Motivation Revealed: The Neuroscience of Getting Things Done

How to use dopamine wisely, avoid burnout, and maintain motivation even when life gets in the way.

Loads to do and zero motivation to do any of it - we all can relate to this situation.

According to neurologists and S. Freud, we are all moving towards pleasure and away from pain. So doing nothing is somewhat rewarding. And one of the reasons procrastination exists is to avoid negative emotions that may arise when we go through our to-do list.

Normally, we start a new project with considerable motivation, because of the anticipation of a big reward at the end of it - better shape, higher salary, more fame. And then, for many reasons, including poor sleep, low energy, urgent issues to resolve, and more, we lose motivation to move forward with previous projects.

Basically, we are more motivated to work on a goal if it will give us a big reward, or if it is urgent, not doing it will create a perceived significant amount of pain. How to stay motivated to reach the chosen goal even when life happens and priorities shift? Big question.

I will share a couple of ideas for manufacturing your motivation instead of pushing through with none or waiting for it to appear.

First things first. Before you start applying any tools, make sure that lack of motivation is not a symptom of something bigger - depression or a condition where your dopamine is naturally lower than the population norm. If you rarely feel motivated or nothing seems exciting for a long time, make sure to check in with your doctor and rule out a biochemical imbalance.

And back to the point of this post. We know that feeling motivated is closely linked to the brain’s reward system, specifically dopamine levels. Knowing that, we can create the conditions needed to maintain consistent motivation.

Let’s zoom in on this key neurotransmitter. It’s a hormone of anticipation, released into the bloodstream as we anticipate a reward from a certain act—whether that’s good food, winning, or succeeding in a complex task. First, significantly increased levels make us feel very good. But then comes the dip. And with it, the pain that follows pleasure. To avoid this discomfort, we engage in more reward-seeking activities. The more we do it, the more our receptors become insensitive, which means we need higher levels to feel that same pleasure. Too much activation exhausts the brain’s reward system and leads to what’s called “burnout”—a deficit state where motivation plummets, tasks feel uninteresting, and you feel tired.

So, keeping this chemical constantly elevated by pushing for rewards is not the answer. Stretching the effect of anticipation, or counteracting the rush, are good tricks to keep things balanced and healthy.

Let’s say your motivation right now is very low. In this case, start planning small, achievable steps every day with a weekly goal (keep your final goal in mind to plan smaller intermediate goals and steps). Checking the boxes every day will definitely be satisfying and give you the mental push you need to keep checking them the next day. This way, you’re building anticipation (releasing a small amount) and enjoying the moment when the task is completed (a bit more). If you reflect on it at the end of the day (remembering how good it felt), and do a check-in in the morning remembering what worked well (another small release), it stretches these effects over time and keeps you motivated at a slow but efficient pace.

Side note - size of daily steps. Plan them to be 15-45 minutes long, maximum 1.5 hours - that is the limit of our natural attention span. And not more than 10 hours a week (why - it has to do with mental homeostasis, will elaborate on it in my next post).

Another way to keep motivation up (and it’s not necessarily an alternative path; I would say, definitely include it in the overall system) and avoid the damaging effects of overload is to blunt the rush. There are two ways of doing it. First - don’t get excited about every achievement. Do celebrate your victories, but not each one. This might feel harsh and difficult to accomplish. Don’t get excited. How is it possible to control it?

Let me suggest another way to disrupt the intensity. It’s activating “here and now” hormones - serotonin and oxytocin. Engaging in serotonin-producing activities that let us be present in the moment reintroduces balance in our reward system.

This serotonin-dopamine “layering” is crucial for balancing reward-seeking with the evaluation of its potential costs. It’s important for complex decisions. One acts as the “gas” and the other as the “brake”. Both help maintain the speed you need to move forward (towards your goals) without harming yourself or exhausting your nervous system.

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