How Do You Work Best? The 3 Different Motivation Archetypes
Motivation, Productivity, and Working Styles in the Lens Of Genetics
Traditional productivity tools and techniques have NEVER worked for me
Not to pick on the Pomodoro Technique, but I think this method exemplifies what doesn’t work for me regarding mainstream notions of productivity.
Let’s pick on the Pomodoro Technique.
The general idea of this technique is to time box your work in distraction-less 25-minute blocks punctuated by 5-minute breaks. The website and the book provide additional resources which involve: splitting the blocks further into the recap and review sections, assigning the difficulty of a task by how many Pomodoros it would take to complete it, and ways to delineate free time and work time.
One can imply that during these productivity blocks, one also ought to have nothing but a blank wall to stare at, no music in the background, and no sips of their coffee. Gotta concentrate on one thing until the block is over. After all, there is no such thing as multitasking, right?
Some readers might find this level of structure and concentration very helpful. After all, it’s usually precisely this that individuals looking to be more productive seek.
💪 The benefit of artificial deadlines: Structure and Concentration
Some thrive from the adrenaline that deadlines provide. Without an artificial deadline, the tendency can be to leave things until the natural deadline approaches. Time-boxing work keeps these checkpoints coming with the reward of a short break awaiting.
However, I’ve always found such techniques too restrictive.
💀 The drawback of artificial deadlines: Deadlines Suck!
Others on my camp and I gladly take advantage of the lack of structure to spin our creative juices up to overcome obstacles. Time boxes can be as large as needed to complete a big task in one fell swoop or smaller with more frequent d̶i̶s̶t̶r̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s breaks to hedge against writer’s block.
This pro vs. anti deadline classification sounds a bit idealized. Is it scientifically sound?
Yes. These archetypes are, in fact, genotypes.
There’s been much research surrounding the COMT rs4680 gene and how it affects motivation and personality. Not to get into the weeds of it, but this gene helps regulate how an individual can transition from being relaxed, excited, burnt out, and back.
There are, of course, other genetic and environmental factors that play into what working style works best for an individual. But, we’ll focus on this gene for this article.
While genetics is definitely not the end all be all, learning about yours can give you a clue about what working environments and strategies might work best for you. So let’s check out the genotypes!
#1 The Warrior Genotype: G/G Alleles
It is a great temptation for us to take the easy way out when facing adversity. However, Warriors thrive when push comes to shove (ergo, deadlines approach).
💪 Strengths
Career paths such as nursing, competitive sports, and the armed forces heavily favour the warrior genotype due partly to their work’s highly critical and performative nature.
💀 Weaknesses
Warriors may lose motivation in less motivating contexts. Within white-collar jobs, this may be when distractions loom instead of deadlines. Pomodoro to the rescue!
#2 The Artist* Genotype: A/A Alleles
Those with the Artist genotype have likely not lost their innate childhood creativity and instead sought to funnel it to thrive in their grown-up career.
💪 Strengths
Artists are intrinsically motivated, drawn to more self-led work such as entrepreneurship, academia, and, well, art.
💀 Weaknesses
As mentioned, stress shuts down the creativity of Artists, which can lead to uninspired work. Following the path of least stress can allow Artists to get past the boring or stressful parts of work. This path might mean getting excellent sleep, nutrition, exercise, and just being ready when inspiration sparks.
*Most sources have labeled this genotype the worrier genotype. But as a worrier myself, I’ve decided to rename it towards a better connotation :)
#3 The Jack-of-Both-Trades* Genotype: G/A Alleles
High school biology implies that having both alleles is possible. And it’s true.
⚖️ Strengths? Weaknesses? All but a false dichotomy.
While, as mentioned, the focus of this article is on the COMT-rs4680 gene, there are many more genes (plus complex environmental interactions) that affect how one’s motivational archetype manifests. Most will find themselves somewhere between Warrior and Artist despite their COMT-rs4680 result.
So, I lied. This pro vs. anti deadline classification is, in fact, too idealized.
*Also, I made this label up, if you can’t tell.
Takeaways
- Different productivity techniques work for different folks.
- Finding out how you best work can be illuminating regarding the careers, work culture, and team dynamics that you thrive in.
- It is vital to recognize that others in your work context might have completely different methods and sources of motivation that work best for them.
- Looking into your genetics and personality might make for a good introspective deep dive. (DNA tests reveal your COMT-rs2480 genotype)
If you’d like to read more informative stories like this, follow BACIC, where yours truly, Elvin Limpin, will post more about culture-related and technical topics.
If you’ve read this far, here’s an article to ̶p̶r̶o̶c̶r̶a̶s̶t̶i̶n̶a̶t̶e̶ use your 5 minute Pomodoro break on.
