Where do you guys find your motivation?

[Mayo-chan]

I've been feeling dead lately, creatively. I just don't have the motivation to do anything these days and it's been going on for the last few months. So tell me, MetConst, what do you do to keep yourself motivated through hours of tedious ASM editing and room tiling?

[Digital_Mantra]

Comes and goes for me. I could spend an entire year absolutely unmotivated (that includes even getting out of bed).
Some manic blips here and there where I'll compose an album and make half a hack in 1 month, then back to bed.
I can't even be arsed to chat on skype or email people anymore unless I'm drunk. Surefire way to lose touch with people.
It hits you, I don't think there's a standard to uphold it's duration, just make the most of it when it punches you in the face.
I'm surprised I was motivated enough to write this message.

[MetroidMst]

I hit walls sometimes too. I just take a break for a little bit, some random thing will inevitable pop an idea in my head, and then I'm ready to get back to work. I have never been one to just drop a project, but I will it sit until I have something I want to do. And if it gets too old, I rework all the old stuff. Taking a break is nice sometimes.

[Zhs2]

My brain tells me what to do and how to do it. I don't question the overlord of brain in my skull. Plus, working a shit job these days sort of put my brain into a different mindset: it's not a question of what I can put off until tomorrow anymore, but, instead, what I can do next, even if that's work on a different project I feel more excited to work on than one I'm planning as a blockbuster that only has a quarter of the work done because I'm no longer excited for it.

[RealRed]

I make what makes me happy. There's always a gap to be filled, you just have to identify it.

[Lunaria]

Usually I buy it in cans, 2 for 1, at the local super market.

[JAM]

Comes and goes for me. I could spend an entire year absolutely unmotivated (that includes even getting out of bed).
Some manic blips here and there where I'll compose an album and make half a hack in 1 month, then back to bed.
I can't even be arsed to chat on skype or email people anymore unless I'm drunk. Surefire way to lose touch with people.

^This.

For me, at least 3 things should happens to motivate me enough:
1. I must slept well. If not, I can do some automated things like make a breakfast or wash a head. But when it comes to creating something creative, it's not that case.
2. I must have a good mood for that. Really, when sometimes pissed you very bad I doubt you'll just sit down and work on your hack.
3. I must have time. It's a total bummer when number 1 and number 2 from this list happened but not this one.

What helps me personally. To get a mood, I'm working on hack/patch/whatever before going to sleep. If I enjoyed the result, during the whole next day I'll be in the hacking mood.

[FullOfFail]

Everyone is going to have their own traditions and rituals that give them the ambition to hack. But for me, I found it's best to get a routine going and try not to deviate from it too much. Ideally, my routine is in the morning while I'm drinking coffee, but due to real-life events I've adopted the night or really early morning schedules. Another thing that helps for me is being in the chat-room and having others hack while I'm doing it also. Breaks are healthy, but I like to earn them somehow. Finishing an entire area for example would be a good place to take a break, that way you don't lose any consistency with your designs either.

[Quietus]

I don't struggle so much with motivation, as I have plenty to get me going.  It's the commitment and staying power I struggle with.  Anything long-term is often all but impossible.

[Vismund Cygnus]

I work on 17 projects at a time so that when I run out of motivation for one I still feel like I'm doing something

Oh god that's terrible

[Mayo-chan]

My brain tells me what to do and how to do it. I don't question the overlord of brain in my skull. Plus, working a shit job these days sort of put my brain into a different mindset: it's not a question of what I can put off until tomorrow anymore, but, instead, what I can do next, even if that's work on a different project I feel more excited to work on than one I'm planning as a blockbuster that only has a quarter of the work done because I'm no longer excited for it.

working a shit job these days

job

AH HA! I NEED A JOB!!

I always get more work down when I work in a job!

Now I just gotta find one ;_;

[Zero One]

I currently have a lot of work to do, mainly portfolio work, and no desire to do it because I'm still winding down from University, which hasn't quite finished yet. For me, it seems to be a while of doing nothing, followed by the extreme urge to get something done.

[Grimlock]

This has never been an issue for me.  I have to have a creative outlet, it's just the way I'm built.  I only suffer from lack of creativity or motivation when I have a physical issue such as lack of sleep, migraine, highly stressed (moderate stress has no effect).  If I go through a stretch of time without a creative outlet my creative energy turns inward and becomes a negative burden.  It's something that one has to experience to really understand.  It's a blessing and a curse, seriously.  Because of this my hack is guaranteed to be completed (unless I get electrocuted or something fun like that).  Luckily I really enjoy working on my creative projects.   I have finished nearly all of my creative projects I have started, the ones I haven't finished were never canceled, just put on a shelf, I'll revisit and complete them in the future.  I always look forward to working on my projects.

As far as how do I start, I just go.  If I know what I want to do and have several ways to start I just pick one, I don't waste time choosing.  Also as an artist there is a lot to be said about artistic intuition.  I usually put some music on in the background when I start, recently I've been using youtube a lot, "Stellardrone" is nice background music as well as the similar results on YouTube.  I also listen to my MP3 collection.

Anyway, if you are feeling unmotivated my advice is dive in and get to working, 30 minutes in and your motivation will surface.  Feeling low on creativity?  Work on something that requires analysing or testing.