17. How to make yourself work and whether it’s worth it
I have several friends who are professional classical musicians. Their children have been learning to play musical instruments like violin and so on since the age of 5, attending music academies and conservatories. Becoming a classical musician requires everyday practice, and not a very fun one. So I always wondered: how do you make a 5-year old work so hard? And what about teenagers? This question bothered me for a long time, before I even had my own children. Having spoken to many music teachers, I came to a conclusion that in general, children need to want to study, but in particular, they need to be forced to.
This principle seems to work in all areas of life, where achieving good results requires many years of hard work. When I worked as an electrical engineer and generally didn’t like it, I didn’t force myself into it and chose a different profession. Now I love what I do in general, but when it comes to particular things I don’t “feel” like doing, like cleaning up our product backlog, counting stats or collecting product requirements, I don’t try to boost my motivation and just make myself do them.
Tales of a Product Owner: concentrated wisdom about project management, team creation and UX. New tale every Tuesday and Thursday!
