7 ways to trick yourself into having a productive day

You know the story: Life is hard and work is tiring and there are a million things you have to do, so you might as well not do any of them and call it a day. I'm there often.

But there are bills to pay, and long-term goals we're chasing that require rising above our temporary discomfort. We have to keep living, even when it's tiring and we don't feel like it.

Imagine if everybody in the world gave into their desired laziness. We'd stop functioning entirely.

The reality is that we're overstimulated right now, and certainly overworked. We're exhausted because we're expending our very last bits of energy, usually to create something largely for someone else's benefit. It can be really hard to motivate yourself when it seems easier to give up, or if you're not completely inspired by why you have to do what you're doing.

So what many people do is wait. They wait, and avoid, and deflect and then become so stressed that they have to force themselves to work, induce their motivation via panic, and it's a recipe for complete emotional disaster. There's a better way. Or really, there are at least seven.

1. Schedule your procrastination

You're going to procrastinate. I'm going to procrastinate. Today, tomorrow, probably forever. It's not human nature to be uninterruptedly focused and creative on one particular thing or another. But that's how we schedule and structure our goals: as though we're robots that don't need breaks.

But it's not just quick breaks we need. It's often time to do nothing at all. So allow yourself that. Schedule two hours in your day of doing nothing at all related to work when you get home.

2. Be more honest about what you can do in a day

Stop making elaborate goals and to-do lists that you never actually accomplish. Be realistic, even if it feels a little like failure at first. You're actually doing yourself a favor, in the end. You're prioritizing quality over quantity, and ensuring that you're not writing your way to unconditional failure.

3. Check menial tasks off your to-do list and let the momentum build from there

This is the most important one. Start with reading a little, then sending a few emails, and then working a little on a project, getting an hour in here and there. Mail a bill, post a tweet, and see how quickly the snowball effect takes over.

4. Make it a practice to remind yourself of everything you've already accomplished

Remind yourself of everything you accomplished this past day, week, month. Often, we function only on the "what's left to do" mindset, and we lose perspective. Don't let your accomplishments be a further reason to procrastinate, though. Let them empower you to plow on.

5. Start with the things that are easiest

Do what's most effortless. It will give you the confidence and the energy to do what's less fun.

6. Have someone else hold you accountable for the reward you promise yourself

Tell your significant other or close friend that after you get a certain amount of work done, you'd like to go out to get dinner, or go out somewhere with them, but that you can't go if your work isn't done. Have them hold you to it. There's nothing that will motivate you more.

7. Remember your "why"

Even if your "why" isn't bold or existentially fulfilling, even if it's just that you need to get the bills paid this month, that's enough of a "why" to motivate you.

Imagine your life if you didn't have your job or your money. I guarantee you'll find the drive to get everything done today.