The problem is just that motivation appears when it is least needed.

You are very motivated to go for a run tomorrow morning - while sitting on the sofa eating cake (it's piece number three - but it's with chocolate, so you couldn't say no). The next morning – not so much.

You are very motivated to write on your book in the morning – while you are lying in bed in the evening. The next morning, you'd rather sleep an hour more.

Sometimes the one there – the motivation – other times it's the pist.

So it doesn't really help that you beat yourself up over the fact that you didn't get out for a run this morning either, that doesn't make you more motivated.

You is already highly motivated.

It's not motivation you need at all

And here's the secret:

As James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits: It's not motivation you need at all.

Instead, make a plan.

As so often, it is the researchers who came up with the answer. (Fortunately, that is their job – to find answers to difficult questions. Yay! for research)

Plan what you want to do and you don't need motivation

What the researchers did was:

They worked with 248 people to establish better exercise habits. They divided them into three groups.

1. A control group.
2. A "motivation group - they had to e.g. "track" their training, read material about the benefits of training and receive an explanation about how training improves health.
3. The third group, in addition to receiving the motivated explanation, was asked to make a plan for their training. Specifically, they had to complete the following sentence:

                             Pat [insert time] I will [insert behavior] at [insert place]

Yes, it's that simple.

Plan what you want to do and you don't need motivation.

It sounds rosy - but of course it's not quite that easy. Not even in the experiment.

Because even though it turned out that all 91 % of group three trained during one week, against 38 % and 35 % of groups 1 and 2. Then there were still 9 % that did not get trained.

If […]. Then the [...] plan

If you want to be even more sure of carrying out your plan, also make an If/Then plan. In short, it means that you make a plan for what you will do if the plan does not go as expected.

Now if you does not going out for a run because your daughter has been throwing up all night, or if it's raining, or…well, go ahead yourself. (I know you have plenty of excuses – because I do)

Therefore also complete the following sentence:

IF [insert obstacle] THEN [insert your solution]

Examples:

• IF my daughter vomits all night, and therefore I don't go out for a run in the morning as planned, SO I run in the evening before I go to bed.
• IF it's raining and i don't feel like running SO I put the coffee over before I run, so I have something to look forward to.

Add as many If/Then plans as necessary. You have guaranteed several things that will prevent you from reaching your goal.