Tennis, Anyone?

I can work very, very hard when the motivation is right and the deadline is looming. In fact, I practically thrive under these conditions.

Unfortunately, when they’re not around, I can be downright lazy.

Like many people, I tend to work to the lowest common factor. I do what is expected of me—and I do it well—but I rarely heap on extra work just for the fun of it.

Here’s a handy analogy Lorna supplied me with: When you play tennis, the experts tell you to find a partner who is better than you. You will naturally play harder because there are no other options other than simply getting your butt kicked. If you play someone with equal skills or who is worse than you, you won’t get the opportunity to really do your best.

It’s kind of like that.

This has become abundantly clear in the past week and a half. At the beginning of the year, Lorna and I made a solemn pact to work our tails off for the month of January. And we did. However, we knew the baby was coming and that I might have to finish off a few projects on my own.

That time has come. I now find myself facing a mountain of work with deadlines looming. And I have to tell you, I’m completely rocking it. In the time since our company began, I have never worked this hard or been as productive.

The best part is, it hasn’t been unpleasant. When you play that really great tennis player, you are probably a heap of human flesh by the end of the game. Sweat is pouring out your eyes, every muscle in your body is quivering, and you just want to collapse on the grass. But you feel great.

It’s kind of like that.

It feels really good to be meeting all of my deadlines and to keep up with the workload. I’ve been getting into a really good groove lately and really enjoying the work.

I wonder though, what will happen when Lorna returns to work. If my major motivational factor (which is basically “get the work done, because no one else is going to”) gets eliminated, how can I keep myself feeling the pressure to perform to my highest potential?