Depends on what you mean by work and how you've lost motivation.
If it's a job and I'm just not feeling it, I keep going for a while because I have to. Maybe I'll find another job. Maybe things will get better. Maybe I'll figure out a way to make things better.
For more personal stuff, where there's no looming threat if I don't do it, it's a lot harder. I've figured out that some of this is due to anxiety. What looks like laziness or a lack of motivation can, when examined, sometimes be attributed to anxiety. I've worked on this some on my own, and might seek therapy at some point. But at least being aware that this is possibly a cause might help. Though anxiety and depression often go hand in hand, I don't seem to have that, but it's something else to consider.
One thing I'm trying is budgeting my energy in a spreadsheet. If you're familiar with the concept of "spoons", it's kind of like that: you start each day with a certain number of units of energy, and each task takes a certain amount. So each morning I list the day's tasks (taken from other pages for tasks and projects), and if they add up to more than the day's energy budget, I should probably remove some. The daily budget has a default value, but it might vary if I'm not feeling it that day. Overall it's too early to tell how effective this is, but I was able to take care of something that I've been putting off for a year and half, so that's something. Energy for me doesn't mean feeling upbeat and enthusiastic, but it's a shorthand for things like willpower and.. whatever the inverse of anxiety is. YMMV.
Depends on what you mean by work and how you've lost motivation.
If it's a job and I'm just not feeling it, I keep going for a while because I have to. Maybe I'll find another job. Maybe things will get better. Maybe I'll figure out a way to make things better.
For more personal stuff, where there's no looming threat if I don't do it, it's a lot harder. I've figured out that some of this is due to anxiety. What looks like laziness or a lack of motivation can, when examined, sometimes be attributed to anxiety. I've worked on this some on my own, and might seek therapy at some point. But at least being aware that this is possibly a cause might help. Though anxiety and depression often go hand in hand, I don't seem to have that, but it's something else to consider.
One thing I'm trying is budgeting my energy in a spreadsheet. If you're familiar with the concept of "spoons", it's kind of like that: you start each day with a certain number of units of energy, and each task takes a certain amount. So each morning I list the day's tasks (taken from other pages for tasks and projects), and if they add up to more than the day's energy budget, I should probably remove some. The daily budget has a default value, but it might vary if I'm not feeling it that day. Overall it's too early to tell how effective this is, but I was able to take care of something that I've been putting off for a year and half, so that's something. Energy for me doesn't mean feeling upbeat and enthusiastic, but it's a shorthand for things like willpower and.. whatever the inverse of anxiety is. YMMV.
the inverse of anxiety is serenity ;)
...and it has the bad habit of escaping when you need it most
Your energy budget is a very good idea.