Today I want to talk about how to stay motivated as a content creator and get your mojo going so that you don´t procrastinate as much and you keep creating meaninful content.
No matter if you are an artist, you have a small YouTube channel, or you are starting a blog this tips will help you in one way or another.
Let´s dive in!
1. Get Rewarded
This backed by science tip actually works!
According to research, a third of the things that you do on a daily basis are motivated by rewards.
So, one thing you can do to keep you going is to treat yourself in some way whenever you complete a difficult task.
That way, you´ll trick your brain by training your mind to expect a reward when certain things from your to-do list have been scratched.
Also, the positive mood that you´re going to be in contributes to your productivity in the long run and helps you achieve even more.
It doesn´t need to be a big reward, it can be little treats you get whenver an specific task is completed.
In fact.
There was a research conducted at a work place environment that found that little rewards go a long way!
2. Remember Your Why
One of the first things you should do in order to survive in the long term as a content creator is to find your why and keep it close.
Here´s how:
First, you want to give it some thought and write down the reasons WHY you are doing what you´re doing, feel free to go deep and take the time to make an insightful reflection.
Second, find a place where you can keep your why near in order to read it or listen to it whenever you want.
It can be on your laptop, sticked to the fridge, somewhere on yoru bedroom, it doesn´t matter as long as it´s a place that you´ll frequently check.
You don´t need to look at it every day but keeping it close will ensure that you remember it when you need to, which is more often than you think.
3. Start Journaling
If there´s something that can give you clear of thought that is consistent journaling.
Actually.
There´s plenty of research about the mental health benefits that keeping a journal has to offer.
It can:
- Improve your mood.
- Improve your memory.
- Enhance your sense of well being.
- Reduce stress and symptoms of depression.
I mean, 83 benefits sounds like bit of a stretch but if just a third of those benefits are right you should consider it!
Also, it´s been said that is the most similar activity to therapy and a great way to know yourself on a deeper level.
Whether you use it for work or personal life a journal can be such a powerful tool if you use it consistently.
This great stress management tool can keep you on track when you don´t feel like working on your goals and can even help you with other things that you´ve never thought of.
4. Keep Reading
If you want to relax and get motivated at the same time then reading is the way to go.
When it comes to boosting brain activity, getting ideas to flow, and keep your mojo intact, reading is one of the best habits you could ever have.
You don´t even need to read non-fiction books that give you insightful tips on how to improve or any sort of self-development book, you can get most of the brain benefits from reading fiction.
According to Christopher Bergland from Psychology Today, reading fiction improves conectivity and different functions on the brain.
You can boost your mood, reduce stress, and relax by reading a book every night or early in the morning.
For some people, it´s a MUST and way to get started the day, so try it!
5. Follow Top Creators
Another great way to keep you moving towards your goals is to follow other content creators that have mastered the art within your niche or industry.
You can get inspired by their content itself, the way they design it, how they perform, and what are some of the things that are possible for you one day.
I´ve found incredibly helpful to follow this guy for example, Matt D´avella, a YouTuber filmmaker and high-quality content creator that makes mini documentaries for youtube.
You can get not only motivated by other people´s work but also get inspired by them to make your own path, follow theirs, or even get interested in new ones.
6. Take a Break & Relax
From time to time taking a break from work and day to day tasks can be exactly what you need in order to get going.
You should let your mind free from cluttering and worries, relax for a while, and go back for more when you feel at ease and more peaceful.
In order to keep your mind sharp and focused you NEED to get rid of the clutter and keep your thinking process clean from fluff.
So, taking a time for yourself sometimes is much more productive than to force yourself to work on something.
You´ll get some of the best work days after you´ve relaxed both your mind and body from the daily grind for a while.
I usually take one entire day off of the week (which is always Sundays) where I do not do ANY work, I mean, absolutely anything, entire day to myself, and I do whatever I want to do, relax, bing watch TV, eat whatever I want, I relax 100% and unplug myself.
NOTE: Yep, I work most Saturdays, but just for a couple of hours. 😊
7. Bonding Power!
Whether is by engaging in the comment section, responding to an email, or taking a video call with a fan/client you should ALWAYS try to bond with your audience.
It doesn´t really matter if you are a full-time YouTuber, a part-time blogger, or a social media manager, bonding with real people and trying to connect with them in a deeper level in order to be useful will feel great even in the tiniest of interactions.
If you want to grow both as a brand and as a person then you NEED to bond with your fans and customers.
You´ll feel better and more useful once you´ve the results of your efforts on other people.
Taking advantage of bonding with your fans works both ways, it motivates you to keep doing what you do and helps your viewers to get to know you adn trust you.
8. Get a Vision Board
I LOVE this one.
As humans we are incredibly primed by images and visual representations of something, so, if you can create something that is fully optimized with your “why” and how does the end goal actually looks then motivating yourself will be much easier.
I have my own vision board and I have to tell you… it works!
I don´t know about the law of attraction and all that but I can tell you that having a vision board is incredibly powerfull on a day to day basis to motivate yourself to get after it.
You can even create one online, just go to
You´ll literally upload your own images, inspirational quotes, and all sort of stuff that make your board entirely personal and gets you going.
A piece of advice, take your time with it, find ONLY pictures and images that actually makes you feel something, phrases from people that you really respect and admire, if you that it´ll work, if you don´t it won´t.
It MUST be something that triggers your engine.
But, How Does It Help You?
There are plenty of studies that show that your brain doesn´t differentiate between a real memory and one that you imagine (or visualize).
That means that when you visualize soemthing with enough emotion and you connect with the picture you set for yourself your brain chemistry actually changes and stores it as a real memory.
In fact.
That´s the main reason why top athletes visualize the race way even before setting foot into the track.
You can motivate yourself why imagining that you´ve already achieved your goals, that you already have the car or house you want, the body, the growth you are aiming for.
If you are interested in reading more about it, check out this sick article: Scientific Reasons Why Visualization Will Increase Your Chances to Succeed.
9. Break It Down
Whenever you feel pressure by a certain task, you feel overwhelmed, or you have way too many things to do you can always break it down into smaller pieces.
You should start small, and let the next step lead the way. That´s what I do whenever I feel too much pressure.
You´ll see how effective and productive it can be in the long term as it is something that will get you going and eventually help you to finish whatever it is that you have to do.
Instead of thinking, worrying, and doing nothing at all, you´ll be able to take action by taking small steps towards a more productive self.
It is actually a three step process. Here´s how it works:
Look at the big picture, and make sure to have a clear end-goal in mind. Then, start by thinking of the different parts or sections that your project/task can be broken down. Finally, break down those parts into smaller, bite-sized tasks that you can do on a day to day basis.
That´s it!
10. Surround Yourself With The Right People
Although peer pressure sounds like something you should avoid it is not actually. It just means that you need to sourround yourself with the right kind of people.
People that will support you no matter what but that also wants the best for you, that will encourage you to challenge yourself, that will let you know when you are not performing as well, and will remind it to you… in a good way.
The great author and successful entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
So, be aware of the people that you sourround with and try to choose wisely.
If you aim for long term success and want to create the best content you possibly can then chances are that you´ll need help, whether that is just to listen to you, support you, or even distract you when you feel stuck.
11. Apply S.M.A.R.T Goals
In case you´ve never heard of it the SMART method for goal setting is one of the most effective ways to get your goals accomplished.
Why?
Because they are smart goals! Dah!
Okay… I´m kidding, the SMART method refers to Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time bound, therefore smart.
This method provides a great structure for effective goal setting that can actually work and keep you on track.
According to this methodology, you should set specific goals, the less specific your goal is the less motivated you´ll feel as it is something more difficult to measure, imagine, or even walk towards to.
You can consider the difference between the goals: get healthier, get fit, and lose ten pounds for example.
The second thing is that your goals should be measurable, meaning that you can easily track your progress in order to see how well you are doing and whether if there´s something you could improve.
Another thing is that well-designed goals provide clarity of action, they are actionable, and therefore set the scenery of exactly what it has to be done in order to get to the desired result.
If you get stuck at this point remember the advice I gave you about breaking down things, it works 100% of the time!
You should try to stay relevant with your goals, meaning that you don´t set too many goals that won´t be
Finally, by setting time-bound goals you´ll be able to accurately measure your progress and calculate how much time it can take you to do a certain task and how much action should you take on a day to day basis.
BONUS #1: Batching Content!
One simple way to keep your content race at float is to batch it.
Whether you own a blog, a YouTube channel, or you aim for Social Media exposure you can now batch content in a few different ways to stay on track with your content creation strategies.
Therefore, you won´t need to be motivated evey single day in order to create a good quality piece of content but you´ll take greater advantage of the moments you are in the right mood.
How?
WordPress, YouTube, and Social Media apps have built-in features that allow you to batch your posts quite easily.
BONUS #2: The Micro-Content Strategy
One last bonus I want to give you is the micro-content strategy from the great Gary Vaynerchuk.
It consists in creating one BIG piece of content that then gets broken down into smaller, micro-content posts that you can use on different social media channels.
Although it might sound simple it is a lot of work, if you do it right and repurpose the longer content into small pieces you´ll find you have to adjust a few things in order for it to be successful in every platform.
It´s all about making it what is called native content.
For example, if you create a YouTube video that you want to post on Facebook too, you take 30 seconds to a full minute of the original clip and upload that to your Facebook page.
In fact.
Native content performs way better than sharing content that´s been uploaded on previous platforms.
Final Thoughts
So, as you see, staying motivated as a content creator can be quite a challenge, it´s an everyday task you HAVE TO take care of.
You´ll find, that along the way, we tend to forget our why, procrastinate on our tasks, or simply don´t feel like it.
After years of creating content online, both video and blog posts, I´ve learned that you keep at it by making motivation a part of your daily routine.
You can meditate, create a vision board, try journaling, or do a hundred of different things, but the truth is that motivation relies entirely on YOU.
So, I hope this information has helped you in any way and that you got some value out of this article.
For more content like this feel free to dive into some of my other posts.
See you out there! 👋
Matt Porta