While this idea isn’t 100% mine, I’ve put a bit of a twist on it. Over on the forums at Top-Law-Schools.com there’s a great section on guides to prepare you for law school. One of the guides talks about the necessity of simply having a sticky note by the door with a daily gone to accomplish. It could be something as simple as “be prepared for class”, but I know what motivates me the most is money. So why not take the cost of your legal education for a year, divided by the number of days you go to class and put that on your door? I can’t think of anything more inspiring then the fact that I’d be spending roughly $250 a day. It’s a great deterrent from me skipping class, going without an assignment or anything of the sort. Of course, you can use the trick when you’re a lawyer too, just turn the -$250 into your salary broken down by day.