Moving from cashing out to bankroll building

[Triumph36]

When I first began playing no-limit poker online for a reasonable amount of money, I'd only put 4 or 5x the buy-in, and cash out the entire thing when I felt like it. For the entirety of last summer, I played this way, usually doubling my money and taking a week or two off. During breaks from school, I would also play this way. This year I graduated, and as a result I'm looking to build a bankroll to play in higher games, rather than to have some extra spending money.

When I was playing in this 'unprofessional' fashion, the money really meant something because it meant DVDs, nice alcohol, taking a shot at 2-5 NL in AC, and so on. But now that I'm trying to build a .25/.50 NL bankroll into a 1/2 bankroll, I find myself calling a lot more, firing second barrels when I shouldn't, etc. I'm trying to outplay my opposition rather than win more money. I've been frustrated by my ability to build a bankroll as well: in the last six weeks I've fluctuated from $800 to $1300 with no consistent gains, so I now see my goal of building that bankroll as unattainable.

I was wondering if anyone's been through this transition and and how they got through it. I've been tempted to move other money into my BR just so I can play at a higher limit, but I'm not so sure I should with how sub-optimally I've been playing lately.