It's Saturday morning. You've got everything laid out for a nice few hours to spend with whatever fun, long-term project you’re working on.

You're ready to start, but you just can't seem to get yourself to actually do it. So, you waste half an hour, an hour, half the day, doing either everything else or absolutely nothing.

Sound familiar?

Motivation is a moody thing, and hard to keep steady for long periods of time. How can we get it back when it has disappeared? As it turns out, with a few tricks, all you need to do is whistle.

What exactly is motivation?

Why is it that we can't seem to get ourselves up to do something, even if we enjoy doing it? We know once we’re drawing, we'll have a good time. As much as we know once we’re back from that run, we'll be pleased with ourselves and feel fitter.

But to get there we seem to constantly have to overcome some inner barrier that keeps us shackled and urges us to do everything else, just not what we actually want to do, or should be doing. We'll be too tired, or distracted, or simply not in the mood.

Of course, you could just get up and make yourself do it, no matter how much you don't want to just now.

But you'll probably be moaning the whole way through, and have the same struggle next time. Motivation is not a kick in the butt. Motivation is not the stick. It's the carrot dangling from a string.

It's the difference between dragging yourself out of bed in the morning because you have to and remembering that you get to do that fun thing today, so you get up happily to get ready for it.

Simply put, it's the ability to manipulate your own feelings, rather than the application of brute force. Chase that high, so to speak.

Motivation is not the stick, it's the carrot dangling from a string.

If you can't seem to bring yourself to make a start, the best way is to remember how good it feels when you're doing it.

Or at least, how good it’ll feel once you've finished it. And for that, all we need to learn is where our buttons are and how to push them.

1 Watch others

You know how children seem to always want to do something after they've seen it somewhere? Take a kid to the ballet, next day they'll ask for dancing shoes. Read them Treasure Island, they'll want to be a pirate. The same idea works for us adults, too.

One of the easiest ways to get into the mood is to watch someone else already in it. Not only does it turn your thoughts to the task and away from other distractions, it also makes you jealous of the others, seemingly having a whale of a time at it.

It manipulates your mind into wanting to join in. We are easier to manipulate than we think, especially by ourselves, even if we don’t care to admit it

One option is joining a topic-related community, physical or digital, such as a class, club or study group. If you like drawing, for example, urban sketching groups are perfect for that.

One of the easiest ways to get into the mood is to watch someone else already in it.

And if you're not the sociable type? No matter. A well-chosen film or book can work just as well and do wonders for your motivation. If you want to draw, watch a film about art. ‘Lust for Life’ has never not made me take out the pencils, immediately.

Want to go on a long hike? Read ‘Wild’. Can't get yourself up to study? Watch ‘Good Will Hunting’ or ‘Legally Blonde’, these films should cure that.

Be creative with it. A film or book that inspires you to do something doesn't have to be exactly on-topic. Even if there's just one scene that does the trick for you, that's all you need.

And if there's none, YouTube is your friend. Or blogs. Websites. Photographs even. Whatever installs the "monkey see, monkey do" attitude in you, that's what you'll want to go for.

2 Get out for a day

Sometimes everyday life is just so consuming that there's no opportunity to set your mind to other tasks. When you're entirely engulfed by the haste and complexity of modern society, both physically and mentally, the best tactic is to break the cycle and escape for a day.

Ideally, I recommend getting out into nature. It needs to be far enough away from your normal surroundings that your mind will not be constantly reminded of the day to day things you should get done this week, so the next door city park might not be quite suited.

Get on the bus and to somewhere that's so far out time seems to flow slower there. Without shops that remind you that you need to buy milk on your way home.

Get yourself out of the rut, so your mind will be able to calm down and forget how busy it has to be to keep up.

The great outdoors with its smells and noises and the elements around you can wipe your thoughts like nothing else can and blocks the pulling and shoving of day to day life. It gives you a clean slate, so to speak.

Outdoor smells and noises can clear your mind of all the daily leftovers like nothing else can.

Then you'll be able to plan, remember and motivate yourself much easier. If you can't get too far out, or you simply can't spare a full day, there are other places you can use. I've had success spending a half day at a Museum or Gallery. It doesn't even have to be anything you're interested in.

Remember, the point is to get out of your usual surroundings into somewhere calm and unrelated. Any place that, by design, requires everyday life to be left at the door.

3 Ease yourself in

Sometimes a project is going to be particularly time-consuming. So, after you’ve made sure your time-management skills are up to scratch it can be quite effective to ease yourself in slowly.

Looking at the entire, enormous task can be off-putting, especially if it has huge to-do list attached to it. Instead, follow the ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’-principle.

It's much easier to motivate yourself to write a short outline for a dissertation or research one sub-topic than to constantly remember the enormity of the project ahead. And once you've made the first little step things often start to flow on their own.

As a rule of thumb: the longer the task or project will take, the slower the easing in process might have to be.

Next time you want to get yourself to do something, start with the quickest, most insignificant first little task. Then take on the second and see how things slowly start to just ‘happen’, without you having to actively make yourself.

4 Prepare to fake it

I recommend this little trick to everyone, especially if your project will take very long and should ideally not be interrupted for long stretches of time.

If you know before you start that there is a good chance you’ll be tempted to quit at some point, prepare a collection of motivational cues.

These cues can be physical or digital, it doesn't matter. It can be a scene from a film, a song, a picture, a smell, a quote. It could be a sentence or two why you enjoy it so much, at the time of writing, or a reminder of what you want to get out of the project in the end.

Anything that'll quickly conjure the good feeling you had when you started the activity in the first place, even if, right now, you're not in the mood for it at all. Make a small collection and put it in a box somewhere, until you need it.

It works especially well at the beginning stage of learning a new skill. Because often a task is only really fun when you already know what you're doing.

The first enthusiasm about learning a new language, or playing an instrument, can quickly evaporate when you're struggling to form just one complete sentence or when the cat is screaming to get away from your play.

At such times, a quick fix of emotional cues will give you the boost to keep yourself going for a little while longer. Because once you can confidently play a song or hold a conversation in your desired language, that's when you'll start enjoying it in its own right.

Have a look at my article 5 important Things to do before you Start Drawing for more specific, art-related tips.

5 Play with jealousy and competition

Another method is to play the game of jealousy, as mentioned in my post about common pitfalls when taking up a new hobby. Making yourself want something because someone else has it, the age-old tale.

As adults we should be too mature for plain old jealousy, and yet it still works. To our advantage, if we want it to.

For those times when your motivation is running about the meadow, naked, with a cocktail in its hand, you might need an extra push. Something that stings, just a little. That gets you back from the fun leisurely thing you're doing that does nothing for you in the long run.

Of course, this works different for different people. Some of us are more encouraged by the image of someone being good at something, others by them being better at it than we are ourselves.

Some prefer not to compete with people they know, or at all, others wouldn’t have it any other way.

All we need to learn is where our buttons are and how to push them.

Read biographies (those will also give you great pointers how these people got there and how they overcame obstacles), watch competitions, renditions, join a club. Find whatever works best for you and use it to your advantage.

6 Create a fantasy world

Ah yes, the advanced option. Sometimes you're so distracted, or just not in the mood, that you have to bring out the big guns. Or you simply enjoy using them in general. If you're lucky enough to have an active imagination, employ it.

You're not on the train home from work, trying to memorise vocabulary for your language course. You're on a boat, immigrating to France in hope of a new life. You better keep learning, or you'll arrive before your French is good enough.

It's not Saturday afternoon in your lofty city apartment and you're trying to get the hang of embroidery. In fact, it's nearly midnight in a draughty little room in the year of our lord 1605.

The fire's almost burned down and you're tired, but you have to keep working. It's your only income. You don't finish this, you don't eat.

Imagine you’re running away from a pack of wolves, if that helps you jogging just a little longer.

You can be as over the top with this as you like, it's your head, after all.

You can even help to set the scene with some sounds (ambience clips on YouTube are perfect for this) or smells, anything that'll give your mind the assistance it needs to get you far far away to the land of never-ending motivation.

7 Let yourself be lied to

You know those moments when you're starting to wonder if you'll ever finish this project? Or get as good as you want to be? No matter how hard you work, imposter-syndrome will get to you.

During a down like that having someone sing your praises is invaluable. Nothing can raise your confidence and get you back on track like a devoted fanbase, consisting of your friends and family, to cheer you on.

Only got a C for your course assignment? Go call that friend that's sure to tell you a C is good work, especially with all the other responsibilities you had lately. Feel like your piano playing isn't up to scratch? Play for your niece and her friends, they're sure to shower you with compliments.

If you know anyone with less knowledge on the topic than you, they'll think you're better than you think you are yourself. Simply by not having that skill everything looks better and more difficult to them. And even if it doesn't, they'll pretend it does.

Our problem, quite often, is that we tend to compare ourselves to the best in the industry. Which is demotivating and simply a bad habit. But our loyal friends and family won't. They don't compare us to anything, they'll just praise whatever it is they think we do well.

Even if you know the praise is exaggerated, it won't fail to influence you. You know your topic better and you know where on the ladder you really stand. But trust me, it'll work nonetheless. Your mind will want to believe it and keep you going.

8 Keep distractions on-topic

Realistically you won't be able to work on a project for any length of time without getting distracted at least occasionally. You might even welcome it in order to relax a little.

The trick is to keep some of these breaks slightly on-topic. Related enough so your mind is not constantly interrupted, disconnected enough so you don't get tired of it.

If you like to read before bed, find a book that includes your subject, or one with a useful motivational undertone. Training for an endurance run? Here's a crime novel where a murder happens during a marathon.

Like watching TV while you eat? There's sure to be a film out there related to your activity. If you’re trying to learn an instrument The Soloist is a fabulous dinner companion.

If you feel like the walls are moving closer and you have to get out for a while, even though you should actually continue with your project, meet with people who are in the same boat.

That might be friends who are also studying for exams, so you can talk about your favourite stress-handling hacks and they're less likely to try and keep you there until late.

The goal here is to be constantly surrounded, if ever so slightly, by your chosen subject. This will help your mind to get used to it and do a lot of background work while you're actively doing something else.

It'll become a natural part of your life, rather than something you have to bring yourself to do, or something you want to get over and done with.