Thoughts On Motivation

This hasn't happened in a while. It's currently 8:30pm on Tuesday and I am just now sitting down to write this post. There isn't a good reason why I didn't write this weekend like normal. I suppose if I had to pin down a reason it would be a lack of creative inspiration. I've been cooped up in the house because of a foot injury and haven't had my usual time in the city, doing activities to get the creative juices flowing.

So, I decided to turn to the ultimate place of inspiration: Pinterest. After browsing some pretty images and looking at pins with post ideas, I began to wonder how I stay motivated to keep writing week after week. Sometimes I have a ton to write about and other times I'm forcing myself through the motions. But I've yet to miss a posting day and somehow keep myself chugging out content.

Usual forms of motivation are monetary (nope, not selling anything here) or social/recognition (not a lot of reader comments and interaction goes on), yet somehow, here we are with a post scheduled for 5am, just like every week. This is what I've realized about motivation and how we can keep ourselves working at something for the long haul.

Commit

And get yourself on a schedule! No matter what you want to do, you have to set aside dedicated time (and mini-deadlines) to do that thing. You will always find time for what you prioritize, so if you commit to something, you can make it happen. 

Have a record

Have you seen habit trackers in bullet journals? Where you fill in a little square each day you engage in a habit? Keeping track and having a record gives you pride and self-motivation to keep working towards what you want. I realize that not everything can be measured exactly, but if you can get creative and figure out a way to see your progress, it'll do wonders to keep you going.

See the long term value

I love blogging because it challenges me to come up with new ideas, to refine the way I express myself, and it's a great way to look back at my personal growth. Each post I create adds to my story and development. When you have something you want to engage in for the long haul, see how it makes you happy now, but also how it brings you pride and value in the long term. And keep reminding yourself of that!

When I first started blogging 4 years ago I didn't imagine I would keep it up this long. I've never really thought about when I will stop blogging. I most likely won't keep doing this my entire life (there's going to be too many technological changes for this to be relevant forever), so it's certainly something I want to enjoy and be committed to for as long as possible. 

How do you stay motivated with blogging or any other activities? How do you optimize the conditions to keep you committed?

-AJF

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