How to Keep Going As A Creative Freelancer?🖌️

One of the biggest switch from being an employee to a freelancer is the need to be self-motivated and self-driven. With no one around to give you your next task, or tell you what to do, how do we keep being creative and think of what’s next?

I love checking back with the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs (See the visuals for the pyramid!)

This psych theory believes that a person can only be motivated through these 5 tiers, starting from the bottom, if the bottom tier is not fulfilled he or she cannot move up the tiers. I personally think that being creative is a privilege because you are not only are you out of survival mode, but you feel safe and confident as well.

I always check back on this diagram to see if it’s because of any one of the tiers from 1-4 that are not fulfilled hence I’m experiencing a lack of creativity.

Here is a quick checklist that coincides with the theory, use this to check in with yourself to find out what is blocking your creativity:

Tier 1: Physiological Needs:

○ Are you hydrated? Have you drank enough water today?
○ Have you had enough sleep?
○ Are you overheating or too cold?

Tier 2: Safety & Security:

○ Are you worried about your health?
○ Are you worried about your employment status/opportunities?
○ Are you worried about any family issues?
○ Do you have anxiety regarding the people around you?
○ Are you just feeling anxious in general?

Tier 3: Love & Belonging:

○ Are there issues with friendships or family that make you feel unloved?
○ Do you feel isolated and not belonging to any community?
○ Do you feel unloved?

Tier 4: Self-Esteem:

○ Are you feeling confident?
○ Do you have a sense of achievement in your life?
○ Do you feel respected?
○ Do you feel good about yourself? ○ Do you feel good about being unique?

Using this checklist, if at any of these tiers, you realise that you’re not feeling good and secure, it’s hard for you to focus on creativity, higher purpose, and higher learning. Your body would naturally be in survival mode trying to fix the problems at hand. Forgive yourself, take it slow, and see what you can work on.

Awareness is always the first step so we can try different methods to see what works for us.

Of course, there are definitely more reasons than these, but this is definitely a quick reminder that being creative is more than just WORK, it’s inner work, mental work, a lot of taking care of yourself, and most of all, self-love.

Personally, I learnt that when I don’t have a comfortable workspace, I’m always unable to come up with good ideas and I would always be focused on looking for a work place instead of doing work. I also learnt that I can do work in any circumstance, but my quality of work and ideas are best when I’m not sweating and when I’m not too cold too. So I try to be more aware of how my body is when I need to be creative.

I hope this makes sense and if any creative is struggling, maybe this might help!

With Love,
Chara