Top tips to boost your creativity and motivation

We’re sponsoring this year’s New Adventures conference, and with a nod to the speakers’ topics, we’ve put together a mini-series of posts aimed at web designers. Enjoy!

It’s a grey and gloomy time of year, so motivation can be pretty thin on the ground. Here are some tips to get you through the gloomiest part of the year with a spring in your step.

Clear the clutter

Mid to late January is often where last year’s work and this year’s work tend to fuse together into one big mess. Give your workspace a thorough clear out and ditch the old stuff hanging around from last year (or if it’s all in virtual folders, archive them away into an appropriate mega folder). Do anything you’ve been putting off, whether it’s organising your space, creating a filing system, or recycling notes. If you’ve already got completed work from 2013 (congratulations, you’re a ninja!), sort it separately so it’s out of the way but still serves as a reminder to how much you’ve achieved already.

Take some time out

Don’t get stuck in a cycle of forcing yourself to work – you’ll end up spending ten minutes on Facebook for every five spent productively. Set aside specific breaks for social media and general internet browsing and use them to reward yourself rather than as a way to procrastinate. If you’re not great with the whole self-control thing or you’re getting burned out, try compromising and doing something that’s still productive but not strictly work, such as researching scripts, tools and resources or reading a useful article.

Organise your inspiration

When you feel unmotivated, it’s easy to lose interest in ideas and forget your sources of inspiration. Make a Twitter list or Favourites folder of your top ten sites for inspiration, or take it further and create a folder or patchwork desktop wallpaper of your favourite images. You could even create a physical inspiration pin board for your workspace.

Make the first hour count

The first hour of your day can often be the most important, since it sets you up for the rest. Take a look at this inspirational article, What successful people do for the first hour of their work day to see how making changes to your routine can make a big difference to your motivation and success.

Look at the big picture

Sometimes it’s easy to get so involved in a project that you lose sight of what’s actually happening. Take a step back, think about your bigger goals and what you want to achieve to keep you motivated during the more challenging parts. Don’t shy away from taking on a side project or teaching yourself something in an entirely different area to avoid burn out.

Beat procrastination

Instead of thinking about it or allowing yourself to be distracted, just work out the first task and complete it. Sometimes the hardest part is simply taking the first step.

Rethink your lists

If you have a huge to do list, scrap it. Instead, try working from more manageable daily or weekly lists which are less offputting. Alternatively, if your approach to work is more flexible, consider making a list of things you’ve done rather than things you’ve got to do.

Aim to make a list of the main things you’ve achieved during the month, whether you intend to publish it publicly on your website or keep for yourself as motivation. Getting an idea of how much you can achieve in a month is a great way to be motivated to push yourself further. As an added motivational factor, add stats such as how many projects you completed, how much you made etc. and aim to beat it every quarter.

Try the Pomodoro technique

Some people find the Pomodoro technique a great way to complete small tasks. Check out this Lifehacker article for more information and practical tips.

Look after yourself

If you’re fundamentally exhausted you’re going to find it a challenge to concentrate and be creative regardless of how much caffeine is pumping through your veins. All the tips you’ve read before about getting up and going for a walk, having enough sleep, eating regular meals, drinking green tea, and getting fresh air are all cliches for a reason – they work. Make your awake time productive rather than forcing yourself to sit at your desk late; you’ll end up resenting it and not being as productive.

Reduce the gloom

Make your workspace more cheerful with better lighting, a great new picture or poster, a new playlist of upbeat music – or even move your workplace altogether. If you get bored by your surroundings easily, relocate to a different environment such as a coffee shop or virtual tenancy.

Mix it up

Varying your work goes a long way. If you’ve got some boring tasks to do that you inevitably keep putting off, alternate fun tasks with the tedious ones – that way you’re never far away from something to look forward to, but you’re still getting the essentials done.