Motivated people show up when it’s fun. Committed people show up when it’s Tuesday and raining.

Motivation is a feeling, and feelings are weather, which makes them a poor foundation for anything that takes years. Commitment is a decision made once and then referred back to, so it does not have to be re-earned every morning. The difference only becomes visible on bad days, when one of them is present and the other has gone. In good conditions both kinds of people look identical.

Set the times you will turn up and treat them as settled rather than reopened daily. Then go on the worst day this week, because that is the one doing the work.