Everyone needs motivation to keep going from time to time.

We may not feel like:

•  Getting out of bed

• Studying

• Completing boring tasks

• Working

• Taking care of others

• Staying creative

According to a recent study, mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression have increased 30% from January 2020 to January 2021.

We soon will have spent a whole year social distancing and in and out of restrictions.

Looking at our current circumstances through a positive lens helps to motivate us to keep going.

There is so much to be grateful for:

• Healthy babies are born every day

• People recover from COVID-19

• We look out for each other by wearing masks and social distancing

• We know more about how to stay safe

• New vaccines are created

• People are vaccinated for COVID-19

• Kids are getting used to online learning

• There is food to eat

• Flowers are beginning to bloom

The 10 tips in this blog post are based on Austin Kleon’s book Keep Going. He shares 10 ways to stay creative in good and bad times.

These ideas are especially useful during the pandemic as we need to get creative to keep going.

10 Easy Ways to Stay Motivated to Keep Going

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Annie Dillard

1 – Create a Daily Routine

The only thing we can control is what we spend our days on.

Even if every day seems almost identical from the day before, do your best to include meaningful activities.

Start by choosing one task that you find interesting or are curious about.

Next, ask yourself, what can you do today to make it a meaningful day?

Then, turn it into a routine.

A daily routine can provide motivation to keep going because you know what to expect and you purposefully include something you want to accomplish.

You may also like to read:

10 Daily Routine Examples of Creative People based on Mason Currey’s book Daily Rituals.

Here is my daily routine

• Write while everyone sleeps

• Work

• Spend some time with each of my family members 

• Read before going to sleep

In addition, having a meaningful routine will create a safe structure despite the chaos that is happening around you and in the world.

Make Lists

If you are not sure where to start, make a list of what you want to accomplish in a day.

Making a list helps to get all the chaotic information out of your mind and on a piece of paper.

If you are feeling irritable or in a bad mood, make a list of 10 things you feel grateful for and keep it in a place you can easily see.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, make a list of what makes you happy.

Here are some ideas:

• Go for a walk

• Read

• Cook

• Work in the garden

• Spend time with your family

• Listen to upbeat music

• Journal

• Take a nap

• Observe nature

Every evening remind yourself that you did the best you could and tomorrow is another day.

“Finish every day and be done with it.

You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can.

Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2 – Make Some Personal Space

Connect to yourself by creating personal space and time.

For example, this could be a room, a corner, or a specific time of the day.

As a matter of fact, you can think of it as your daily appointment to connect with yourself.

For many people it is easier to find it early in the morning when the rest of the family is still sleeping.

“Keep your eye on your inner world and keep away from ads and idiots and movie stars.” Dorothea Tanning

In addition, stay away from too much information. Keep the mental and emotional clutter low by connecting to the news or social media only once a day.

Also, don’t grab your phone as soon as you wake up.

“The phone gives us a lot but it takes away three key elements of discovery: loneliness, uncertainty, and boredom.

Those have always been where creative ideas come from.”

Lynda Barry

There is always so much to do and too little time to do all of it.

Therefore, learn how to politely say no.

Make sure to always keep time for yourself to do what you want to do.

3 – Decide How to Be Creative

What creative activities do you enjoy?

Include some time and space to play, explore, and get to know yourself better.

Focus on verbs you like to do such as:

• Write

• Cook

• Film

• Paint

• Play

Is it getting boring?

New toys make playing fun and will motivate you to keep going.

If you lost your interest in any creative activity, try some new toys. Get a new pencil, notebook, journal, or paintbrush. Find something new that feels interesting.

In addition, keep your hobbies just for fun.

When someone is talented at cooking, baking, writing, photos, or knitting, the first reaction is to suggest to turn it into a side business.

Nowadays, if someone is really good at something, we suggest to start a side hustle. 

However, when we have to pay the bills with what we do for fun, it is not fun anymore.

Having a day job and a hobby may be a good idea to keep the stress level low.

Enjoy the process of doing what you love and don’t become obsessed with likes, followers, and views.

“You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty.

Then you will be able to DO . . .

Try to do some BAD work—the worst you can think of and see what happens but mainly relax and let everything go to hell—you are not responsible for the world—you are only responsible for your work—so DO IT.” 

Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse

4 – Make Gifts

If you are feeling disconnected with yourself, think about a special person in your life and make a gift for him or her.

For example, you may gift a story, a picture, food, a photograph or anything you like to make.

Making something and giving it away as a gift will help you to reconnect with yourself and motivate you to keep going.

“Don’t make stuff because you want to make money—it will never make you enough money. 

And don’t make stuff because you want to get famous—because you will never feel famous enough. 

Make gifts for people—and work hard on making those gifts in the hope that those people will notice and like the gifts.” 

John Green

5 – Slow Down and Pay Attention

“Attention is the most basic form of love” John Tarrant

Everything you need to be happy is in your possession right now.

You don’t need extraordinary things for an extraordinary life.

To appreciate your life you need to slow down.

What can you do to slow down?

• Draw

• Write

• Meditate

• Walk

“What you choose to pay attention to is the stuff your life and work will be made of. “

Austin Kleon

What have you been paying attention to lately?

Look at your journal or the work you have completed.

If you are not sure, start writing down what you spend your time on.

Once you are aware of how you spend your time, you will be able to decide if you are going in the right direction or if you would like to spend your time doing something else.

“Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are” Jose Ortega y Gassett

6 – Spend Your Time Wisely

If doing creative work makes you feel miserable or indulge in unhealthy behaviors, it may be OK to quit.

There is no need to add more misery to your life.

Choose to do something that makes you and the people around you feel more alive.

Moreover, if you are feeling miserable with whatever you are doing it’s time for a change. 

Take a break and explore other options.

“I am for an art that helps old ladies across the street.” —Claes Oldenburg

7 – Change your Mind

Don’t feel like you have to have all the answers.

A good way to feel motivated to keep going is to stay open to options and trust that you will find the answers you need.

You may change your mind along the way.

Maybe you wanted to be a screenwriter but now you decided that you want to learn more about cooking.

Having a flexible attitude toward your opinion and interests allows you to explore freely.

Following your curiosity and exploring will keep you motivated to keep going.

“I’m making explorations. I don’t know where they’re going to take me.”

Marshall McLuhan

8 – Tidy Up

“The disorder of the desk, the floor; the yellow Post-it notes everywhere; the whiteboards covered with scrawl: all this is the outward manifestation of the messiness of human thought.” Ellen Ullman

Keep your space ready for you even if that means that not everything is in the perfect place.

Another option is to consider tidying as a way to explore. While you put away things read random pages of a book or explore old notes. This will spark new ideas.

A good way to tidy your brain when you feel overwhelmed and stressed is to take a nap.

9 – Go for a Walk

“I walked myself into my best thoughts”

Soren Kierkegaard

In essence, spend more time in nature than in front of your screen.

Walking lets you look at your life from a different perspective because you are able to connect to your senses.

For example you may feel the breeze in your hair and the sun on your skin. You may smell the recently cut grass and see flowers blooming.

These experiences will keep you in the present moment instead of thinking about your past or worry about your future.

“Go out and walk. That is the glory of life.”

Maira Kalman

10 – Observe the Cycles of Nature

“It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations.

They presented him the words: ‘And this, too, shall pass away.’

How much it expresses!

How chastening in the hour of pride! —how consoling in the depths of affliction! ‘And this, too, shall pass away.’”

Abraham Lincoln

Look how the trees change through the seasons.

Likewise, our creative work also has seasons.

It is not realistic to expect that our work production will always increase. 

In addition, we need a time to recharge, nurture ourselves, learn, and reflect.

In conclusion, to feel motivated to keep going, look at the whole picture and not just today’s screenshot.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. However, this too shall pass.

Regardless of the:

• new COVID-19 strands

• overcrowded hospitals

• high unemployment rate

• overworked health care workers

• low and slow supply of some products

the cycles of nature continue.

Go outside, the plants, and trees will help you to focus on the present moment. This will remind you that nothing stays the same for long.

If you liked this summary of Keep Going you may enjoy reading the book.

Which tip did you find the most useful to keep you motivated to keep going?

Let me know in the comments below.

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