Identifying and anticipating when people are motivated to be more active

Erik Pavia

@erikpavia

Motivation comes in waves

Looking at particular events, one should be able to anticipate when a person will enter a high motivation point.

Looking at individual behavior, one should be able to identify when a person is already highly motivated.

Seasonal Indicators(anticipate)

Many motivation waves accompany seasonal occurrences where people want to look particularly good. We can anticipate broad peaks in motivation around these events:• New Years• Summer’s beginning• New academic year• Halloween

System Shocks(anticipate)

Personal events that create drastic life changes can be used to anticipate high motivation:• Disease diagnosis (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.)• Weddings (look at the entire wedding party, not just

the bride)• Break-ups

Individual Actions(identify)

Looking for very specific individual actions could identify someone entering or riding a motivation wave:• Purchases (shoes, gym memberships, fitness trackers)• Browsing/search history (“gyms near Stanford, CA”)