How to Stay Motivated When You Just Want to Quit

Posted by Debbie Dragon on April 11, 2008

When you work from home, or work for yourself in general – it can be really difficult to keep yourself motivated at times. Working for yourself means there isn’t anyone looking over your shoulder to make sure you do what needs to be done. Sometimes just the pressure of knowing that is enough to turn the motivation off!

Working for yourself also means you don’t always have the success you expected. Dwelling on what isn’t working for you will only result in more unsatisfactory experiences. It’s hard to turn it all around though, once you’ve fallen into a motivational-rut.

Here are some tips to getting (or staying!) motivated for the self employed:

1. Find something that excites, energizes and makes you want to jump in with both feet and get it done.

For me, this was working on a certain project that was not for any of my clients, but instead, was something I had always wanted to do and put off because I had to do work that resulted in payment from clients. When I start to fall into a rut and have difficulty getting my client’s work completed, instead of just giving up all together, I take some time to work on my “special project”. The change of pace and the fact that I’m doing something I really want to do helps me get back on track so when I return to my client’s work, I’m freshly motivated and energized to be productive.

2. Organize your to-do list in the order of the most difficult tasks first.

If you’re having an especially difficult day, but have no choice but to work through it, try making your to-do list in reverse order of what you’d naturally want to do. Start with the harder, or least desired tasks and get them out of the way first. The momentum you’ll build will help you move quickly through the less difficult tasks and before you know it, you’ll be done.

3. Schedule some “me” time.

I’m guilty of forgetting to do this regularly. It’s not until I’m feeling completely worn out, overworked, and unhappy that I take a step back and think- wow, when’s the last time I did something FOR ME? I think one of the main reasons people lose motivation is because they’re forgetting to meet their own needs- which may even include the need for a little fun. Take inventory of what needs of your own are not being met regularly, and schedule it in. When you get back to work, I guarantee you’ll be more motivated.