Make it a habit.
I think this is where my problem lies today. I've been sick for a couple days, so I lost all my inertia, instead sitting around and watching Friends all the time. Now that I'm getting better, I find it's tremendously difficult to start doing things again.There's also a lot to be said for momentum.
The way I try to regain my inertia is to start with some small tasks that I know I'll be able to do in ten minutes. Clean dishes. Take out the trash. Write a paragraph. Do a three or four of these small tasks in a row - they'll give you the satisfaction of having accomplished something useful. Then, take a break, get some coffee, and do two or three tasks that take a bit longer. You've now had an hour of productivity, which for me is more than enough inertia to keep on going. Starting is the hardest part, so make that easier.
This is what kills my workout streaks. I'll go a week or two of solid workouts, every other day maybe, get sick or get symptomatic (Heart stuff) and have to take a few days off, and then my momentum is gone, and I'll go weeks without working out. When I'm sick now I make a point to catch up on reading or audiobooks, so I at least feel like I did something.
This is actually good advice. Once you make a habit of setting daily goals and accomplishing them, it becomes pretty easy. Large goals can be daunting, but it's the daily goals that get you there that really matter. It's the whole, how do you eat an elephant? question, right? The answer of course is one bite at a time, -it's those small little bites that matter. I have mentioned many times that I'm a fan of making a daily list. It feels good to cross things off of it. galen, I would also recommend crossing the things you least want to do off of the list first. Good luck amigo!