Smith Business Close-Up: Variety and Motivation

Thursday, August 4, 2011, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, August 7, 2011, 7:30 a.m.

As the old saying goes, variety is spice of life. It turns out, it’s also the key to keeping yourself motivated to meet your goals when you haven’t yet made much progress. The catch: if you are almost at your goal, less variety is more motivating.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, PhD candidate Jordan Etkin talks about her research that finds variety has a huge impact on motivation.

Etkin and Rebecca Ratner, associate professor of marketing at the Smith School, looked at how variety among products people use to meet their goals affects their motivation. The researchers tested their theories with five studies, several using fitness goals and variety packs of flavored Power Bars, protein powders and shakes. Etkin’s previous career as a personal trainer sparked her interest in studying variety and motivation -- she’d create fitness plans with lots of variety for new clients, but stick to a less varied routine when working out herself.