A routine should survive a bad mood.

A routine that needs enthusiasm every time is asking you to supply two things: the action and the mood. On a difficult day, getting into the right frame of mind may become more work than the routine itself.

Make the entry less ceremonial. Put the shoes by the door. Open the document to the next unfinished sentence. You do not have to pretend that feelings are irrelevant; exhaustion and illness deserve a response. But mild reluctance need not hold the only key to beginning.

What preparation would let you begin without first talking yourself into it?