Procrastination & Motivation · Hypnosis session
How to Get Motivated When the Reason to Start Goes Missing
Sunday night you planned the whole week. Monday morning the plan is still there, and the reason to begin it isn’t. Lack of motivation has causes you can work with, and a few worth handing to a GP. Here are four free ways to start, and a guided session to rehearse them in.
If the spark has gone out of everything, start with a GPLow motivation about one job is ordinary. Losing interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy is different: healthdirect says an ongoing loss of interest can be a sign of a mental health condition, and to see your doctor if it lasts more than two weeks. The same goes for tiredness that hasn’t lifted in two weeks.
If starting and staying focused have been hard for as long as you can remember, ask your GP about ADHD. “Task paralysis” isn’t a diagnosis, so it’s worth finding out what is. The session below isn’t made for depression or ADHD.
- healthdirect: 1800 022 222, free health information from the Australian Government.
- In an emergency, call 000.
“I’d point someone here who makes the plan on Sunday and can’t find a reason to start on Monday. It rehearses a start that doesn’t wait for the mood. If the spark has gone from everything, that’s a GP visit. Ninety days to decide.”
Self Motivation Booster
US$18.95one-off · no subscription · about A$27
I earn a commission if you buy through this page. It doesn’t change what you pay, and it doesn’t decide what I recommend.
Ninety days to change your mind, nothing to justify. Checkout opens on hypnosisdownloads.com in a new tab; priced in US dollars, and some cards add a foreign-transaction fee.
The publisher reports 5,447 purchases of this title.
Which of these happened this month?
- The gym bag has sat by the door long enough to become furniture
- You rewrote the to-do list instead of doing the first thing on it
- A course you paid for is still sitting at module two
- You know exactly why the job matters and still feel nothing about it
- Other people’s deadlines get met; your own plans don’t
Two or more and this page is for you. If nothing at all feels worth doing lately, not only these, reread the box above first.
What is in the Self Motivation Booster session?
A single guided session of just under twenty-four minutes, narrated by Roger Elliott, for people who make plans and then don’t follow through. It’s a guided relaxation that rehearses working out what genuinely matters to you, and approaching the work without waiting for the right mood. It’s meant to be played often, at a regular time.
Can a download stand in for a person? The largest recent review of hypnosis for pain (Yim and Derbyshire, 2026) compared how it was delivered and found no meaningful difference between a live clinician, a recording and self-hypnosis. That research was on pain, not on motivation, but it’s the best evidence there is that a recording isn’t a second-rate version of sitting in a room with someone.
You stay aware throughout and can stop it whenever you like. Not while driving. Whether it’s the right tool depends on why your motivation has gone, so that comes next.
What causes lack of motivation?
Several things that feel the same from the inside. A task you dislike, a payoff that’s months away, tiredness, stress and low mood can all come out as “I can’t be bothered”. They call for different responses, so it’s worth a minute to work out which one you’re dealing with. Tiredness and low mood are the ones to rule out rather than push through.
Research on putting things off maps the first cause best. Piers Steel’s 2007 meta-analysis found the more people dislike a task, finding it effortful or anxiety-making, the more they delay it (an average correlation of .40). Motivation often isn’t missing so much as outvoted by how the job feels.
What is the biggest killer of motivation?
In the research on putting things off, a strong candidate is relief. Delaying a task you dislike makes you feel better straight away, and a payoff months away struggles to beat that. Researchers Sirois and Pychyl describe procrastination as short-term mood repair, with the cost landing on your future self. It’s an argument, not a proven law.
The cost has been measured. In 1997 Tice and Baumeister followed students through a semester: the procrastinators reported less stress and illness early on, then more of both late in the term, were sicker overall, and got lower grades on all assignments.
Self Motivation BoosterUS$18.95 · instant download · full refund within 90 days if it isn’t right.
Opens the publisher’s checkout in a new tab. Or keep reading — the free techniques below cost nothing.
So the useful question is less “why don’t I want to?” than “what feeling am I dodging?” Bored, anxious, lost, resentful: each points to a different first move.
What am I lacking if I have no motivation?
Possibly nothing, if it’s a handful of jobs you’d rather not do. If it’s everything, including things you used to enjoy, what’s missing may be interest or pleasure itself, and that’s a different matter. healthdirect lists reduced motivation and avoiding things you’d normally enjoy among the signs of depression, and says two weeks or more of these signs is the time to see a GP.
Beyond Blue’s list of how depression can look includes “not getting things done at work or school”. Its advice: “Your GP can be a good place to start the conversation about your mental health.”
Under Medicare’s Better Access initiative, a GP can refer you for up to 10 individual subsidised sessions a calendar year with a psychologist or other eligible professional, when they assess a condition such as depression or anxiety. If that’s where you are, that appointment comes first.
How do I increase my motivation?
Stop waiting for the feeling and change what happens at the start. The four free steps below are each tied to research on procrastination or habits, limits included. The recording is a good place to practise them: a regular, quiet slot to rehearse starting rather than debating whether you feel like it.
- Name the feeling you’re dodging
Before you start, finish the sentence “I don’t want to do this because it makes me feel…” Bored, anxious, out of my depth, resentful. If Sirois and Pychyl are right about mood repair, that feeling is what you’re really avoiding. Naming it tells you whether you need a smaller task, more information, or a word with whoever handed it over. An idea to test, not a trial result.
- Do the ten-minute version, then decide
Agree to ten minutes, with a genuine option to stop when they’re up. It shrinks the part Steel’s review ties to delay, how unpleasant the task feels, without asking you to feel keen first. It’s an inference from those findings rather than a tested rule, so judge it by what happens on Tuesday.
- Give it the same slot every day, and expect weeks
Lally and colleagues asked 96 volunteers to repeat one behaviour daily in the same context, such as after breakfast. Becoming automatic took from 18 to 254 days, and missing a single day made no real difference. In a 2012 paper, Gardner, Lally and Wardle put the average at about 66 days, and traced the popular 21-day figure to anecdotes about plastic-surgery patients.
- Borrow a structure: CBT self-help
If you keep stalling, a structured program is the best-tested option. In a 2015 Swedish trial, Rozental and colleagues randomised 150 people to guided or unguided online CBT for procrastination, or a waiting list. Both programs beat waiting by a moderate margin, on self-reported measures. A GP or psychologist can point you to one.
Self Motivation Booster
US$18.95About A$27 · one-off, no subscription.
- 23 minutes 59 seconds, narrated by Roger Elliott of Uncommon Knowledge
- Instant MP3 download to keep, for as many listens as you like
- Built for regular listening at a set time of day
- For plans that stall at the start, not for low mood, exhaustion or ADHD
Opens the publisher’s secure checkout · no account needed
The publisher reports 5,447 purchases of Self Motivation Booster.
A self-reported count of sales. It tells you people bought it, not what it did for them.
What has and hasn’t been studied?
Motivation and procrastination are well researched; hypnosis for them isn’t. There is no controlled trial of hypnosis for motivation, procrastination or self-discipline. Searches of PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov on 25 September 2026 found none, and Rosendahl and colleagues’ 2024 overview, covering 49 meta-analyses of hypnosis, never mentions motivation or procrastination.
The nearest studies are narrow. In a 2010 trial with 59 university soccer players, Barker and colleagues found ego-strengthening hypnosis went with more confidence and better wall-volley scores than a control video: one sporting skill, not daily motivation. In a 2011 randomised study of 56 people, Jacobson and colleagues found hypnosis during learning went with worse test scores. No success rate exists for this session.
Who is this session wrong for?
Anyone whose lack of motivation is really a symptom of something that needs attention first. The session gives you a regular, relaxed time to rehearse starting; it isn’t built for low mood, exhaustion or ADHD. Each line below points to what fits better.
- Nothing has felt enjoyable for more than two weeks. A GP first.
- You’re tired all the time, however much you sleep. A GP can check the physical causes.
- Starting and focusing have been hard for as long as you can remember. Ask a GP about an ADHD assessment.
- You start well, then find a way to trip yourself up near the finish. The self-sabotage page fits better.
- You’ve had thoughts of not wanting to be here. Ring Lifeline on 13 11 14 tonight.
Free and confidential, open now. Tap to call.
Common questions about motivation
How do I get motivated when I have no energy?
Check the energy before the motivation. healthdirect’s fatigue page starts with everyday causes, such as a packed schedule, too little sleep or exercise, a poor diet, caffeine and alcohol, then lists stress, depression, iron deficiency and sleep apnoea too. Tired for more than two weeks and not improving? See your doctor before you blame your drive.
Is lack of motivation a sign of depression?
It can be. healthdirect lists reduced motivation among the symptoms of depression, alongside feeling low, sleep and appetite changes, and avoiding things you’d normally enjoy. Low motivation for one task isn’t much of a sign. If it’s broader than that and has lasted two weeks or more, see your GP.
How long does it take for a new habit to stick?
Usually longer than 21 days. In Lally and colleagues’ 2010 study, a daily behaviour took from 18 to 254 days to become automatic, and missing a single day didn’t derail it; the same group later put the average at about 66 days. Expect weeks to months, and judge progress by whether it’s getting easier.
What are 5 ways to motivate yourself?
Five worth trying: name the feeling you’re avoiding; commit to ten minutes with a real option to stop; decide in advance when and where you’ll start; attach the task to the same daily cue and give it weeks; and if you keep stalling, try a structured CBT self-help program. Rule out low mood and exhaustion first.
Does hypnosis work for motivation?
What a recording offers is a set, relaxed time each day to rehearse starting. Whether hypnosis raises motivation hasn’t been properly tested: there is no controlled trial for motivation or procrastination, and the nearest studies, on test scores and one sporting skill, are small and mixed. No success rate has been measured.
What if the session does nothing for me?
Email the publisher within 90 days with your order number and they refund the full price, no questions asked. One refund per customer. So the real risk is a few evenings of listening rather than the twenty-seven dollars, which seems a fair trade for finding out.
Where these numbers come from
- Steel P. The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychol Bull. 2007;133(1):65-94. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65
- Sirois F, Pychyl T. Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: consequences for future self. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2013;7(2):115-27. doi:10.1111/spc3.12011
- Tice DM, Baumeister RF. Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: the costs and benefits of dawdling. Psychol Sci. 1997;8(6):454-8. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00460.x
- healthdirect Australia. Losing interest [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2025 Dec [cited 2026 Sep 25]. healthdirect.gov.au
- healthdirect Australia. Depression [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2025 Nov [cited 2026 Sep 25]. healthdirect.gov.au
- healthdirect Australia. Fatigue [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2024 Aug [cited 2026 Sep 25]. healthdirect.gov.au
- healthdirect Australia. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; 2025 Dec [cited 2026 Sep 25]. healthdirect.gov.au
- Cleveland Clinic. What is ADHD paralysis? How to overcome it [Internet]. 2023 Oct 9 [cited 2026 Sep 25]. health.clevelandclinic.org
- Beyond Blue. Signs and symptoms of depression [Internet]. [cited 2026 Sep 25]. beyondblue.org.au
- Australian Government Department of Health. Better Access initiative [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Government; [cited 2026 Sep 25]. health.gov.au
- Lally P, van Jaarsveld CHM, Potts HWW, Wardle J. How are habits formed: modelling habit formation in the real world. Eur J Soc Psychol. 2010;40(6):998-1009. doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
- Gardner B, Lally P, Wardle J. Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice. Br J Gen Pract. 2012;62(605):664-6. doi:10.3399/bjgp12X659466
- Rozental A, Forsell E, Svensson A, Andersson G, Carlbring P. Internet-based cognitive-behavior therapy for procrastination: a randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2015;83(4):808-24. doi:10.1037/ccp0000023
- Barker J, Jones M, Greenlees I. Assessing the immediate and maintained effects of hypnosis on self-efficacy and soccer wall-volley performance. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2010;32(2):243-52. doi:10.1123/jsep.32.2.243
- Jacobson N, Kramer S, Tharp A, Costa S, Hawley P. The effects of encoding in hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion on academic performance. Am J Clin Hypn. 2011;53(4):247-54. doi:10.1080/00029157.2011.10404354
- Rosendahl J, Alldredge CT, Haddenhorst A. Meta-analytic evidence on the efficacy of hypnosis for mental and somatic health issues: a 20-year perspective. Front Psychol. 2024;14:1330238. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1330238
- Yim TH, Derbyshire SWG. A systematic review of hypnosis for clinical pain relief. Eur J Pain. 2026;30(8):e70369. doi:10.1002/ejp.70369
- PubMed searches, 25 September 2026: hypnosis terms with procrastination, self-control, self-discipline, willpower or motivation; no trial of hypnosis for any of them. ClinicalTrials.gov, same date: no hypnosis study for procrastination.
- Running time, narrator and purchase count: the publisher’s product page, checked 25 September 2026.
Other pages that may fit you better
- Procrastination and motivationThe whole group, with a table for working out which kind of stuck this is
- Stop Being LazyIf you do care about the job, still watch the afternoon go, and wonder whether lazy is the word
- Self DisciplineIf starting is fine and it’s the keeping going that fails
- Stop WorryingIf what holds you back is the running commentary on how it could all go wrong
Whatever you decide about the session, pick tomorrow’s first task tonight, write down the feeling it gives you, and set a ten-minute timer to begin. The whole experiment is free.
Ernest McLeod — clinical hypnotherapist. An Adelaide practice, seeing clients across Australia by video. Fourteen years in practice.
- ICHP
- FELLOW, ASCH
- IICT MEMBER
Google’s related searches for this topic lead with “when depressed”. That’s why the GP line sits above the price on this page, not below it. More →
Just under twenty-four minutes at a set time, and ninety days to decide
If the spark has only gone out of the work in front of you, not out of everything, this gives you a regular, quiet slot to rehearse starting.
US$18.95Instant download · 90-day refund · about A$27
Results vary from person to person, and hypnosis does not replace medical care or treatment. This is a self-help audio session, not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional care, and not made for depression or ADHD. If loss of interest, low mood or tiredness has lasted over two weeks, or you suspect ADHD, see your GP; healthdirect: 1800 022 222. Lifeline: 13 11 14. Emergency: 000. Never listen while driving.