For me, for chores specifically, that sense of motivation comes from a lifetime of past failures. I walked away from a kitchen full of dishes when I moved out

For me, for chores specifically, that sense of motivation comes from a lifetime of past failures. I walked away from a kitchen full of dishes when I moved out of my first apartment, face red in shame, and the landlord ate my deposit. Other friends of mine have had infestations, because their food messes didn't make it back to the kitchen. I saw their cleaning/extermination bills. There is a distinct fear "if I don't manage to break this down into bite-sized pieces, I will suffer XYZ embarrassing/costly consequence" which truly motivates me. And now with a child, "if I don't manage to instil this habit into this child without making it palatable and manageable..." There are other consequences too -- in-laws induce shame. Other visitors induce shame, but if I have them every other week, the panic-clean before the arrival of in-laws is only slightly bigger than the routine-clean. And with 2 adults and a child with ADHD, messes build fast if we don't stay on top of it. So when I say ticking the box is it's own reward... really it's the "I'm keeping the monster at bay with the stroke of a pen at the end of 10 minutes of drudgery."