Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.

It’s time again to share our popular “Ask the Expert” interview series that connects you with dynamic thought leaders. This year we’ve spoken with Harold Taylor about time management, Erin Rooney Doland about clutter, Francine Jay about letting go, Todd Henry about next steps, Dr. Debbie Grove about change, and Joshua Becker about fresh starts. For July, I’m excited to have with us prolific author, speaker, and learning and human development expert, Dr. Thomas Armstrong to share his insights about motivation.

I had the pleasure of meeting Thomas almost two years ago when he spoke about Neurodiversity at the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) conference in Denver. He’s a fabulous presenter who is knowledgeable and engaging. My gratitude goes to Thomas for taking the time from his busy travel schedule to join us. When we communicated this past spring, he was just returning from being away for a month lecturing in Abu Dhabi. Before we begin, here’s more about him.

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the American Institute for Learning and Human Development, an award-winning author and speaker, and an educator for forty years. Over one million copies of his books are in print on issues related to learning and human development. He’s written fifteen books including The Myth of the A.D.D. Child and 7 Kinds of Smart. Dr. Armstrong has given over 900 keynotes and workshops in 44 states and 23 countries. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blog or website.

Linda Samuels:How has your expertise in neurodiversity and multiple intelligences influenced your ideas about motivation?

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.:  It’s clear to me that students are much more likely to be motivated to learn if they have an opportunity to learn using their most highly developed and/or most highly preferred intelligences.  Similarly, if a student has special needs (LD, ADHD, Autism etc.), they are more likely to be motivated in school if they are helped to learn using their strengths, rather than their weaknesses.  By focusing on words and numbers in the schools (rather than pictures, the body, music, nature etc.), we’re cutting off natural motivational channels for many kids.  And by employing a deficit orientation for kids with special needs, rather than a diversity perspective, we’re making it harder for these kids to get motivated.

Linda:  What motivates us to change?

Thomas: I’ve always liked Abraham Maslow’s schema on motivation, which he shared in the chapter ‘’Defense and Growth’’ in his book Toward a Psychology of Being.  He says you become motivated to change when a) you minimize the dangers of making a change, b) you maximize the dangers of not changing; c) you maximize the advantages of making a change, d) you minimize the advantages of not changing.  It’s a simple, elegant formula that anyone can use to develop a willingness to take a new job, exercise, not smoke, learn a new language, enter a new relationship, and so forth.

Linda:  What is one common motivation obstacle and a strategy for overcoming it?

Thomas:  Fear or anxiety seems to me to be the primary hurdle. There are many good strategies for overcoming fear/anxiety including meditation, strenuous exercise, psychotherapy, progressive relaxation, visualization, and yoga, just to name a few. I’ve used all of them, and to good effect.

Linda:  What has been your biggest personal motivation challenge?

Thomas: I’d prefer not to dig that deep into my past, but one very big personal challenge for me in the past several years has been my desire to write a novel.  I started sketching notes for a novel in 1990, began in earnest on it in the early 2000’s, and have been working intermittently on it ever since.  I’ve had to confront my own self-doubts about my ability to write fiction, my own difficulty in moving over from my left hemisphere (non-fiction) to my right hemisphere (novel), and my general difficulty in facing an empty page and moving into the unknown. I’m happy to report that I completed the first rough draft of my 120,000-word novel just last month while I was working in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I celebrated by having lunch at Hemingway’s, a restaurant at the hotel dedicated to one of America’s greatest novelists.  Now, on to the revisions!

Linda:  What is your most surprising discovery about motivation?

Thomas: That you have to keep on re-motivating yourself. Motivation is not just one long surge. At least for me, it comes in spurts, and in different ways, and I guess, surprisingly for me, through dreams (which really helped motivate me to write my novel).

Linda:  What else would you like to add?

Thomas: So many parents ask:  how can I motivate my child to learn?  This is the wrong question. Your child was born with a natural motivation to learn, otherwise our species would have gone extinct. The question is, how do we re-motivate our kids, how do we reconnect them back to that intrinsic love of learning that they were born with. Here’s a hint:  tests, grades, ‘’rigorous’’ and demanding coursework, labeling, tracking, a standardized curriculum – these are not the ways!

Thomas, I love the positive, strengths-based approach you have about motivation and learning. Working from a place that energizes us makes so much sense whether we’re a child or an adult. Thank you also for highlighting Abraham Maslow’s model on motivation and change. Those ideas along with the strategies you shared for overcoming motivation obstacles are so helpful. I’m sure they’ll resonate with my readers.

Please join Thomas and me as we continue the conversation. Share your ideas about motivation, strengths-based being, and change. What are your thoughts?

It all started with a single “yes.” I’m amazed by how this one “yes” has provided me with an ongoing source of motivation.

Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience when one decision motivated a chain of actions.

What was the “yes?” About eighteen months ago, I said, “yes” to the invitation for applying to be on the Board as President-Elect of the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD.) I was voted in and took office a year ago. My term ended yesterday as President-Elect. Today begins my first day as President. I’m passionate about ICD and look forward to continuing the great work that’s being done with a fantastic team of volunteers and staff.

There are many positive things that I’ve been motivated to do since making that one decision. What’s possible for you? Consider saying, “yes” to something that stretches you outside your comfort zone. Observe how this motivates your actions. How will motivation appear? These are a few areas where my motivation was supercharged:

Reading

I love reading and always have a big, rotating stack of “books to read” on my nightstand. In preparation for my new role, I’ve been motivated to read more books about leadership. Some of the gems have included Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek and Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. To my delight, the pile keeps growing.

Relaxing

Knowing that my new role will demand more of my time, I’ve been motivated to build in guilt-free relaxation time including weekends away. The weekends have provided me with longer stretches to unwind, relax, and think. They’ve included anniversary weekends with my husband in the Hudson Valley and wonderful beach weekends with the girlfriends at The Ocean House B&B on the Jersey Shore. There’s nothing quite like getting away or being by the sea to put things in perspective.

Exercising

The “yes” motivated me to exercise regularly. The day flows better when I begin with some simple stretching and walking. When possible, I take additional “green” breaks during the day in the woods or by the river. These are rejuvenating and great for my physical and emotional wellbeing.

Writing

Journaling, blogging, and letter writing have increased, or at least continued as a result of the “yes.” Writing is one of my creative outlets – a venue to process, develop, and share ideas.

Leaping

Motivation to try things I’ve never done has accompanied the “yes. Some of these firsts have included taking Comedy Improv classes, doing a Skype interview with Smead, and traveling to Japan later this year to speak at the JALO (Japan Association of Life Organizers) conference.

Connecting

Even when I was very young, it was always been about people and building relationships. During this time I’ve been motivated to continue nourishing my current relationships while building new ones. I’m grateful for my community of family, friends, colleagues, and readers like you.

Have you made a decision that has motivated you to take other actions? I’d love to hear about your experience? Come join the conversation!

“I am definitely going to take a course in time management . . . just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.”

— Louis E. Boone

We receive a gift each day with 1,440 minutes (aka 24 hours).

• What do you do with your time?

• Do you have enough time to work, play and relax?

• Do you desire more time with friends, family or self?

• Do you wish your time were more focused?

• Do you feel like your time is being wasted?

• Do you find it challenging to manage your time?

There are many ways to manage our time. One possibility is to organize using time blocks or containers. Time has a daily repeating pattern. Within that pattern, we need time to work, play, and restore. We each desire a different combination of the amount of time needed, how we define our various areas of priorities.

Set aside time to define your priorities. Think about:

• What’s most important to you?

• What are the different areas of life or “containers” that your time will get organized into?

• Which containers will be larger?

• Which will be smaller?

• What combination of containers is right for you?

Once your priorities are clear: 

• Choose your container sizes.

• Choose how to fill them.

• Arrange them in ways that best align with your priorities.

What if you introduced color-coding for your containers or time blocks to enhance visual understanding of where your time is going?

Color isn’t useful for everyone, but if you’re a visual processor like I am, it can work well. For my time blocks, I use purple for business, turquoise for personal, green for professional associations, and pink for kids. Within a given week, at a glance I can see what my time looks like with the big color blocks or containers and whether I’m in alignment with my priorities.

What do you do with your time? How do you organize it? I’d love to learn what works and doesn’t work for you? Come join the conversation.

You’ve heard it before. The playing field is level. We each have 24-hours in a day. That’s a big number, isn’t it? In addition, we have 365 rounds each year. That’s 8,760 hours per year to make our own concoction of work, fun, and relaxation. With all this time, why do we feel unproductive, overwhelmed, stressed-out, and time poor? Here are common time challenges and some strategies for overcoming them.

1. Overscheduling – Life is not dull. There are so many meetings, extracurricular activities, and social events in addition to the regular responsibilities that you feel perpetually frazzled and busy. There is never any relaxation time, other than when you sleep.

Tip: This might be the time to introduce “no” into your vocabulary. What can be removed from the schedule to give you some downtime?

2. Ambitious List Making – Massive doesn’t even begin to describe the length of your lists. You are overwhelmed by your ideas, projects and to-dos. How and when will you accomplish everything?

Tip:  Adjust your expectations. As items are checked off, new ones will appear. Don’t let that de-motivate you. Instead of focusing on completing the entire list, shift your perspective. Work your list by selecting the two or three items that you will get done that day. Reframe what completion looks like.

3. Lack of Planning – You prefer to just “go with the flow” and not plan your time. This isn’t working for you. The day ends and you haven’t accomplished what you wanted to. Consider the good enough method of planning.

Tip: Don’t plan every minute. Instead, create large time blocks in your schedule that are devoted to certain types of activities like returning phone calls and emails, doing errands, spending time with family, and “me time.” Yes…block out time for just you! Review the loose plan before the end of each day. Adjust as needed.

4. Not Focusing – Distractions . . . Let me count the ways. There are children, pets, phone calls, TV, email, texting, Internet searches, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Don’t get me started about Pinterest (my personal new favorite social media addiction, oops I mean site!) The supply of distractions is endless.

Tip: Two words: Establish boundaries. Whether the distractions are digital or human, it’s essential to set parameters. Remember those time blocks I mentioned above? Incorporate into those time blocks some “tech-less time” or whichever distraction needs the boundary. Experiment with effectively using parameters to maintain your focus.

5. Under Appreciating – You’re doing a lot. You’re moving through the days at lightning speed. You’re done and on to the next thing before pausing to acknowledge what you’ve accomplished. This exacerbates your frenzied feelings.

Tip:  Gratitude is powerful. It shifts our thoughts to a positive place. Allow yourself to slow down long enough to reflect and appreciate. That can include acknowledging our accomplishments, being grateful for our loved ones, or enjoying the sweet scent of spring.

What is your biggest time challenge? Is it one of these or something entirely different? I’d love to hear from you. Come join the conversation.