How to get work done on days when you really don’t want to

When I first started at Google, I struggled to find a work routine that worked for me and helped me stay on track. I went back and forth from one project management tool to the other. I’ve had days when I set clear tasks for myself, and months where I just floated by without a clear sense of direction.

My projects always went the same way. At first, I would be excited for the fresh start. Then, the ambiguity of the problem I was trying to solve would bring me down. I’d get discouraged by the learning curve ahead of me. I lag behind more and more each day as I struggle to find the motivation to tackle the open-ended task at hand. I barely manage to work an hour or two in a day. And as I waste more time, my stress levels rise higher. Then, I’d finally figure things out. I reach my lightbulb moment. Everything makes sense now. I’m motivated again. I speed through the development phase. Everything’s good again-until the next project comes around.

When the performance review would come around at the end of each six months, I would sometimes find that I hadn’t managed to make the progress I wanted to on my projects. I would set goals for myself at the beginning of the cycle, but then forget to revisit them. What was worse was that my goals did not motivate me to work, and they didn’t help me break out of the slump. The goals…