Follow Josh on TwitterA motivational trick: your password
by Josh Bernoff
If your company is like mine, you need to change your password every three months or so.
Next time, don't just create something easy to remember that fits the IT department's arcane requirements. Think of something that will motivate you.
When I was considering writing Groundswell, my password was "Writer50", a reminder that if I really thought I could be an author, I had better publish a book by the time I turned 50.
What's your motivational password?
DontBackD0wn
L1nchp1n
Relate1stNsell
N0MoreSnax
CalmCount2Ten
Icanmanage2
Yeah, they'll take a second or two longer to type than if you chose a password to be mindless. But being mindful, for two seconds at the start of every day, is probably worth it.
And no one's gonna guess it, because it's so personal. (You'll never guess what I'm working on now.)
Great post. I thought I was the only one that did this. Creating an aspirational password is a great way to stay motivated at work.
Posted by: Scott Lum | February 24, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Very cool tip.
Thanks for posting.
Posted by: Drew | February 24, 2011 at 07:13 PM
Very helpful and practical. Thanks, Josh.
Posted by: Jane Tuttle | February 25, 2011 at 10:00 AM
I haven't thought of this idea. This will be a better one than having dates and unforgettable places as passwords. Thanks.
Posted by: Brad Fallon | February 28, 2011 at 09:21 AM
Makes sense. We used a similar approach for Login on our Website. When we could not offer personal Passwords, we changed the existing ones regularly and chose "inspirational" Passwords relating to our readers' needs. Thus we could e.g. take names of our products, conferences or things we wanted people to connotate with our company. I mean, we had to make the best of a vice...
Posted by: Martin Gross-Albenhausen | March 02, 2011 at 05:25 AM
This is a good idea. I think I already applied this concept. Let me think...last year I used adjectives like "pinkfighter".
It refers to my favorite color and my personality on being a fighter.
Posted by: Zyra | March 06, 2011 at 09:28 AM
I love this idea! It's great to have a positive mantra, especially one that you can share with your coworkers.
Posted by: permission based email marketing | March 14, 2011 at 10:18 PM
I think this is a good idea instead of using different dates of different occasions which may be vanished from our mind. Its great havent thought ever about it.
Posted by: Proposal Software | March 27, 2011 at 04:21 PM