# Effective workflow forms positive feedback loop
A good way to motivate ourselves is by making a progress, and a good way to know if we're making a progress is by getting a feedback. The best kind of feedback that we should look for is the feedback that we get from the work itself, which will create a feedback loop. Therefore if you define a good workflow, you will form a positive feedback loop. Because the work that you're doing will provide a positive feedback, it will in turn help you continue on your work, forming a virtuous cycle (Ahrens 52).
An attempt to form the feedback externally, not from the work itself, on the other hand is not a sustainable way to keep yourself motivated because you'll not form a feedback loop (Ahrens 52). External reward creates only a single flow, not a loop. This is a similar point to why intrinsic motivation is more sustainable than extrinsic motivation.
# References
Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes (p. 52).
A good workflow can easily turn into a virtuous circle, where the positive experience motivates us to take on the next task with ease, which helps us to get better at what we are doing, which in return makes it more likely for us to enjoy the work, and so on. [...] (Fishbac, Eyal and Finkelstein, 2010)
Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes (p. 52).
Any attempts to trick ourselves into work with external rewards (like doing something nice after finishing a chapter) are only short-term solutions with no prospect of establishing a positive feedback loop. [...] (DePasque and Tricomi, 2015)
# Backlinks
- Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes
- Zettelkasten has a workflow, and Effective workflow forms positive feedback loop
- Workflow trumps willpower
- When it comes to creative works, workflow is a way for us to define our environment. Effective workflow forms positive feedback loop, hence, not only having a good workflow will help us perform our tasks, but it will also provide a motivational loop for us to continue the tasks.
- Zettelkasten enables constant focus on interesting materials
- Luhmann always worked on something easier and interesting, and that is made possible because Effective workflow forms positive feedback loop. The zettelkasten consists of a well-defined workflow, therefore allowing the practitioners to focus on interesting and easier things. This is good to keep yourselves motivated.
- Creative work requires clear goals and feedback to become a flow activity
- In creative works, you must develop your own goal to understand if you’re doing good or bad to enter the flow state. Designing your workflow is one way to convert your creative work into flow activities as they can provide immediate feedback (Effective workflow forms positive feedback loop).
- Developer workflow may improve DevEx