The way to maintain motivation and interest is to work on tasks of just manageable difficulty. The brain likes a challenge, but only in an certain optimal zone of difficulty.

Humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks just at the edge of their current abilities. This is called the Goldilocks rule.

When starting a new habit, make it easy. This is to make it stick even on hard days. Once the habit is established, you must continue to advance in small ways. This is to keep you engaged and reach a flow state (being fully immersed in an activity). To achieve a state of flow, the task must be roughly 4% beyond your current ability.

Really successful people feel the same boredom but continue to practice despite their boredom. The greatest barrier to success to boredom. Progress cna be derailed by seeking novelty as the habits become ordinary.

Many habit forming products provide continuous forms of novelty. This is known as a variable reward. Slot machines are a common real world example. The pace of the reward varies which leads to a great spike in dopamine, memory recall, and habit formation. They amplify cravings by reducing boredom. Working on challenges of just manageable difficulty is a good way to keep things interesting.

Eventually, you will need to fall in love with boredom. If you stick to a habit long enough, there will be days you will not feel like doing it simply due to boredom. Steeping up is the difference between a professional and an amateur. Professionals know what is important and work toward it with purpose. The greatest threat to success is boredom.