Reading the behavior model for persuasive design, I am very impressed on the author’s emphasis on the relationship between behavior and motivation, difficulty, and trigger. It might be a common sense that a behavior will be more easily carried out by someone if the difficulty is high and the motivation is low. However, personally, I just like to aim high and imagine how good it would be if I am able to carry out something difficult and fascinating. Reflecting on this, I realize that I am starting with high motivation, but also high difficulty, and this might be why I am usually not able to complete some of my tasks.
Another thing that is noticeable in this paper is the idea that the difficulty and motivation will change as will work on a project. On the one hand, if a task is too difficult at the beginning, one’s motivation will be worn off no matter how much motivation he or she started with. On the other hand, if one starts with an easy task, he’s or she’s motivation and sense of difficulty will also change. For instance, by getting familiar with the task, one might get more and more confident and want to challenge something with more difficulty. In this way, one can eventually complete a task that requires both high difficulty and motivation.
For the past five days, I was trying to cultivate a habit of exercising regularly (which I have been trying for a long time but failed). For the first two days, I set the goal of jogging for two kilometers after getting up. However, it ended up being too difficult for me. So, for the next three days, I switched to doing ten push-ups every day before sleeping. It turns out to be a workable plan. The difficulty is low, and I have moderate motivation. Meanwhile, I realize the choice of time is also important, it has an effect on both difficulty and motivation. Generally, a free and comfortable time slot is best suited for completing a relatively challenging task.