Has this happened to you? One day you awaken to find your motivation is lacking in a particular area with even seemingly simple tasks feeling overwhelming? Many things can trigger a change in inspiration and motivation levels. Perhaps an experiment you try fails and you feel disheartened. Perhaps you've burnt the candle too long from both ends and there is no enthusiasm left or perhaps you've allowed your work to become too mundane. Maybe you are paralyzed by fear - of success, of failure, of boredom. Whatever the cause, suddenly the energy that drives you forward in your creative work is sapped. One thing is certain, however, when we lose our enthusiasm and motivation, our productivity levels fall too.

We are taught in school that our future success is driven by our decisions and level of effort. But attaining our business and creativity goals is not as simple as making a decision and then working sufficiently hard to achieve it. Many factors can have an effect on our creative psyches and thus affect our ultimate productivity. For example, some may find that they are very responsive only to the pressure of a deadline. For others competition with peers spurs on inspiration, the desire for accolades. Of course there are those who are sales driven, whether for the cash or the affirmation of selling the work. Still others, are motivated purely by the drive to create without concern for marketability. Most of us are a combination of two or three of these triggers.

Time and again I see a cycle among my creative friends of extreme continuous over-achievement (many events, shows, sales, orders, travel, etc) leaving little time for quiet reflection. This high level of activity takes its toll and leaves a touch of depression — or possibly burn-out — prompting a type of creativity rebellion. Suddenly, it no longer seems like fun to hit the torch, spin that pottery wheel, blow that glass goblet. In fact nearly all activities outside of one's chosen art field become appealing.

Fortunately, a career in the arts can readily accommodate periods of hyperactivity followed by a more balanced lifestyle. While a lack of motivation has a clear impact on work and productivity, many driven artisans have found that a short period of respite from one's chosen medium can reinvigorate the sagging motivation. So don't be afraid to take a break from your creative muse if you find your motivation waning.

If you do not plan ahead for these cycles and work some mental relaxation time into your schedule you may find (as I have), that your creative drive hits park right in the middle of the highway. You might have orders or commitments to fulfill but when you do not plan ahead for creative breaks you may wake up and find it hard to get out of bed in the morning and start another day in the studio because your drive to create has taken a vacation without you. You'll be tempted to postpone your work obligations and may avoid your studio, even for experiments because starting work today seems like too much effort. But it is precisely during these difficult periods when we need the most motivation.

Even if you are not “feeling motivated," consider that motivation comes from the root word motive. Sure, you don't "feel" like going to the studio. Therefore don't rely on feelings to get you to work. In order to do something that requires any creative effort, you require a guiding reason. Remind yourself WHY you have chosen your medium. Drag out your idea book or sketch pad and flip through some of those great ideas that you've never implemented. Allow yourself some room to play be creative.

Then when you are all finished gently nurturing yourself, MARCH your behind into the studio and get to filling those outstanding orders and quit your bellyaching. Remember you have the luxury of creating beautiful things. Some people have to go to an unmotivating job they hate!