Motivation Follows Action: Redesigning How We Make Progress

Last week, my 19-year-old son called me complaining. He’s shooting a movie (Camp Triple Moon) and needed to take his final exam early. But the exam was giving him trouble. 

"I just can’t get myself to start," he admitted. "Every time I try, I end up scrolling through social media instead." Sound familiar? It’s the classic procrastination trap—one we’ve all fallen into. We know we need to get started, but suddenly, cleaning out the drawer or watching yet another video of a dog skateboarding feels more urgent.

Instead of giving him a lecture on time management, we talked about something deeper: resistance. The harder something feels, the more creative we get at avoiding it. So, we kept it simple and came up with a three-step plan: 

- Change his location. 

- Put his phone on airplane mode. 

- Commit to just reading the first page of his notes—nothing more. 

Four hours later, he texted me. He’d covered a lot of material and felt confident about the exam. He didn’t need more motivation—he just needed a smaller starting line. 

That moment captured something we’ve all experienced. We’ often think that motivation is the key to getting things done. 

But motivation alone can’t take us where we want to go. 

Why Motivation Isn't Enough 

Think about the messages we constantly hear in business and personal development - "Unleash your potential!” “Find your why!”, “Ignite your passion!.” Globally, the personal development market is estimated at over $48 billion in 2024, with projections to reach $67.2 billion by 2030, growing at about 5.5 percent CAGR. 

The motivation industry thrives by selling us the emotion of drive. But is the drive enough without systems in place—such as clear plans, routines, etc., when we still feel stuck? According to Gallup’s recent study, only 21% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work—and that number is declining from 23% the previous year. 

The problem isn’t that we don’t care or aren’t motivated. The problem is that we’re asking the wrong question. Instead of: 

- How do we stay motivated? We should be asking: 

- How do we make progress when motivation inevitably fades? 

Motivation is fleeting. It’s unreliable, inconsistent, and often nowhere to be found when we need it most. 

Motivation Follows Action, Not the Other Way Around

For a long time, we believed dopamine—the brain's "feel-good" chemical—was a reward we got after completing a task . But recent groundbreaking research flipped the script. Dopamine spikes before we take action, not after. It's not a reward chemical—it's an anticipation chemical. 

What does this mean for us? 

Waiting to feel motivated is a trap. The simple act of starting—even with a tiny step—creates the motivation we've been waiting for. 

This explains why recognition at work is so powerful. Acknowledgment doesn't just make us feel good—it rewires our brains to anticipate future rewards, which drives action. As Dale Carnegie wrote "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."

I witnessed this firsthand during my 22 year tenure as the head of WFDSA. Every year we gave awards and recognized achievements. And direct selling companies excel in this space at creating environments where progress feels rewarding—celebrating small wins, highlighting achievements, and creating recognition systems that spark anticipation and action. 

The takeaway is simple: Instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, start small. Action creates the motivation we are looking for. 

Why Too Many Decisions Kill Momentum 

Every decision we make pulls from the same limited mental energy pool. By the end of the day, even small choices—like what to eat for dinner—can feel overwhelming as glucose and executive-function reserves dip. This is called decision fatigue, and it has a massive impact on our productivity. 

Studies show that for every additional step required to begin a task, completion rates can drop anywhere from 8–50% (midpoint about 30%. In a well known 10-month study of parole board decisions, judges granted parole to 65% of cases heard early in the day but to almost none at the end of sessions—regardless of case merit. Mental fatigue eroded their decision quality. This is why high performers and organizations create systems to minimize decisions:

- Templates for repetitive tasks. 

- Batching similar decisions together. 

- Automating low-value choices. 

It’s not about trying harder—it’s about conserving our mental energy for what matters most. 

Systems Make Progress Inevitable

Motivation is wonderful when it shows up, but systems keep us moving when it doesn’t. Below are three types of systems that help us make progress: 

- Friction-removal systems: eliminate unnecessary steps between intention and action. Zoom is a perfect example as it’s “one-click meetings” and easy features dominate because they make starting effortless. 

- Default systems: make the right behaviors automatic. Trader Joe’s limits product choices, reducing decision fatigue and driving customer loyalty. 

- Momentum systems: celebrate progress indicators, not just outcomes. Microsoft’s “No Meeting Thursdays” increased productive coding by 26% by creating uninterrupted focus time. 

Three Simple Shifts to Beat Procrastination 

We don’t need more willpower—we need better design. We can start making progress today by doing the following: 

- Start tiny, make the first step so small it feels impossible to avoid. 

- Tasks with a <5-minute starting threshold have over 50% much higher completion rate. Eliminate a decision for every task, remove one unnecessary choice. Teams that use decision frameworks complete 31% more initiatives. I've learned that I must unpack my suitcase within 5 minutes of walking through my front door. If I don't, that suitcase will sit there for hours.

- Attach new habits to old ones. Want to write every morning? Do it after your first cup of coffee. Behaviors tied to triggers are 70% more likely to stick than time-based reminders. 

What's one small system or tiny action that made a real difference for you—something that helped you move forward when motivation wasn't there? Share your ideas in comments.

Redesigning the Path Forward 

Motivation is great when it shows up, but it’s no substitute for a solid system. Think of motivation as the spark, and systems as the engine that keeps things running. Without systems, even the biggest spark fizzles out. 

At Kaleidra Global Advisors we help you build the kind of systems that make progress sustainable, even when motivation runs low. Because lasting performance isn’t powered by pressure. It’s powered by design. Let's connect