5 Easy Ways to Jump-Start Your Motivation

Working as a creative professional has a ton of rewards. Some days, your innate desire to “git er done” is through the roof, but on other days, it can be nearly impossible to find. (We know the feeling!) Step One is to acknowledge the fact that motivation, like inspiration, is fickle and fleeting. It comes and it goes. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to cheat the system and kickstart your productivity, even on your most sluggish of days. That’s Step Two:

1. UNPLUG

If your work requires a computer, you might not be able to disconnect completely, but eliminating some of distractions of 21st century life will save you significant amounts of time. If you can bear it, turn off your cell phone or leave it in another room for one or two-hour increments. Turn off non-essential push notifications and alerts for apps on all of your devices. You can even download apps that block social media for certain periods of time! Bottom line: save your energy for more important things.

2. BUDDY UP

Accountability works, plain and simple! Find someone in your life who can be your work buddy. Share your intentions for each work session with each other and be sure to check in on your progress throughout. Ask a pal to text you every hour to keep you on track. Investigate coworking spaces in your area. Immerse yourself in an environment where productivity is prioritized; monkey see, monkey do!

3. TIME BLOCKS

If you get overwhelmed just thinking about all that you need to get done in a single day, try zooming in a bit and breaking down your work into blocks of time. Sort your highest priority tasks into the number of categories that’s right for you, and project the amount of time it might take for you to accomplish the work in each category. You can also try dividing every hour into three work blocks and tackling your task list based on what can be accomplished in a twenty-minute increment. One step at a time; slow and steady wins the race.

4. REWARD SYSTEM

What is your incentive for getting things done? Of course, all of your work should be in service of your overall mission (as an artist, as an individual, as a brand), but if you are lacking in motivation, build in a reward at the end of the task that’s overwhelming you. This could be a cappuccino at the coffee shop down the block or tickets to a show, but however you “treat yo self,” be sure you’ve truly earned it. 

5. GET INSPIRED

When your well of inspiration has run dry, turn to the people, places, and things that have inspired you in the past. See a play. Go to a concert. Get some fresh air. Read the newest book from your favorite author. Turn on a podcast. If you can surround yourself with art and culture and humanity that encourage you to be better, you’ll tap into reserves of motivation you didn’t know you had.

Not sure where to begin? Schedule a call.

10 Things All Freelancers Should Be Doing

The life of a freelancer can be unpredictable — and let’s be honest: that’s why we love it! — but  sometimes that can lead to overwhelm, disorganization, and chaos. To combat those feelings, we suggest implementing systems into your life and work that incentivize consistency, reduce stress, and eliminate the obstacles that stand in the way of getting things done. We’ve compiled a list of ten practices that will position you for greater success in your life as a creative professional. Stay savvy!

1. Keep your digital presence up to snuff: Most of your fans, potential clients, and community will first engage with you online, so it’s important that you treat your online presence as a living thing. Websites and social media profiles require long-term care and maintenance — and the same goes for any place that you exist on the internet! Stay up to date, Ponyboy.

2. Stay on top of your budget: Even if it’s as simple as a spreadsheet in Numbers or Excel, tracking your income and expenses in real time will give you a clear and consistent picture of how much work you have or need — and it’ll make tax time a breeze! Bottom line: you’ve got to keep an eye on your bottom line.

3. Learn how to overcome rejection: We know it’s kind of a bummer to talk about, but the more you can get comfortable with rejection as an undeniable presence in your life as an artist, the quicker you’ll be able to move through those feelings. Remember: for any opportunity you don’t get, there are 100 reasons as to why. The odds would say it isn’t personal. 

4. Always have a contract: It’s always best when everyone’s looking at the same map. Cover your bases and hold all parties accountable by outlining the nature of your work, performance, or relationship in written form. Include the scope of work, costs, and timeline. Google is chock full of sample contracts and agreements if you need a template to get you started!

5. Know your competition: Your goal is to be so singular in who you are, what you do, and what you offer that you stand apart from all of your competition. In the arts, of course, there is a lot of competition. If you can articulate what makes you the expert in your niche and communicate that wherever your brand  lives, folks will take notice.

6. Use the right tools: Do the things you use everyday actually serve you? Think of the supplies, equipment, and software you use to conduct the business of your art as items in your toolbox. Everyone’s needs are different, but if you hone your collection over time (trial and error), you’ll have a mastery of each tool and greater efficiency in your overall operation.

7. Save and back up your work: In the cloud. On an external hard drive. Whatever your preference, do it often. Don’t learn this lesson the hard way!

8. Stay in the know: Just like your digital presence, your base industry knowledge should be approached (and cared for) like a living, evolving thing. Read books and trade publications, download podcasts that speak to your field, and attend workshops and classes. Staying viable and relevant relies on an ongoing understanding of the landscape in which you operate.

9. Balance work and life: Easier said than done, but boundaries help! Boundaries may take the form of a regular schedule, but if that doesn’t work for you and your business, at least try unplugging for a few hours each day. We think you’ll be surprised about what that can do for your mental acuity.

10. Keep the hustle alive: Some days bring three new opportunities and several hours of deep productivity. On other days, responding to a few emails is an accomplishment. Take pride in your forward momentum and forgive yourself for any setbacks. Do what you can to stay engaged, inspired, and hungry. Don’t get comfortable. Get after it.

Still feeling overwhelmed? Need a hand? Schedule a call.

The Power of the Weekly Reset

With each new year comes a major cultural conversation about resolutions, intentions, determinations, and goals. Whatever you want to call them, these are the specific measures of success that we identify for ourselves, usually for betterment in some area of our lives. And while nothing can rival the clean slate feeling of January 1, there’s no reason we can’t reset, reorient, and revisit our goals on a more frequent basis.

We’ve taken deep dives into how to improve your goals by making them SMARTER, but with resolutions fresh and hopefully still intact, this refresher may help you double down on your commitment to them:

• Specific: Be as precise as possible with your goals. If your to-do list says “get your life together,” the overwhelm will set in before you even have a sense of how to achieve that. A better approach is to break down what that means; you’re probably a bit more likely to “do the laundry, clean the apartment, and take out the trash.”

• Measurable: Measurability is one piece of specificity. How will you determine success? Sleeping eight hours every night? Then you should track that. If you're hoping to grow brand awareness or an audience base, then measure website visits, downloads, open rates.

• Achievable: Are you set up to make your goal happen? Is it doable in your timeline? This is the time for a reality check: do you have the resources to get it done? If not, how can you evolve, scale back, and refocus on what’s doable and essential.

• Relevant: Why does this goal matter to you, your team, or your overall mission? If you don’t have a good answer to the question, you may want to reassess.

• Time-Specific: This is crucial. Tasks without due dates don’t get done. Even if it’s arbitrary at first, giving yourself a deadline increases the likelihood that the thing (whatever it is) gets done.

• Exciting: Make sure your goals excite you. If it doesn’t spark joy, perhaps it isn’t a worthwhile goal in the first place.

• Revisable: Once you’ve evaluated how close you came to achieving your measurable goals, you can revise the approach for next time. This step is crucial for growth.

Open a spreadsheet app or a blank notebook. Create a column for each component of the SMARTER goals, and then list out your resolutions or intentions by row. By forcing yourself to be as specific, measurable, and time-specific as possible, you’re not only interrogating the actual merit of each goal, but you’re increasing your likelihood of success.

Now let’s zoom in on that last one: revisable. You can revise your goals on a recurring basis and at whatever frequency makes sense to you, but we definitely recommend doing it more than once a year.

What would happen if you implemented a system for your life the same way businesses and organizations implement systems and strategies to meet their goals and measure their success?

What would happen if you created, implemented, and committed to a weekly, monthly, or quarterly reset — or even more impressive, a combination of them all?

The weekly reset, for instance, allows you to batch process all of the odds and ends of being a human; let’s call it “life administration.” We know that routine reduces stress, so create and implement a weekly ritual that allows you to move through the chaos of life from a grounded and organized place. Doing this has completely maximized the productivity of many of the freelancers in our lives!

Of course, the exact nature of your weekly reset task list will vary based on who you are and what you do, but here are some ideas to get you going. If this list overwhelms you, just pick two or three to start. Once it becomes a routine, it won’t feel so daunting. In fact, it’ll be a breeze.

1. Task Management: Prioritize your to-do list for the week ahead. Break down each task step by step so there’s nothing in the way of you getting it done.

2. Inbox Management: Read and process your emails. Put events on your calendar and tasks into your task manager (even if that’s just a pad of paper).

3. Other Correspondence: If you aren’t meticulous about logging tasks as they pop up in Slack channels, text messages, and the other spaces you chat, make sure you’re revisiting these threads on a weekly basis and putting the actionable items somewhere useful.

4. “Saved” Items: If you’re like us, you might save items on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) or articles (via Pocket or your browser bookmarks) — often for entertainment or for personal and professional growth. Don’t let these links build up. You probably saved them for a reason, so either digest the content and put the takeaways somewhere useful, or reassess whether it’s worth your time.

5. Calendar Management: Take a look at the week ahead. Follow up on tentative plans. Grab tickets to that performance. Remove whatever may be irrelevant.

6. Budget: Balance the checkbook. Pay the bills. Put on a playlist, pour yourself a coffee or tea, and knock it out!

7. File Management: Make sure your digital (and physical) files are organized in a way that makes future referral a breeze. Clean out your Downloads folder, clear the clutter from your Desktop, and put what you need to keep into its appropriate folder. Same goes for Google Drive and Dropbox.

8. Phone: Clean your phone. Sure, the actual device, but what’s in it, too! Follow up on texts, voicemails, voice memos, and notes. Import or upload photos you want to keep. Delete the ones you don’t.

9. Goals: Check in. Hold yourself accountable. Track your progress. If you took a few steps backwards, don’t be too hard on yourself. There’s always next week.

What would happen if you gave this weekly reset a shot? How much more could you get done? How much better might you feel? Bottom line: digital organization, ritualized in this way, will make you more efficient and less stressed.

Most important: You can’t do this all at once or all by yourself.  Pick two or three from this list and start there. As Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

If you need some help getting started, or if you are stuck along the way, schedule a call.

12 Simple Tips to Maximize Your Productivity

Feeling unmotivated? We’ve compiled 12 simple tips designed to re-energize and inspire you to maximize your productivity. Go get ‘em!

1. Find your window of peak productivity.

For some folks, it’s first thing in the morning. For others, it’s midnight to 3:00 a.m. However you work, try planning your day around the window of time that allows you to get the most accomplished with the least amount of distraction.

2. Stop multitasking.

Although lots of people claim to thrive while doing five things at once, we’ve found that doing so ultimately decreases the quality of your work. Instead, create a list of to-dos in order of importance, and tackle them one by one.

3. Set the mood with some background music.

Whether you prefer jazz, hip-hop, or EDM — or even the cacophany of a bustling coffee shop — the soundtrack can make all the difference when it comes to sustaining your productivity. Instrumental music is most likely to keep you distraction-free.

4. Take a break.

When you feel your focus and energy start to wane, don’t throw in the towel! Just take a 5 to 10 minute break: take a walk, grab a snack, or stretch. More often than not, you’ll come back refreshed and ready to dive back in!

5. Get specific.

When we feel overwhelmed by or, worse, disregard an item on our to do list, it’s usually because it’s not specific enough. Break down your tasks into individual, actionable steps so you know exactly what it will take to get them completed.

6. Sleep.

Eight hours minimum. No excuses. Just do it and thank us later.

7. Find the right environment.

Context is everything. If you work remotely, find the workspace that’s best for you. A coffee shop or coworking space lets you work where other people are working, but a library or your desk at home are quieter, more controllable environments.

8. Batch your emails.

Does your workflow get interrupted by a constant trickle of emails? Instead of leaving your Gmail tab open all day, try checking and responding in batches every 4 or 5 hours. If you’re bold, only check your email once a day and watch the spike in your productivity.

9. Just pick three.

Don’t get cocky thinking you’re going to knock out fifteen tasks in one day. Instead, set a realistic goal and tackle the 3 most crucial items on your to do list. Best case scenario: you’ll exceed your own expectations!

10. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Incentives work! If you are lacking in productivity, build in a reward at the end of the task that’s overwhelming you. These rewards could range from a latte at the coffee shop down the block to tickets to the performance you’ve been wanting to see.

11. Eat and drink well.

An engine is only as good as its fuel. Eating well and staying hydrated is as important for work as it is for the rest of your life! That loss of motivation you always feel in the middle of the day may actually just be dehydration.

12. Just start!

If you’re struggling to get things done, don’t just sit around waiting for the inspiration. Dive in, get going, make like Nike and Just Do It. Chances are the doing of the thing will inspire you to keep going.

Want some help? Schedule a call.