11–20 of 123 posts
First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
Since going back to being primarily a maker after organizing my days around being a manager[1], and being an avid runner, I've redefined my relationship with "motivation" in a way that can be summed up succinctly by author Brad Stulberg: "You don't need to feel good to get going. You need to get going to feel good." I know that I am long-term very motivated, but day to day or hour to hour, "motivation" is a tricky word, because my energy and creativity waxes/wanes.
Agree with the author that structure is the most important thing for me to work around this. Even though makers dream of an open schedule, on the days where I'm off my usual routine, it's really tough to prioritize all the many things always on my plate. It's even tougher trying to decide to peel myself away from work to go for a run that I know will help me focus better after. Making the decision can be emotionally and mentally taxing, whereas if I rely on the default that I just go out for a run as soon as I wake up, the rest of the day just flows from that without the decision fatigue. Time-blocking or even just very simple structure like the OP has has been really effective for me. This includes a hard stop time each day even if it feels like I'm on a roll— my younger self would often borrow against my future energy, and that seemed to rarely work out in the medium-to-long term.
> This is combined with a lack of co-workers. Comrades in the trenches, if you will. And finally there's the ability to not do anything, which can be quite nebulous and dangerous if not managed.
For anyone who is a solo-creator struggling with this, "body-doubling" is a term from the ADHD/neurodivergent community that simply means "doing a task in the presence of another person". Surprisingly, they don't have to be working on the same task to help you feel like you have "comrades in the trenches". If you're interested, check out Flow Club in my bio.
What it highly correlates to is your health - mental and physical. I have a friend / colleague who is a successful creator. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. He does well. But the stress is endless.
Being solo, pardon the cliche, but he's like a rat in the social media platforms' wheel. There's no room for error (i.e., getting sick). Even his "vacations" are driven by what content he can create. The wheel never stops.
From time to time we chat about his "business model". To me it's not sustainable, or it is until it isn't, and then the bottom comes up fast. I've suggested he start to think of himself less as a recording artist and more as the record label. That is., to somehow try to figure out how to be less dependent on being the only rat running (for dear life) in the wheel. He agrees. But in no time at all, he's gotta get back on the wheel. There's no exit other than to shut down, which is no exit at all.
The focus is admirable. But it can also be blinding, and perhaps eventually unhealthy. For as successful as he is, I wouldn't trade places with him.
A crucial point the post misses is the distinction between motivation and discipline. Ultimately it's easy to work on things when they are fun and exciting; but motivation will only last for so long... once that happens it's the discipline that needs to take over for you to keep progressing forward.
First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
Similar for me. I'm generating and validating ideas at the moment, but it takes almost no time for me to convince myself an idea is rubbish, not worth exploring, or already done.
OP mentioned a Slack channel for creators in his country. I've been looking for a similar channel.
I'm in Arizona in the US. Anyone know of any similar channels that I could join?
First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
>But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. Similar for me. I'm generating and validating ideas at the moment, but it takes almost no time for me to convince myself an idea is rubbish, not worth exploring, or already done.
It just as well may indicate there’s room in the market for yet another twist on a similar thing.
First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
What drives people?
A crucial point the post misses is the distinction between motivation and discipline. Ultimately it's easy to work on things when they are fun and exciting; but motivation will only last for so long... once that happens it's the discipline that needs to take over for you to keep progressing forward.