The secret to success is connecting hard things to an intermittent schedule of rewards. The key ingredient to motivation is risk. Gambling is addictive because of this. YouTube is the same.
One of the hardest things you can do is returning to an incomplete project. This resistance comes from the same attraction to novelty and surprise that gambling delivers. To hack this resistance, institute variable rewards for returning to tasks in progress. Also, practice context switching despite the reduced efficiency. The Pomodoro technique strengthens the task-switching and returning muscle. So does back-to-back meetings.
Of course, balance this hard work with rest and reward. Just don't reward so often that you become complacent and the rewards lose their pull. The affluent society is plagued with a numbness to the good and a lack of gratitude that relegates its denizens to a hedonic treadmill. Disciplined relaxation paradoxically optimizes both effort and indulgence. Work hard, play hard.
