Find Inspiration when there is None
Finding motivation and inspiration is one of the great challenges in life. Without it our productivity comes to a grinding halt and we find ourselves feeling frustrated, unmotivated and discouraged. Inspiration doesn’t grow on trees so how can we do our best to find it, nurture it and be most productive.
Here are the ways to find inspiration when you lack motivation.
1. Don’t Wait For Inspiration
In my own blogging, writing and podcasting if I waited until inspiration to hit to start creating content I would probably only have a handful of articles or shows I’ve put out. This is where you need to manufacture your own inspiration by creating a daily habit that just encourages it to happen. If you schedule a time where it forces you to start being creative it gets you on the right path and the inspiration begins to flow. Sticking to that schedule gets you into a daily habit where productivity becomes a skill.
It’s just like a muscle that needs to be constantly used in order to get bigger and stronger and creating a disciplined schedule is no different. Before you work, this is a good time to watch YouTube videos that inspire you or music you find motivational. It’s all about creating the habit that your brain recognizes that it’s time to be productive.
2. Find the Right Time
Recognizing when you work best is just as important as the struggle to work, It’s a key element in creating the daily habit. Do you wake up full of energy and ready to go? You might benefit from getting underway first thing. You might be a night owl and your best work comes after 10pm. In my case, for whatever reason, I’ve found that the time of day I tend to have more motivation is the late afternoon.
So this is when I set aside my time to work on my own business, get writing done and create content. This might not work for everyone but I’ve found it to be best in my situation.
3. Look At The Big Picture
This is apparently an old trick by Jerry Seinfeld. He would take one of those big calendars that has all the days in a single year laid out and each day he would force himself to work on jokes and new material and then put a big red X through that day. His reasoning was when you look back and see all the progress for the year and all the red X’s something in your head wants to prevent you from missing one and having a big glaring blank space in a sea of red X’s.
This might work well for you in whatever type of work or goals you have that require perseverance and a continuous effort. This way you focus on progress and not perfection and that’s the key behind long term success.
