Here's a related phenomenon I have noticed that sometimes helps me get things done.

On occasion, I get in trouble with my wife. I do something that makes her upset with me, and although it may not be the best habit, my instinct is to start working on various tasks I need to do until she is ready to talk (her usual action is to give me the silent treatment for a little while, then slowly open up to talking so we can have the fight/discussion about whatever it was that got me in trouble). I think my motivation is somewhere along the lines of trying to be hyper nice in order not to draw more negative attention to myself, but it certainly works for getting things done.

Too bad this is just an occasional way to make me do things that happens by accident since I have no plans for making my wife angry with me on purpose just so I can get a few things done. But I think this is a special case of a general phenomenon that we can each probably harness to help us get things done.