This will be a great article to read for my followers.
Another thing which kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier about when you find yourself less motivated is "engage with mentors." These can be living or dead people that you are either in personal contact with or someone that you very much admire in your craft that you can look to as a mentor.
You can save an incredible amount of time by working with a mentor. And since time is the most valuable thing in the world because you can not pay it, a mentor becomes one of the greatest investments a person can make.