Staying motivated isn’t easy – we often convince ourselves not to be. We often give ourselves excuses, allow other people to put us down, or look at the success of others and think, “That’ll never be me.”

There are two basic types of motivation: intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation comes from the feeling of self-achievement inherent in the task or project achieved, i.e. solving a puzzle, completing a school assignment, or finally publishing that website you were working on for a client.

Extrinsic motivation is the reward you get from others – or outside “forces”. This includes money and other financial or tangible rewards, such as a free vacation for achieving your sales targets, a trophy for winning first place at the Olympics, or even the crowd cheering as you overtake car #2 in the last stretch of the race. This explains the “home team advantage” methodology.

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During my first year of freelancing, I relied on one client for my bread and butter. When that client gave me a week’s notice that they no longer needed my services, I felt like I was up a certain creek. Over the years, I’ve had the problems with relying on just one or two clients hammered in. If there’s even a minimal problem with the one client taking up all of a freelancer’s time, that freelancer might not be making rent next month.

But there are ways to move from relying on one or two clients — just like there are ways to move from a full-time job — that can wind up making your freelance business more successful in the long run.

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It’s inevitable that as your career grows as a freelancer, your expertise and work patterns will change. And while this evolution is a natural part of your professional growth, sometimes the freelance life—as great as it is—can be a little draining.

Your career can be thriving but you may run into times when you feel burned out or “stuck.” You know you’re on the right path, but somehow you don’t know where to go next. Or you may feel like the spark is gone. Experts will tell you that a break—or an actual vacation—is in order. But there’s another way to liven things up and rejuvenate yourself: rediscover your freelance fire. Here are some techniques I’ve used to get out of a rut.

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So, you’ve got a good idea; a creative solution for a brief. Or you’ve just won a pitch. Fabulous. Now you’ve got to build the thing. If you can do that with the effortless lubrication of motivation from start to finish you’re lucky (and a bit unusual). If, like most of us, you find there are parts of the process where drive is a struggle, read on …

Take a look at these five key motivations for the creative process and work out where the force is strong with you. Tailoring your work to suit your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses can mean jobs become rewarding activities rather than laborious headaches.

Most people are strongly motivated by only one or two of the following. It might help to imagine recent projects from your own work. Think of examples where you were involved in the job from start to finish and see if you can spot any patterns. Continue Reading