Has anyone struggled with self-motivation and found a great solution that has changed your behavior?

Dude, do what you like man, you sound cool, don’t change your behavior just because people tell you too.
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ive had that problem too and i keep lists. i tend to forget or blow off my goals but when i make a habit of writing lists there is something that came from me to refer to. then i can look at it and say oh ya i WANTED to do that, instead of having someone tell me i should do it. why i get a block on a project i move on to another one or do something else like chores and dont skip a beat. when im ready to come back to the first project my motivation is usually back.
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You should schedule your work. For example, I will work from 8am – 4:30pm, after that I can do whatever I want. Once you get into the habit it will get easier. I tend to do a lot of nothing in the evenings and weekends when I get in a rut like that. You have to force yourself to get your work done, no one can make you work.
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Read the book "7 habits of Highly Effective People" by Covey. It’s a little dry (the teenage version by his son is funny and basicly the same thing, just for a younger audience). It changed my whole attitude and I felt great after reading it. Other than that, get a planner and write out your whole day…. just be careful you don’t spend all your time planning your day! (I’ve done that while trying to study, more time planning then doing! ha ha). Good luck on your art…. one of these days I’ll take my own advice and start my novel!
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Without a doubt, it’s Natalie Goldberg’s _Writing Down the Bones_. She’s a poet and runs writing workshops, but a lot of her suggestions will be adaptable with a bit of creativity. What I personally find most helpful is her attitude that we all have something worth expressing — I rarely follow her suggestions but reading a section or two can get me writing regardless.

Two universal suggestions that are really important:
Define a specific time for your work and don’t do anything else during that time, just paint or write or whatever you do. If it’s rubbish, it’s rubbish, but you’ll learn things and you’ll be working when the flow or inspiration or whatever hits you.
Dedicate a space for your work, just being there will help your brain get into work mode. But when you get stuck or bored or repetitive, try working somewhere else.
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Well, one question here is whether you need self-motivation, organization, or both. Covey’s book is terrific for organization and figuring out how to make the most of your time and effort, but it only touches lightly on the question of how we motivate ourselves to do the things we’ve planned to do.

Self-motivation has a lot of pieces, but there are some simple things you can do to make a big difference in a short time. First, have just one major goal that you’re working on at a time, and figure out what steps you’ll need to take each day toward that goal. Second, don’t try to just get things done: instead, develop habits of getting things done. Every time you do something effective, it reinforces it in your brain and makes it just a little more likely to be your first impulse. Third, pay attention to your own thoughts: notice when you’re distracted or beating yourself up or discouraging yourself and get back on task.

The suggestion of keeping hard-and-fast working hours is a great one, too. The research seems to show that when we devise good rules for ourselves, it’s easier to make good choices because we have fewer things to question. While normally questioning things in life is great, once you’ve made a decision to do something a certain way and you have faith in your decision, it’s best not to second guess yourself every time it comes up.

If you’re interested in more information along the same lines, check out my blog at http://www.willpowerengine.com . One good place to start is “10 Top Things That Go Wrong With Willpower, and How to Fix Them” at http://www.willpowerengine.com/?p=400 .

Luc Reid
The Willpower Engine