Six reports to enter and just can't get the motivation...

Thank you for this post! I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only one with this problem. I love to shop and I love the reporting process. But I don't like doing them as soon as I get home. I need time to recover after my 2-3 hour return trip.

There's days that my self talk, AKA Self Sabotage, kicks in and I wonder, if it's worth it. There's more jobs in other towns then in my hometown and they pay well if I, "Go the distance." So, I make a full day out of it to minimize my out of pocket expense but my brain takes a beating. I can't afford to stay the night because of the hellish prices in that town, even in the cheapest hotel. On those days, I get home anywhere from 9pm to midnight.

Anyway, I've found that snacking, dancing, excercising, listening to high energy music usually helps to motivate me. Oh, and of course, I remind myself of the total DOLLAR amount I would lose, which includes pay, time, reimbursement and expenses. That usually works. And when I get started, I do the high paying and time pressing ones first. And, like the others mentioned, start with the easy one questions. Good luck my fellow shopper. You got this!

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Steve... I'm fat enough I don't need any extra incentive to feed myself! LOL That is why I am trying to lose weight and I will NOT take any FF shops.

If I reward myself with a nice glass of wine...it's ZZZZZ time...and no more reports. Of course when they're done, it's another thing. I had 15 shops yesterday. I did only one on the road. I got a few worried emails from schedulers, but all is good and I received a "10" on the most narrative heavy one already. I completed the easies and one or two not-so-easies last night and finished up the rest today. As I was typing last night I kept reversing letters and making no sense. There was a lot of backspacing happening. It was time to sleep for sure. Phew...glad they're done. Now, it's off to do some more last minute bonused shops. It's been a good month. I do procrastinate, but I also get them done..eventually.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

I have the blue banks down to a science. I scan everything in exactly the same order every time, so I don't even have to look at the pictures to just count out the 8 needed for any given shop, and I can rename them without even looking at them. Then when I'm attaching them to the report, they're in the right order so I don't really have to look closely (I do glance, just to be sure) when I'm attaching them all at the end.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2015 12:08AM by MDavisnowell.

I'm finding it really hard to keep motivated tonight. I had a lot of shops to do today and most of them are due within 12 hours of when I did them. Today is supposed to be a "special" day but I haven't relaxed at all! Anyone have tips for maintaining that motivation when you have those 8 or 12 hour deadlines to meet? I'm trying to think about the money and how good it will feel when it's all done but that's not helping. I don't drink coffee and time is not on my side right now.

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

Coffee!

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

What is this magical coffee you speak of. I must be immune.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

You cannot mystery shop if you don't drink coffee. Quit right now.

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

I hope the schedulers see this and report back to their MSC and Client that this seems to be a universal problem and the short report times are unrealisitc. I'm dreaming, right?

Shopping Central Jersey Shoreline. WHAT? I'm an adult?! When did this happen?! How do I make it stop?!

@bgriffin wrote:

Coffee!

Har har

I can't be the only shopper here who doesn't drink coffee.

I think some clients impose these rules but it is very unrealistic as most seasoned shoppers are doing more than one shop a day. We can only dream I guess

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

I still have a report to pack plus pack for my trip tomorrow. I need to get off my butt.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

@dixiewhiskey wrote:

I'm finding it really hard to keep motivated tonight. I had a lot of shops to do today and most of them are due within 12 hours of when I did them. Today is supposed to be a "special" day but I haven't relaxed at all! Anyone have tips for maintaining that motivation when you have those 8 or 12 hour deadlines to meet? I'm trying to think about the money and how good it will feel when it's all done but that's not helping. I don't drink coffee and time is not on my side right now.

Vitamin B Complex

If you don't drink coffee do you drink tea? They have some great ones out there that will give you a little jolt. I don't mind the reports as much as the time limitations. The 8-12 time frame can be a killer if you have a lot of shops to enter. When I know that I have 24 hours I just feel more relaxed and the MSC's can get a better report if I am not feeling rushed.

@dixiewhiskey wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

Coffee!

Har har

I can't be the only shopper here who doesn't drink coffee.

I think some clients impose these rules but it is very unrealistic as most seasoned shoppers are doing more than one shop a day. We can only dream I guess

I am worse... I do not drink pop and soda, do not even want to take one sip...
So far, I am taking one FF place where the client allows to buy bottled water instead of soda.

Sometimes I drink Vitamin Water.. I don't like most tea but I enjoy green tea. I occasionally take a nuitrional supplement that has caffeine in it but for the most part I shop caffeine free.

Do all FF shops ask you to buy soda specifically or can you buy any beverage? I haven't done FF before, never eat it. I get my fat intake from chocolate and high end restaurant shops

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

@dixiewhiskey wrote:

Sometimes I drink Vitamin Water.. I don't like most tea but I enjoy green tea. I occasionally take a nuitrional supplement that has caffeine in it but for the most part I shop caffeine free.

Do all FF shops ask you to buy soda specifically or can you buy any beverage? I haven't done FF before, never eat it. I get my fat intake from chocolate and high end restaurant shops

The ones I see, ask you to buy soda mostly...
You wont get much fat from chocolate shops because of loooooong rotation... LOL

Not if you do one location every month for six months :O HA. Those wrapped truffles are deadly

Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond

I just realized that I'm out of coffee and energy drinks. :/

Well, besides coffee, I consumed $24 worth of Godiva chocolate late the other night. I have no willpower. It was bought the day before on a shop..It was good...No profit on that one. My thought was to put it in an Easter basket, but it's still snowing here and well Easter is a long way off and well I needed a boost and so...it's almost all gone.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

It's almost all gone? What are you waiting for?

(heart)

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

I do one of two things...I either ask for an extension on the report. That's almost an essential with Cheeseburger in Paradise as I can do that report better after a good night sleep. Otherwise, I'll channel Benny Goodman...the 12 minute Carnegie Hall recording of Sing, Sing, Sing is usually enough to get the blood circulating. If I get really desperate, I'll put on Spike Jones' Greatest Hits, that's Jones, not Jonze.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

Not true... I do not drink coffee and I to mystery shop. However, Pepsi is my friend.

I am the biggest procrastinator when it comes to reports. I usually scan all the required documents and photos and then I find all kinds of excuses. I decide to cook, iron, clean up, sew and then, oops, there is an 8 hour deadline. I rush to my PC, gather my notes and check out the TV. No, not enough motivation. Then I think of the Mystery Shopping Forum...

Although I am not really a regular poster, when I am writing reports, the devil almost, always wants me to visit the Forum and check out what Stilllearning, LisaSTl, Flash, LJ, Dixie, MDavis, etc. are up to or have to say. Always! "Do the report later, this is more important. You have plenty of time." Sometimes I am strong enough and ignore him. But most often than not, he succeeds and I am looking for interesting posts before I can actually be motivated to meet my deadline. I have not failed the deadline but when I do, remember, he made me do it!

@risinghorizon: I think the most important part is having a workable strategy!

(heart)

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

Yup! Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. lol

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Six reports to enter and just can't get the motivation...

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