04

Aug

Keeping Yourself Motivated

Sometimes we lose motivation to write. It can be very annoying, especially when there is a deadline to meet. Its possible the longer your motivation escapes you the more guilty you feel at not writing anything.

You are not alone. Life is designed to make us feel tired. Circumstance dictates our mood state. Any number of situations can make us feel unmotivated.

Here then are some tips to help you, the freelance writer, with your motivation, or lack thereof.

Capitalise on the days you are motivated.   On those days when you are almost burning holes into your keyboard as your fingers work at double speed plan ahead. Prepare something for those days when you are going to feel unmotivated. Do the necessary research and outline ideas for something to write about while you are on a roll. You know yourself that when you are not feeling motivated to write the very idea of research is probably a slog. So on your positive days do all the hard work in advance. Then on the days your motivation is at a minimum you at least have something to work on. You will automatically feel better at doing something rather than nothing at all.

Read something. Your freelance writing may be fiction or non fiction. It may be blogging or article writing. It may be a whole number of things. Writing is a whole lot easier when you read other people’s work. By reading a good novel or article it is likely you will be encouraged to return to your own work. In fact serious writers need to be serious readers too. A good author or journalist can inspire our own creative juices. So use your down time creatively. Spend time with the written word even when you can’t write your own.

Exercise more. Okay, so if you are feeling tired it is unlikely you want go on a long hike. However a short walk is always good when you are feeling low. Your body and mind will feel healthier by getting some fresh air. The alternative is sitting on your sofa feeling sorry for yourself and laziness will set in. A ten minute walk can refresh you, all the better for your mental capacity to deal with the writing ahead.

Write something. Yes I know you may not want to write anything when feeling unmotivated. However taking a break from whatever project you are working on is fine if your heart just isn’t in it. You can still use the time to write something, be that a poem, email, tweet or Facebook post. The longer you stay away from your keyboard the harder it will be to return to it. So make an effort to write something, anything, until you feel ready to get back to the task at hand.

I hope you remained motivated long enough to read the above and get to this point in the article. You know yourself better than anyone so do what it takes to get yourself back in to the creative spirit. Whether that be reading, walking, doodling, listening to music, talking to other writers or something else. Do what you need to do today. You will feel better for it.