Staying Motivated as a Content Creator

So, you’re a content creator, and you’re enjoying the creative freedom that comes with the work. You’ve done so many videos, streams, merchandise, and meetups, and you’ve built a thriving community with the best fanbase you could ever ask for–or you’re well on your way toward these. But as you lie down, look up at the ceiling, and think about life, you suddenly realize something: you’re not there yet. Despite everything you’ve done, there’s still a long way to go, and you’re not sure if your energy can still keep up with everything.

If this very moment has happened to you at one point, then allow us to help. Here are some helpful tips on how you can motivate yourself and push on with your career.

Identify and Never Forget Your WHY

A lot of times, people in general get demotivated because they lose sight of their WHY: the very reason they started doing what they’re doing in the first place. It’s similar to a corporation’s mission, vision, and values: they align themselves and ground themselves into those three statements so that everything they do has a purpose, and they don’t lose their way.

In the same way, you as a content creator must have a reason for starting or continuing on in your journey. Whether you’re doing it to fulfill a dream you had since you were younger, to achieve financial goals, or to make your own mark in the world, always go back to that WHY, especially during those moments that you feel down and burnt out. As long as you anchor yourself to your WHY, you won’t lose your way, and you’ll never lose sight of the purpose and meaning in your work.

Reward Yourself and Celebrate Milestones

Content creation is hard work and is as backbreaking and draining as any kind of labor, especially when you consider the hours you spend during content planning, event preparations, attending meetings left and right, video editing, and streaming for hours on end while entertaining hundreds of total strangers. This is why it’s important for you to reward yourself and celebrate your wins, no matter how small they may seem, so that you’ll always have something to look forward to. Got your first ten followers? Celebrate! Finished a game you’ve been playing on stream for several days? Celebrate! You deserve it, after all.

Rewards and celebrations don’t have to be extravagant. You don’t need to hold giveaways every single time. You can celebrate by taking a full day off and sleeping (yes, rest is a reward!), or taking some time to pig out and eat whatever you want the whole day. Whatever it is, as long as it makes you happy and gives you more energy to continue on, go for it.

Break Down Your Big Goals into Smaller, Bite-sized Goals

You have big dreams you want to achieve and sometimes, homing in on that thought and thinking that you have so much more to do before you can get there might leave you feeling overwhelmed. By breaking down your big goals into smaller goals, you can better plan out what are the necessary steps you have to take towards your dream and at the same time, ticking off those smaller goals one at a time will help you create a momentum. As a result, you keep moving forward and you feel accomplished every time you get a win.

Have a Support System

All content creators have their sources of inspiration and strength. It could be people within their social circles, another creator, or even themselves. Staying inspired is key to continuously motivate yourself to keep going despite the various challenges along the way. Keep looking for and focusing on those people that motivate you instead of dragging you down. Watch other more established creators, hang out with your support groups, and get to know the members of your community who genuinely care about you. As long as you surround yourself with people who build you up, it will be hard for you to crumble down.

These may be very simple tips, but they will go a long way towards your continued pursuit of growth as a content creator. Keep going! You’re doing great ?