For some reason what has always worked for me is just abandoning rational thought entirely and working day-to-day.
I go into a project thinking "I bet I can get 50% to 100% of this thing done today" and that's almost never the case, but the thought of it gets me excited. That's all the motivation I need. I work like crazy until I'm ready to stop working. I say "Wow I sure made a lot of progress. Tomorrow I'll probably finish it off." feeling satisfied. This repeats forever. Maybe it's a kind of madness, but it gets the job done!
I go into a project thinking "I bet I can get 50% to 100% of this thing done today" and that's almost never the case, but the thought of it gets me excited. That's all the motivation I need. I work like crazy until I'm ready to stop working. I say "Wow I sure made a lot of progress. Tomorrow I'll probably finish it off." feeling satisfied. This repeats forever. Maybe it's a kind of madness, but it gets the job done!