Inconsistent Productivity and Finding Balance
For so many of us, we rotate between wild peaks of productivity as deadlines approach and stretches of inaction once that urgency fades. I cannot count how many individuals I have talked with who have been able to tap into near superhuman levels of focus and churned out quality work as the deadline for something important looms. They often feel connected to this version of themselves. Of course, this means that they feel distant and disconnected when they feel stuck for extended periods. This is something that often a pattern those with ADHD battle. Fortunately, some important neurological research has recently highlighted that whether someone is internally or externally motivated dramatically influences levels of productivity. For anyone unsure of what the terms internal and external motivation mean, here are their definitions.
Internal Motivation: commonly referred to as intrinsic motivation. This refers to doing an activity for the enjoyment one experiences while engaging in it and not for some future rewards or outcome.
External Motivation: commonly referred to as extrinsic motivation. This term refers to the desire to do an action based on expected outcomes of that action rather than for the enjoyment of the activity itself.
I imagine that many who end up reading this will be individuals who are motivated to make changes. Often, they may be eager to move towards things like ‘productivity hacks’ to become that better version of themselves.
Why does it matter?
Those who are able to be more internally motivated and often move towards things for their own enjoyment show higher levels of consistency and productivity while also being less impacted by the obstacles (such as the opinions of others) while having higher levels of satisfaction, persistent, creativity, and performance. Internal motivation consistently is shown to help individuals push towards their goals and achieve success. If someone is eager to be more efficient or to achieve greater satisfaction in their lives, becoming more intrinsically motivated and less extrinsically motivated might be a great path towards those goals.
This recent wave of neurological research has shown some consistent things. One important theme in the findings has been that there are two different circuits in the brain. An intrinsic motivation circuit and an extrinsic motivation circuit. Notably, it seems that the activation of one of these circuits shuts down the opposite one. So, if you want to be less externally motivated, your work to activate the internal motivation circuits will naturally help shut down that opposite path. A metaphor for this could be driving a car. It cannot both go forward and backwards. Neither can these brain systems. The key point to understand is that while we are driven towards being more efficient and optimizing ourselves, we are stopping ourselves from being internally motivated. All of this raises the question; then how do we activate this other path and be internally motivated?
I will touch on that question very soon. First, I want to discuss the how interconnected our brain systems are. A major theme in therapy is how things rise and fall together. Often, dominoes will fall one after another when things are getting better but also when they are getting worse. I will see clients who get sick, experience worsening job performances, have decreased mental health, and then experience difficulties with their loved ones. Of course, seeing almost everything improve after just working at one area is my favorite part of the job.
The last point I’ll make in this section is how externally rewarding technically is. Each time we swipe to see the next video or post online, we are activating our external motivation circuits and taxing our dopamine systems. As we just discussed, this makes it extremely difficult to not have that system remain active across all areas of our lives. We may start to look towards doing things for our partners just for the potential rewards rather than for the enjoyment of knowing we helped support someone we love. The same applies to work and school. We will likely end up taking far fewer steps towards our goals because our brain circuits will be far more focused on needing rewards for every step we take. Additionally, we will become much more vulnerable to barriers that come up and be quicker to stop working after things get tough.
How can we become more internally motivated?
If you want to keep moving towards being more internally motivated, first, keep an eye on the things that might activate that external circuitry such as swiping on your phone. Then, each time you are given task or have a goal you want to move towards, follow these four steps. I also ask that you keep in mind that change takes time. You will be on autopilot lots of the time and may forget to do these things. That’s life. Keep at it. Ten steps forward might not be the fifty you wanted. But it’s still damn good.
Come Up with Options
Consider a few different ways you could work towards your goal. For example, come up with options A, B, and C.
Anticipate What Might Happen
Imagine what the outcome will be if you go with plan A. What might be difficult? What is the likely outcome of it? How might you feel after? Do this for plans B and C too.
Plan and Act
Explore how you can stick with the plan(s) you choose. What are things that might pull you away from that plan? How can you overcome them or gain additional support to stick with the plan? Specifically think of the smaller steps you can take that will keep you on the path you want.
Reflect on How Things Went
Lastly, look back on what things went well and/or how you could do things a bit differently next time. It’s especially helpful if you reflect on the things you had direct influence over rather than reflecting on which things were outside of your control.
Citations
Di Domenico, S. I., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). The Emerging Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation: A New Frontier in Self-Determination Research. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 145. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00145
Holroyd C. B., Coles M. G. H. (2002). The neural basis of human error processing: reinforcement learning, dopamine, and the error-related negativity. Psychol. Rev. 109, 679–709. 10.1037/0033-295x.109.4.679
Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML (2022). On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation. Psychological Medicine 52, 1801–1816. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0033291722001611
Written by Dr. Luke Bieber on November 21, 2025.
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