I’m a fan of the Phoenix. They’re French. I guess that’s okay.

to address your two points:

1) i think the only thing here is to give up on quality or even conformity to your vision as requirements for you to be satisfied or happy with what you’re doing. this is a tough one for me, too — i want everything i write to be perfect the first draft, for example. the key may be to focus on process instead of product, and just keep making stuff, with the faith that even if only one out of every 5 or 10 products is any good that’s still one more than you’d have if you let your evaluating/judgmental get in the way. i could be a lot better at taking my own advice in this regard btw.

2) i struggle with this one, too — i’m a great one for making to-do lists (and having a great time doing so) that then feel like they’re hanging around my neck like granite weights. for myself, i’m not really sure that a reward system is the best approach to getting through what feels like drudgework. i stubbornly want to insist on finding some way to enjoy everything i do (not that i accomplish this, but i feel religious about its possibility.) it seems like when i’m actually accomplishing a lot of what could conceivably be considered drudgework (like the gardening, for example) what’s actually happened is that some switch has been thrown in my mind such that i’m simply doing, working, and feeling motivated to keep doing so; it’s like my complaining or anxious self has just been turned off for the duration. it’s the Zone, as they say. i think that finding some way to cultivate or trigger this state may be a greater aid to productivity than keeping my mind on some future reward and grimly gritting my teeth through whatever task i’ve set myself. one mantra that helps me get there sometimes is “just do the next thing.” but like yourself, i’m a work in progress…