How to Motivate Yourself To Do A Thing You Dont Want To Do

Motivation often feels like a fickle beast, especially when faced with tasks you dread. The article opens with a vivid air-bike anecdote that shows how the mental dance of "just 5 minutes more" can trap you in endless procrastination, highlighting the gap between expectation and reality. By exposing that gap, it forces leaders to recognize the same patterns in their teams and themselves.

The core insight is that you can shift the equation by first diagnosing why you're unmotivated-sleep, nutrition, stress, or fear-based pressure-and then deliberately altering the controllable factors. The author suggests practical levers: reshaping the environment, boosting mood with a quick walk or favorite music, tending to basic bodily needs, and reframing negative motivators. Each lever is illustrated with concrete examples, like setting up a quiet writing desk or pairing a dreaded workout with an engaging podcast.

From there, the piece offers a toolbox of actions: combine tasks with enjoyable activities, enlist accountability partners, gamify progress with streaks, celebrate micro-milestones, break large goals into tiny steps, and build consistent routines that don't rely on fleeting motivation. These tactics give technical leaders concrete ways to help themselves and their teams move past inertia, sustain productivity, and avoid burnout.