Self-motivation

Image from www.despair.com

One aspect of free-lancing that I never really considered when I first decided to try it was motivation, not in the sense of 'why am I doing this?' but in the sense of 'I should really stop procrastinating and do something', and this could be a serious problem if I can't keep it under control.

I find that deadlines help. Unlike Douglas Adams, I don't like to hear them whoosh by and, if I have a deadline, getting motivated is not a problem. Unfortunately, this rarely works with self-imposed deadlines, usually only if I have found some other source of motivation.

So how do I motivate myself in the absence of a deadline? In some instances, I can self-impose a deadline simply by making said deadline known. This blog is an example of that. When I first started I decided that I would need to post a minimum of once a fortnight, more often would be better but that was the minimum. I picked this amount because it would give me plenty of time to think of things to write about if I was lacking inspiration (which, surprisingly, has not been the case thus far) and because it annoys me when I sign up to a blog and then there are no posts for weeks or even months on end. So, I decided on my arbitrary update schedule and then I told my wife and now I've told everyone who reads this. I choose the deadline, but now I have to stick to it or bad stuff happens.

But what about those things that can't be readily seen by other people? For example, I'm the only one who will know whether or not I have applied for a particular job or to work with an agency. Nobody will know if I do it now or tomorrow or next week. So, how do I motivate myself and stop procrastinating? Sometimes it helps me to focus on my own personal goals, be they short term (money for rent) or long term (enough money to buy an elephant. I don't want an elephant, I just want that much money). But what usually works best for me is if I can find something to inspire me. If I read or watch something about or by someone who is at the top of their game, a great writer, or an actor or just about anything, it inspires me to do the same. This motivates me to do things like update my resume and fill in applications and do test translations and do it now, the necessary things that aren't always the most interesting.

I suspect this post may make me come across as more than a little lazy but I think everyone has tasks that they put off in favour of more interesting ones. This is just how I deal with that problem.

As a side note, reward systems (if you work hard now, you can play later) do not work for me (I'm already playing and you have nothing else I want).