5 Ways to Find Motivation to Create When You Punch Out

So you want to make a living creating what you love yet you’re exhausted when leave your full-time job. How do you find motivation to come home and focus on putting in extra work?

5 Ways to Find Motivation to Make a Living When You Punch Out

I understand your job can be taxing and leave you exhausted, but to me that’s not an excuse to why you can't find motivation. How badly do you love to create that you’d rather devote your attention to a device for self-fulfillment? I’m not saying this is bad once in a while but there is no room to complain when this is a daily occurrence.If you’re truly passionate and serious about making this your future, the will to create should far outweigh the need to make excuses. You won’t get the satisfying, productive high from gorging on a full season of Breaking Bad, scrolling through Facebook or playing 3 hours of video games a night.This type of consuming doesn’t bring value to the world and will not get you to where you want to be.I’m convinced that if you find the right thing to pursue, you will find motivation in abundance regardless if you work full time. I say this because I was once the person who used excuses but have since released myself from this victim mindset. I work full time and still have the drive to do what I love after punching out and I know it’s possible for you too.So here are 5 ways you can find motivation that will empower you to create outside of your full time job.

1. Have an End Goal in Sight

What good is motivation if you don’t have something to work towards every day?

Are you trying to build an audience?
Are you wanting to transition to a full time freelancer?
Are you striving to establish an online business with your art?

If you don’t have a vision then you’ll never find motivation because the easy path of being too tired will always present itself. It’ll never be convenient nor will you ever have the desire to create after your job if you aren’t creating for a purpose.My passion and purpose is to create value that is solely targeted at helping people like you find your passion and purpose. My goal is to do this full-time in the near future and that’s what fuels my ambition every morning to get out of bed while the rest of the world is sleeping.

2. Passion vs. Hobby

Is what you want to do a passion or a hobby? Do you even know how to find your passion?Finding something you’re passionate about will enable you to show up and sacrifice after a long days grind.The difference between a passion and a hobby is you can do something you’re passionate about each day without it feeling like work, while a hobby is something you do when you feel like it. If you’re creating when you feel like it and treat it as a hobby, it’s always going to be hard to find motivation to create when you punch out.I'm paraphrasing from Seth Godin but, “What separates a professional from a hobbyist is doing something your passionate about even when it’s not convenient.”Find something you love to do and that will provide the necessary motivation to hustle after hours.

3. Find What Works and Do More of it

Finding something your passionate about will mean nothing if it doesn’t work. When you find what works, you need to do more of it.You also need to have the talent to match the drive.For example, you’re passionate about becoming a freelance artist but you lack the artistic ability and the business acumen to make a living off it. It’s obvious you need to find a different area of focus because you lack the necessary skills for the market, regardless of your passion.When you can match your passion with what’s working and show up each day, you’re going to get results.But how do you know if what you do is working?You’ll know when something is working when you receive outside validation.The beauty of the internet is that it allows you to share your gift with ease, but you can’t expect instant gratification. Don’t expect your work to take off right away, you have to show up and see if it gains traction and resonates with an audience over time.Sharing my art on Instagram gave me the outside validation I needed to know that I had the talent to match my passion. That's what fuels my drive and helps me find motivation to do more of what works.

4. Consistent Mindful Consumption

Do you lack motivation because you’re short on ideas?The lack of ideas will translate into creative block which hinders the drive to create in your free time.Breaking out of this slump is possible, but you’re missing the secret:

You’re not feeding your brain proper content.

When you feast on mindful content, it’s easy to ride the creative high because you’re constantly consuming and researching material that will fuel your inspiration.I never run out of ideas and I owe it to consistent mindful consumption. I easily listen to a minimum of six hours a day of podcasts focused on self-help and entrepreneurship. I use every chance I can to fill any void in my day by listening to them:

at work
while driving
in the shower
doing cardio
doing housework
etc.

We become what we consume so fuel your brain with as much inspiring material as possible whenever you can.You can actually find an ongoing list of what I feed my brain here.

5. Capture Your Ideas

Stop letting your good ideas get away.You need to have a process to capture ideas as you force feed your brain. This builds up a gold mine of reserves you can tap into anytime.This is crucial if doing daily or weekly content.[pullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="#1C1C1C" class="" size="32"]Capturing your ideas is your oxygen and imperative if you want to maintain consistency and establish an audience.[/pullquote]I give a more detailed approach of 9 Ways to Never Lose Your Idea Again in a previous blog post but my go to secret weapon is keeping a sketchbook by side at all times. I’m always ready to throw down when inspiration strikes.It’s the only way I’ve been able to produce consistent weekly blog posts with detailed feature images.If you want to build an audience you have to be consistent and consistency is attainable through capturing your ideas.

Save the Excuse

You really think people want to hear why you’re too tired to make moves?Motivation comes from within and is an internal battle you need to figure out sooner than later if you ever want to make a living off creating.If you want something bad enough there is no time for excuses. Excuses are for those looking to take the easy route as to why they’re not winning.I work a 40 hour work week doing graphic design and still put in almost 30–40 hoursoutside of my job to bring you this content. I’m fueled bc I keep an end goal in sight to work towards which motivates me to show up every day. I strive to make my passion of doing Perspective-Collective a full time possibility and I know what I’m doing is working.So what’s really holding you back?If you’re going to start using the “I don’t have time” excuse then I have a fiery post coming your way next week to put that to rest real quick.This week you seriously need to dig down deep and reflect on what you want to accomplish in life.I can’t want it for you -- you have to want it for yourself.

Key Takeaways

what good is motivation if you don’t have something to work towards every day?
finding something you’re passionate about will enable you to show up and sacrifice after a long days grind
find what works and to do more of it
you must have the talent to match the drive
we become what we consume
fuel your brain with as much as possible whenever you can
to build an audience, you must be consistent and capture your ideas
motivation is an internal battle that comes from within
excuses are for those looking to take the easy route

-Are you receiving value in this post and find that you have questions in regards to finding your creative purpose? Your input and questions are what I build my content around so by joining my team, you have direct access to me for questions and advice. Your struggle will not only allow me to keep this focused on delivering targeted value, but can also help others who deal with your same issues. Let's grow together.

Work Full-Time? Here’s How to Find Motivation to Create