For many professionals who provide freelance services to other businesses or individuals, the primary motivation is making money. After all, there are no paid vacations in the freelance world. If you do not work, you do not get paid. However, the quest to pay your bills is sometimes not enough to encourage you to do your best work possible. The following methods will help you increase your motivation for all the right reasons.
Focus on More Personal Goals
You chose to be a freelance professional for a reason. Remember these personal goals on a regular basis to improve motivation to work hard and achieve them. Perhaps you want more time with your family, more flexibility in your schedule, or an improved sense of self-worth that comes with working for yourself.
Create a Reward System
Children may get plastic trophies when they win a soccer game or spelling bee, or gold star stickers on a chore chart when they make their bed or wash their dishes. Adults can get the same motivational boost when rewarded with small things they value. This is not about buying yourself a new pair of shoes every time you successfully finish a creative project for a client. Instead, it is an organized way to track progress and always focus on a positive outcome.
Align Your Motivation With the Market
Ultimately, the market determines whether you succeed or fail as a freelancer or self-employed creative professional. When you focus on an external motivation, such as reaching a new audience or expanding into a different industry, you have more concrete proof that what you do is working effectively. What could be more motivating than that?
