The ObservatoryThe joy schedule
Don't wait for the urge. Joy usually comes after you start, not before. So you schedule it.
How it works
- The urge comes laterWrite
- What usually gives you somethingList
- Choose two or threeWrite
- Put them into the weekWriteChoose
We think we have to feel like doing something before we do it. But motivation often follows action, not the other way around. You start without the urge, and the urge shows up along the way.
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Why does it work?
Scheduling positive activities instead of waiting for the urge is the core of behavioral activation, one of the most robust methods against low mood (Jacobson 1996; meta-analysis Cuijpers 2007). The principle that action comes before feeling holds beyond depression too, though it is less studied there.
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