If anyone is actually interested in breaking this cycle, "Getting Things Done" is a great book that addresses this issue.

In relation to this: identifying what needs to be done isn't sufficient to start doing it. It is much easier to work on something when there are distinct tasks associated with it, so the next step after identify is create a list of all the tasks you need to complete along with all of the tools or resources you'll need to complete that task. Then, when the time comes to actually do any of the tasks there are less mental barriers of 'prepping' and more just doing.

This obviously won't fix motivation problems, but it does help.