How do you motivate yourself to be creative?

[OmniromX]

When you are in a mode where you want to create art, but you just can't bring yourself to do it, how do you motivate yourself?

For example, after a long day of work/school, the last thing I want to do is work on my animation. I'd just rather watch youtube. But I also want to work on my animation.

[Doog Lord]

I grab a gun from the edge of the table, point it at my head and yell as loud as I can, “You HAVE to be creative right fucking now!!!!!!”. And from fear I do it.

[Nixon]

that doesn’t sound like a healthy way of going about things.

[French Fry]

I imagine the final product, and work backwards from that.
The satisfaction of publishing a finished product is what drives me.

[Plopilpy]

I lack any real motivation, so I basically drown my evenings away until something comes about.

[Lord Blazer]

Impose deadlines

Force yourself to at least start something and see if you can build some momentum

[Bown]

badly!!!!!!!!

[Bobby Swisha]

First, clean your room

[French Fry]

Originally Posted by Lord Blazer

Impose deadlines

Force yourself to at least start something and see if you can build some momentum

This is also really helpful!
Know your limits and get a little bit done each day. Like, I'm working on a comic, so I set a goal of 4 panels a day. It doesn't sound like much, but it feels like a lot of progress.

[Ben Rice]

I think it depends on what you're creating but for me it needs to be something related to what I'm doing. So if I'm working on one of my screenplays I'll usually watch a video essay about screenwriting or play a score from a film that captures the tone of what I'm trying to create. If it's one of my animations I'll watch something animated using the same software or that has a similar art/animation style to me.

[Bobby Swisha]

Originally Posted by Bobby Swisha

First, clean your room

Seriously, I find this immensely helpful. It doesn’t necessarily inspire “creativity” but it makes it much much easier to focus.

I used to have a bunch of books in my room that I planned to read but never found time for. Recently I threw them all in boxes and moved them out of the room. That’s been a positive change, too. Seeing books I have no time to read just bummed me out.

[OmniromX]

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

[Bravoie]

Originally Posted by Bobby Swisha

First, clean your room

This is good advice and it was also my 1st thought. Clutter can subconsciously weigh you down. And you don't really identify it as an issue until after it is gone. Make it a routine to keep your space clean

Break down whatever you're trying to finish into a checklist then assign an amount of time to each task on the list. As you're checking them off and progressing, you will feel more motivated

Put a deadline into your contracts, now you will suddenly feel obligated to finish your project because the client expects it by a certain time (only applies to professional work, not passion projects). For non-professional work, try disconnecting your internet

And when you finally break through and are on a creative/productive streak, stay locked in and do not break away until you're too tired to continue. You will wake up the next day feeling great that you didn't allow yourself to become distracted and that will have a compounding effect on your motivation

[Pencil]

the best motivations I've had so far are to be organized (outside of hobbies, but just generally being organized in life), and to think out a goal that won't make me cringe or generally feel worse off

[Plopilpy]

Originally Posted by Plopilpy

I lack any real motivation, so I basically drown my evenings away until something comes about.

I spend time with family, y'know go downstairs and have a good laugh, but my overall mental state is pretty poor these days. Don't do what I do, I'm literally going insane haha.

[OmniromX]

Thanks for the advice. I will clean my room. I agree that clutter can subconsciously weigh a person down.

I think I so often forget that surrounding the creativity (or any talent) is a person. That person needs to be taken care of in order for the creativity to flourish.

[Kane]

Make your bed in the morning!