others I have tons to get motivated for.

--****Applying to grad school. I need to have these applications out by November. I am shooting for early to mid November.
Sept. Finish SoP, CV, order all the transcripts
Oct. Have all my rec's.
Hopefully if I get all these accomplished I may be able to send them
off in late Oct.
--Take a class at NYU
--This whole makeover thing I've been trying to do
--SAVE money for emergencies and for fun things like trips overseas
--Be a regular at the gym. Ha....not shooting to hard for this one.

My main priority is sending out the grad school applications and improving my writing skills.

Keep us all posted on all you all do and I'll do the same.

[springhaze]

-make some new friends! I just moved to a new country and I don't know anyone really in the city I'm going to grad school in, so I need a new social network. I'm going to a meeting of a student group tonight, so we'll see how that goes.
-get a job! I have enough money to go to school without working at all (just barely), but if I want to accomplish any of my financial goals for this year (more on that below) I need a part-time job.
-as far as finances go, I need to pay off my credit card, as well as save up enough for a new computer (this four year old laptop is just not cutting it!) I figured out if I work part time making even minimum wage here for 8 months or so, I'll have made enough money to do both of those things, and after that I'm just going to start saving.

[asimmy]

- getting a new job that actually pays!! with full benefits, direct deposit, and my own desk! that would be great. :)

- stop eating junk and exercise. i won't lie...i eat nothing but junk on my days off, and even in the office i'm always munching on something. and i'll got through these phases where i'll go to the gym every day for a week, and then skip it for two weeks, which i blame on not having clean gym clothes (not true! haha)

- being patient and staying out of the sun! this qlc thing has given me the worst breakouts ever. i've seriously never broken out like this before - not even in high school. i went to see a derm last week and am using this stuff that makes me face dry and scary and if i see a drop of sunlight, my face gets even worse. yuck... but i've just gotta be patient and remember that after i'm done, i will never break out like this again! yes!

[CityGal]

-make some new friends! I just moved to a new country and I don't know anyone really in the city I'm going to grad school in, so I need a new social network. I'm going to a meeting of a student group tonight, so we'll see how that goes.
-get a job! I have enough money to go to school without working at all (just barely), but if I want to accomplish any of my financial goals for this year (more on that below) I need a part-time job.
-as far as finances go, I need to pay off my credit card, as well as save up enough for a new computer (this four year old laptop is just not cutting it!) I figured out if I work part time making even minimum wage here for 8 months or so, I'll have made enough money to do both of those things, and after that I'm just going to start saving.


Springhaze, I plan on hopefully moving to the UK if I get accepted into grad school. Would you be my friend? ha. I only know about a handful of people over there and I don't really talk to them much.

[shinyleaf]

Strangely, I'm finding more single women now that I'm trying this whole confidence thing. :p

Paul


I bet!! :) confidence is hotness factor #1. Watch it, one of those single women might propose to you some day ;):

Astro - I nearly proposed until he beat me to it. good on ya.

[PenforPrez]

I bet!! :) confidence is hotness factor #1. Watch it, one of those single women might propose to you some day ;):

I would so FREAK OUT if that happened to me. :rolleyes: :surprised

[CityGal]

Update: Contacted my recommenders to remind them about the recommendations. Since I know the recommendations are probably one of the most difficult/longest parts of my application....I'm giving them a few weeks. Shortly will be sending in the form to request the transcripts from my undergrad. Yippee...I am so excited about this motivation thread. To all those out there applying to grad school....Keep on doing it!

[biodork]

Update: Contacted my recommenders to remind them about the recommendations. Since I know the recommendations are probably one of the most difficult/longest parts of my application....I'm giving them a few weeks. Shortly will be sending in the form to request the transcripts from my undergrad. Yippee...I am so excited about this motivation thread. To all those out there applying to grad school....Keep on doing it!
Awesome!

I need to just do some revisions on my SoP, probably going to send it out to a few people. For my recommendations though a lot of the schools require their own form that's emailed to the people so I have to start the application first. I'm trying to get my personal statement done completely so I can go through and apply to all the schools. So close to really getting the ball rolling though!

[CityGal]

Awesome!

I need to just do some revisions on my SoP, probably going to send it out to a few people. For my recommendations though a lot of the schools require their own form that's emailed to the people so I have to start the application first. I'm trying to get my personal statement done completely so I can go through and apply to all the schools. So close to really getting the ball rolling though!


Woo Hoo Keep at it.

[yankeeyosh]

- Find a more meaningful job
- Possibly think about going back to school for a Ph. D.

[labrat2111]

Well I'm still being bad about snacking too much but I have started to get back into exercising. I'm setting aside some more time for it and I have been sporadically out to bicycle or run. I need to get a new pair of running shoes though before I do many more miles. The running/biking does help with snacking though because I'm away from the apartment and exercising means I'm drinking lots of water and other fluids which fills me up so if I can just stick to healthier snacks I'll start losing some weight.

On the job front I've been sending out a steady stream of resumes. I ended up getting a local interview with a big heavy equipment manufacturer for a manufacturing/quality engineer position last wednesday. I don't want to be too optimistic but it seems like a good opportunity and I think the interviews with 6 different people in various levels and departments went well. The only thing I worry about is that I didn't ask enough questions (I asked some questions of each person) and seem enthused enough. I will have some help in that at least 2 of the folks I interviewed with went to my college and several of the people at the company (and at least one person I interviewed with) used to work at my company so they can vouch for me. So they told me they would reach a decision in 1-2 weeks (they are still running local newspaper ads).

Other than that I have been talking to a scientific staffing place and seeing what they have available. Of course now that I have done that I have to wait on the other job. Plus now my job end date is pushed back a little more so I don't know how enthused I am to pick up for a temp job until my other job is done but I don't want to jerk around the staffing place. Anyway I'll get that sorted out but I just am glad I'm getting interviews and have options at this point plus a decent amount in savings.

[CityGal]

Update: I think I may have finished my CV. :) Anyone want to read it??? :googly: Now to finish my SoP--need to answer two questions. :googly: :googly:

[biodork]

- Possibly think about going back to school for a Ph. D.
Welcome to the club :) If you need help with any of that, let me know, I'm in the process of doing applying for PhD programs myself.

[yankeeyosh]

Welcome to the club :) If you need help with any of that, let me know, I'm in the process of doing applying for PhD programs myself.

Thanks...it's just preliminary, but I might get the ball rolling in a few weeks as I try to sort things out.

[Kitty]

Yesterday I finally finished this article I've been working on for two weeks (yes, I was majorly procrastinating). It felt GREAT and now I feel all motivated to accomplish more.

[CTGirl]

Yesterday I finally finished this article I've been working on for two weeks (yes, I was majorly procrastinating). It felt GREAT and now I feel all motivated to accomplish more.

Oh man, I love that feeling! Congrats!

[Kitty]

Oh man, I love that feeling! Congrats!

Thanks!!

extraletters

[Illuminous]

Maybe I'm crisis-ing again, but I need to figure out if I want to do this job for the long term. I get so unmotivated and bogged down by my GINORMOUS to-do list that I end up jsut wnating to go home nad not accomplishing anyhting.

[Kitty]

Maybe I'm crisis-ing again, but I need to figure out if I want to do this job for the long term. I get so unmotivated and bogged down by my GINORMOUS to-do list that I end up jsut wnating to go home nad not accomplishing anyhting.

Ya know, I could really see you in a position like mine - where there is definitely a writing element, but there's also sort of a visual/graphics element. Seems like you have an eye for that stuff as well.

haha..I feel like I'm always trying to convert people to marketers.

[coll214]

I'm just glad that I finally motivated myself to email a particular HR department about a job and actually got a quick response! Now if they'd just offer me something :googly:, I could be outta here! only 3 years off my original time schedule. LOL.

[Illuminous]

Ya know, I could really see you in a position like mine - where there is definitely a writing element, but there's also sort of a visual/graphics element. Seems like you have an eye for that stuff as well.

haha..I feel like I'm always trying to convert people to marketers.

Ha, that's funny. When i was thinking of leaving the field, I seriously thought about marketing. But that would mean starting at the bottom rung again. Although your bottom rungp robably pays way better than my top rung. I need more interaction, if that's even possible, and more control. it's a sinking ship here. bah.

[Kitty]

Ha, that's funny. When i was thinking of leaving the field, I seriously thought about marketing. But that would mean starting at the bottom rung again. Although your bottom rungp robably pays way better than my top rung. I need more interaction, if that's even possible, and more control. it's a sinking ship here. bah.

Maybe PR would be really good for you.

[Illuminous]

Prs the devil. I think thats why i thought of marketing. Not so devilish.

[Kitty]

Prs the devil. I think thats why i thought of marketing. Not so devilish.

Eh, depends on the PR gig. Like, we have a PR guy here - pretty tame job. He basically ends up writing articles for the web.

[Illuminous]

True, but how you gauruntee that it's not going to be evil-PR is beyond me.

I wnat to do something with the web and writing, but I have no idea what sort of options are out there. Writing for the web (magazines and blogs) is highly interesting to me, which is why i started my blog, but what to do to further it is something ihavent figured out.

[mishl982]

Yesterday i went running for the first time outdoors since last spring. It was also the first time since I've moved.

It was pretty fun, although hard, because it was nice to take in the neighborhood. I also ran into the golf course which was so pretty. It was also quite hilly so I was proud of myself for being able to take on multiple steep hills. I also am not sure if I was allowed on the golf course but oh well :) I think I'm going to try running there more because if I can run those hills I can do anything!

The PACE Race is in about 2 weeks! I hope I can do it. I'll just have to push myself hardcore!!