Entrepreneurs and solopreneurs sometimes have a hard time staying motivated. You don’t have a boss to stay accountable to, but you do have yourself to be accountable to/for. If you aren’t moving your business forward and finding and nurturing clients, you won’t have a business. Do you ever wonder how to stay motivated when it seems you’re going no where?
When you work in your business each and every day — many times doing the same tasks over and over — you could feel like you’re just banging your head against a wall. How can you stay motivated and engaged, even when it feels as though you’re not making progress?
How To Stay Motivated
I’ve put together my top three ways to stay motivated even when you feel like throwing in the towel! Keep in mind, at the end of each day, your success wiull be measured by the time you put in (and by the dollars in your bank account and the satisfaction you feel):
- Write down your goals. If you don’t have goals written down, you won’t truly be able to measure success. If you don’t know what you’re striving toward or for, how will you know when you arrive? Set goals that are realistic and attainable. Don’t set a goal that is simply too difficult, or impossible to meet. An audacious goal is ideal IF you chip away at it. If you set this huge goal and cannot achieve it, you will suffer setbacks that will emotionally grind you down.
- Failure is inevitable. No matter if you fail small or if you fail big, chances are you will fail. Plan for it. Prepare for it. When it happens — it probably isn’t as epic as you imagine it is — pick yourself up and start over. Look at your failures as an experiment — scientists don’t give up when an experiment fails, do they? No.
- Get into your groove. What I mean by this is set up a routine — whatever works for you. When you set up a routine and set up habits you will be better prepared for the day and that will be motivating. One small thing you can do as part of your routine is to write down your to-dos for the following day before you close the office door at night. This helps set you up to jump right into work the next day and it also helps you focus and make progress toward your goals.
Are you motivated? What makes you lose your motivation? If your motivation is flagging, leave us a comment — we can help.