how do you motivate yourself?

[Albinobees]

so i know the evil avatar community has many writers and artists and i was wondering:

what do you guys do to motivate yourselves to write or draw or otherwise create?

i'm an artist myself, and constantly have ideas that i want to get onto paper in some form or another, even if nothing comes from it, just to get them out of my head. the problem that i run into is that between work, taking care of two young kids, a house, finding time to game a little bit and all the other things that come along with life, it seems like i never feel like doing anything creative.

so anyone have any advice? or is it just normal? or am i....**gasp** lazy?!

[AspectVoid]

For me, when it comes to creativity, the most important part was just setting aside time each week to sit down and do it. I've found that I really needed it as part of my regular schedule, just like a job, otherwise I would always find excuses to not do it. I had to make it one of the rocks in my life in order to ensure there would always be time for it.

When I was younger, I wrote. I set aside every Tuesday from 3pm to 6pm to just sit at my computer or with a pen and notebook and just wrote. These days, most of my creativity revolves around PnP RPGs. Every Wednesday, I get together with a bunch of friends at 6pm, we eat dinner and game for four to five hours. In either case, for me, creativity was all about telling stories.

I suppose the next question is, how can you make sure you're creative when the time comes? Well, there are no guarantees, but there are things you can do to help. I used to keep a notepad on me that I would scribble down 1 paragraph ideas for things to write about. If I was sitting in class or at work and working on a project, and something just came to me, I would pull that notepad out and scribble the idea down so I wouldn't lose it. When my "Creativity Time" came and I wasn't inspired to write something already, I would pull out that notebook and start reading through all of those "Flashes of Creativity" until something piqued my interest.

[Albinobees]

good idea to schedule time as if it were a job.

i do keep a notebook already, which is about the only thing I've done in the past few years.

thanks!

[xnelec]

When you don't feel like doing it.. force yourself. Seriously. Keep telling yourself in your head that you want to do it and need to start. Once you start doing it the first time, you will ask yourself why you didn't start earlier. The next time just start as well. It is that initial lazy hump that a lot of people have problems getting over. Setting time a side a few times a week then becomes easier. Don't expect to see an instant change about doing it and too much at the beginning just means you will burn out quick.

This advice work for just about anything.

[sai tyrus]

My creative outlet the past two years has been doing videos with gaming. I do a new vid about every 3 to 6 months. While I do it, I go like these guys, I typically schedule one day a week and and set aside a good chunk of time. I think that's the best way to do it. For me, it comes straight from my gaming time. Some sacrifices have to be made. Just depends what. And with family and responsibilities, it typically comes from shit you want to do. :(

[lockwoodx]

brain damage

[Albinobees]

brain damage

Huh.................?

[Johan]

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I just turned in my final doctoral dissertation. I am sure it will require multiple revisions and many more months of work to complete, but the key is to keep progressing, keep taking 'bites' out of the task at hand, and stay bullheaded about it. Specifically setting up a schedule with a time and place is a good part of this. I had to leave the house to get work accomplished. Staying at home with the kids and comforts of home was too distracting.

* Specific time.
* Specific place.
* Specific short-term and long-term goals (a 'ladder' if you will).
* Accountability with someone who will hold you to your goals/expectations of yourself.
* Persistence. Don't give up.

It has been a long, long road.
- Sixteen semester-long doctoral courses (one hour commute each way for every class session).
- Oral and written comprehensive examinations
- Comprehensive literature review (I have a 30+ page bibliography).
- Dissertation proposal (multiple revisions and committee defense).
- Institutional Review Board approval for survey work, including online coursework and construction of the survey.
- Contacting the survey population through dozens of hours of phone calls and e-mails.
- Compiling the data and analyzing it.
- Writing the analysis.
- Now, I await word on necessary revisions.

If you undertake a task, stick to it. The biggest test is one of perseverance. I'm not finished yet, but I'm not giving up.

Edit: I've worked full time through it all, as well. If you can go to school full time, take advantage of it. I couldn't.

[sai tyrus]

Awesome Johan! What did you go for specifically? My dad just got his Doctorate in Business. I'm going to be going for my master's soon... CRNA or Nurse Practitioner. If I go the latter route, I'll be getting my doctorate too.

[Mr. Lake]

I find it depends on what it is you want/need to do, but I'm pretty a-typical from most people in that I'm lucky enough to have a creative job. Most of the day I solve a number of technical issues related to level design and scripting for games, and I'm motivated by challenges. I really like having the answer to something, and the desire to reach that answer is what motivates me to stretch my brain and find creative solutions. If you recognize the experience as being significantly important, sometimes that's all the motivation you need. I learn way more by making mistakes than I do getting things right, but either way I don't learn a thing if I don't throw myself into a problem and hack it out.

[Agnostic Pope]

Huh.................?

He does hard drugs.

[Johan]

My dad just got his Doctorate in Business. I'm going to be going for my master's soon... CRNA or Nurse Practitioner. If I go the latter route, I'll be getting my doctorate too.

I'm working on a Ph.D. related to history/education/psychology, and researched an area that hadn't been touched for two decades in my state. I'm not done yet, but I keep chipping away at the mountain and making progress.

Congrats to your dad, and good luck in your own pursuits! You've chosen a great career field.

[Albinobees]

He does hard drugs.

That actually explains alot.

[sai tyrus]

I'm working on a Ph.D. related to history/education/psychology, and researched an area that hadn't been touched for two decades in my state. I'm not done yet, but I keep chipping away at the mountain and making progress.

Congrats to your dad, and good luck in your own pursuits! You've chosen a great career field.

Awesome! Thanks!