… but at the rate at which this paper is progressing, the recession will be well and truly over before the paper is done.
It’s not even the case that I do not like the topic. I do. Very much, indeed. It’s a really interesting take on the question of what makes a customer good or bad.
But without a firm deadline (for instance, a call for papers for a special issue), or a co-author to whom I feel accountable, the paper is moving at an incredibly slow pace.
How do you motivate yourself to work on something, when you do not have to?
Ana Canhoto 
Hi Ana,
I have a couple of suggestions:
You could always set yourself a reward, a special treat with the children, a spa day, a nice meal out, something that you would normally not do. Then when you have finished your paper, claim your treat as you would have earned it.
Or appoint someone as your ‘pretend co-author’. It has to be someone who you can bounce ideas off, who will chase you for content and who can proof read your work, etc.
The first one works for me.
have fun
Tim
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Thank you, Tim.
So, you go for the reward (the carrot) rather than the penalty (the stick). That’s rather interesting, as all other suggestions that I had come across focused on the latter – e.g., visualise what you miss for failing to make progress with that paper (e.g., a promotion).
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