I found a great blog by Sykon on this subject and I thought I would just add my two cents worth as it’s something that I’ve been battling with my entire life. (Thanks for the blog though Sykon!)
Being a compulsive procrastinator, I know how hard it can be at times to get things done and how hard it can be to motivate oneself to complete any task, whethere that be assigned to us, or self appointed.
Once again I will say that writing plays a big part in overcoming the challenges that you might face. But it has to be a conscious process in order for it to be effective. To elaborate; writing a task list on the Monday of each week to plan your weeks activities is a fantastic way of showing your own mind that even though you may have a lot to do, tackling one task at a time makes them much more digestable. The trick is, to trick the mind… 
It’s like, if you have to study for an exam because your mind thinks that you have to read an entire book to prepare for the exam, straight away the body and mind give up before you’ve even started! They’re saying “forget that, I aint reading no 600 page book!!” Straight away, you’ve caused yourself a problem by bombarding yourself with a massive task. The best way to overcome this is to break down the task into much smaller chunks and then give yourself a reward when you’ve completed each stage. E.g. “I’ll read for half an hour and when I’m done I’ll go grab a coffee and relax for 10 minutes.” The tough part is knowing how to get back to doing what it is that you need to do. Keep your task list with you! I write mine down on an A4 sheet of paper and keep it in my wallet or shirt pocket so that I can refer to it regularly.
Repeat the process from the beginning, set yourself a small goal, say 30 40 minutes of solid or reading or whatever the tast may be, and then reward yourself with a short break. KEEP REFERING BACK TO YOUR TASK LIST! The key here is to trick yourself into thinking that the task that lies ahead of you is only a short one and once you’ve completed that short term goal, give yourself a small reward.
I especially find this a fantastic method when it comes to the spring cleaning. I have a nasty habit of bombarding my mind with all the things that need to be done and then eventually I just give up because my body and mind get overloaded with requests and just cannot cope.
What you also need to do, is change the type of thoughts that you have when faced with a task. Think; “I choose to” as opposed to “I must” and “I can be successful if I…” instead of “I’m never be able to”. The best way to do this is through meditation. Spend some time in a quiet place that you find relaxing and maybe put on some music if you wish and begin the process of changing the less productive thoughts as illustrated above to more constructive and powerful ones. Thinking is a habit just as much as the way you drive or the way you style your hair. It is habitual and like anything else, can be changed, for the better, with consious effort.
May the power of choice be with you! :p
