Dr David Burns, who popularized Cognitive Behavorial Therapy, says that the common misconception people have when it comes to procrastination is that motivation

Dr David Burns, who popularized Cognitive Behavorial Therapy, says that the common misconception people have when it comes to procrastination is that motivation precedes action. In fact, he says, to beat procrastination it’s helpful to realize that motivation follows action. Listing out and accomplishing a few ridiculously easy steps (“open editor”, “review last commit”, etc) can be enough to generate the motivation to keep going. In other words, instead of setting out to work for an hour, convince yourself to work for only 5 mins; more often than not, when the 5 mins are up you’ll probably keep working for a good while longer, motivation increasing as you work.