Open Thread: How Do You Stay Motivated?
Posted September 15, 2008 in Inspiration, Open Thread, Productivity 11 Comments »
Life as a freelancer is often filled with ups and downs. Some days are fantastic, others can feel like an eternity where nothing ever gets finished.
The result of this is that most of us freelancers are self-starters. Being a self-starter is a common trait out of necessity — if you can’t motivate yourself as a freelancer it will be very difficult to maintain the workload and drive needed for success.
So this week’s question is: How do you stay motivated?
Leave some specific actions or tips in the comments, and next week we will feature the best ones in a follow-up article called “The Art of Self-Motivation”.
About the author: Mason Hipp is an entrepreneur, marketing guru, and writer. He blogs about life and business at FreelanceFolder.com and is co-author of the Book The Unlimited Freelancer. Follow him on twitter @MasonHipp
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11 Comments
Joann Sondy
September 15th, 2008 at 9:49 amToday…. zilch in the pool of motivation. Can’t keep my eyes off the business news, since my target market is directly related to publicly-traded stock. Maybe some re-tooling of my marketing to reach new markets/clients.
Good luck. /J
Bryan McCarty
September 15th, 2008 at 11:18 amAs a photographer and copywriter, I always stay on the lookout for amazing work. Subscribing to magazines like Creativity and Communication Arts is always a great way to see the freshest, newest and most innovative ideas. It’s these ideas that make my heart smile and remind me of why I love what I do.
::bryan
Kacper
September 15th, 2008 at 11:42 amTo kick my motivation, I always apply to myself some stron stimulus related to my task/project (for example if I have to code something, I read few quality articles about coding). I described it more detailed in my post there: http://www.kacperwrzesniewski.com/ultimate-motivation-tip-not-only-for-web-addicts/
Rob Steenwyk
September 15th, 2008 at 2:17 pmI look at every job I take as an opportunity to help someone. I used to work for a ticketing company (think Ticketmaster), and although the job could be very high stress, I always looked at the job like I was helping other people have a good time.
I still do that today, like when I am working on the server for a company that manufactures fire alarms. When I’m doing work for them, I figure that in a way I am potentially helping save someones life!
Of course, knowing that money is at the end of a not-so-fun task also helps.
Michael Martine, Blog Consultant
September 15th, 2008 at 4:20 pmHow do I stay motivated? Failure is unacceptable. That’s pretty damn motivating for me.
Candace
September 15th, 2008 at 7:05 pmI used to work as a waitress. Basically it’s this or serving cheese steak and fries. Works every time.
salwa
September 15th, 2008 at 9:41 pmPretty much what Michael Martine said “Failure is unacceptable”. That’s what motivates me the most
Dainis Graveris
September 15th, 2008 at 11:36 pmGreat question! I will look here later for more responses. For me it’s easy – I know that graphic and web designer is my proffesion for life, so I don’t know what I could do without it. And that’s only reason to keep my going and work hard every day to get to my goals. It’s simple as that.
Gavin Wray
September 16th, 2008 at 7:41 amI think back to the reasons why I chose to try freelancing in the first place. They were good, positive reasons that still hold true now.
monica
September 17th, 2008 at 12:48 amI stay motivated by keeping busy. I’m a freelance writer and web developer and try to balance my projects between the two. I keep plate loaded with a good mix of interesting work (or not so interesting if things are slow – the bills must be paid!). But keeping that mix helps. I’m also motivated by deadlines so I try to set mini-deadlines for myself throughout the day.
Adam
September 17th, 2008 at 10:21 amI am a freelance web designer / developer. During my down times I keep my routine going get up the same time every day. I do a few hours of work and then give myself a reward. Run to the gas station for a soda, go to the coffee shop for brunch, or take the dog to the park. Do that for no more than 2 hours come back and work and do the same thing in the evening.