Motivation and Small Progress
Hypothetical here: you’ve got a really awesome idea that you’re excited about and can’t wait to explore further, but you have a hard time motivating yourself to put in the time. Your idea just sits on a shelf, taking up space in your mind (or on the said shelf). You think about it from time to time and how you want to get started. There may even be some guilt when you think about it because you know just how freaking awesome your idea is, and man is it ever freaking awesome.
It’s a great idea and you’ve maybe even started it; the proverbial (or literal) first marks are down, but no matter how many times you think about it, you can’t quite return to it. There just isn’t that drive to pick up the tools and get to work. This can happen for any number of reasons, all of which may be valid.
The first and most important thing I’m going to say here is this: don’t judge yourself. You’re doing the best you can with what you have. Life happens and your motivation will ebb and flow. There will be people out there who will tell you to push through and get stuff done no matter what. I recognize that may not be super realistic sometimes. That’s okay.
It’s all about making Small Progress
What you can do when your motivation is at a low point is to make Small Progress. I feel fancy when I capitalize new terms like that, so just roll with it, it’s an important concept. Small Progress can be achieved when your motivation is at a low point because it doesn’t require a lot of effort and can actually jumpstart your motivation.
It’s taking micro-steps towards creativity.
If you’re working on a project, it’s breaking things down into very small and manageable actions. The act of making progress and creating, no matter how small can have a huge impact on your morale and sense of productivity.
Small Progress can involve thinking about the idea and jotting down a couple of notes, making a to-do list, and deciding what your next step is when your motivation comes back. Those are just a few examples. The important part is that you’re doing something related to your idea that could count as a step forward. You may be surprised when you’ve made Small Progress and how you become motivated to make one or two small steps beyond that.
A few small steps can add up to quite a bit.
When I have an idea for an art project that I’m excited about but don’t have the motivation to formally get started, I often take out one of my notepads and jot down a few notes about it. I spend five minutes brainstorming what steps I could take to get started. I think about the materials I need and what my first mark may look like. Those small steps help me feel productive and lower the threshold it takes for me to properly get started (again). Think about any ideas/projects you’ve put off that you started but haven’t revisited.
What Small Progress can you make in the next day or two?
Evaluate your commitment to your idea
If you’re like me, the longer you wait to revisit your idea or project, the less likely you are to ever go back to it. Too many projects have ended up in the ‘in-progress’ stage of creativity. For some of those projects, that is just fine as not everything needs to be ‘completed.’ However, if your goal is to make something that results in a final product, then motivation can be a real idea-killer if it’s low.
There are a million reasons why our motivation may be low; we’re too tired, too busy, or too burnt out. Maybe you’re less enthusiastic about your idea than you were at the beginning, or you haven’t received the feedback you would have liked at this point. It’s possible the project is more of an undertaking than you’d previously imagined.
There is no shortage of reasons why our motivation takes a hit, but we’ve all felt what it feels like when the thought of putting in the work towards an idea or project just seems too daunting to get over. When this happens, Small Progress can be a helpful aid.
However, this may also be a good time to evaluate your commitment to the idea.
Revisit your idea and pursue creativity that adds value to your life
The time and resources we have each day are on a budget — we don’t have infinite amounts of time, energy, and motivation. After you’ve started creating something doesn’t mean you’re committed to it. When you’re finding yourself struggling with motivation to continue working on your idea, take some time to evaluate what it means to you and if it’s the best use of your limited resources.
If your idea is challenging you, exciting you, or helping you to explore something, then take that into account. But if you’re finding that you’re just going through the motions to complete the project and cannot think of any convincing reasons why spend a few days visiting and revisiting whether or not you’d be better off focusing on a new creative pursuit.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should just quit the project because you’re not motivated to finish it. If I said and believed that, I’d have many projects that I wouldn’t have finished because of a temporary dip in motivation. Let’s spend our days pursuing creativity that adds value to our lives, and cutting out the work that doesn’t, wherever possible.
For more creative resources, please visit my website: Lazy Creativity (ourlazycreativity.com). Plus, if you subscribe (you’ll be prompted on the Home page), I’ll throw in a free copy of my book, Lazy Creativity.
Find me on LinkedIn: Kyle Bernier, MAATC | LinkedIn or on Instagram: @Kyle_Bernier. I sometimes make pretty things.
