How do i get work ethic

i've been self employed for four years now, the money i get out is pretty much directly proportional to the work i put in.
naturally i'm poor as shit.
my work is mostly programming, but i feel tired a lot of the time and it's rare to get in the 'zone'. i spend a lot of time goofing off. every now and then something clicks and i get a lot of work done quickly, but it's far and few between, and it feels totally out of my control.
how do i stop being a useless sack of shit? it's boring and depressing being poor. you'd think that alone would be sufficient motivation, but i guess not.

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If the enticement of money, financial freedom, and the ability to do what you really want in your offtime doesn't motivate you, how the fuck are we supposed to help?

Get fucked loser

you're probably right

I would like to know also.

Work ethic can largely be defined as:
Show up on time and consistently, do your work competently, and dont be a shit head to your coworkers

i'm more talking of the kind of situation where you need to motivate yourself
when i was in traditional employment i did ok

Hate to sound like a trump supporter, but maybe, "you have to go back."

Back to salaried positions or wages

it feels that way sometimes, but i was even less happy than i am now back then
i suppose i'll do it once i feel like i've exhausted all my options

How did you go about making a career as a freelance developer?

mostly from meeting the right people, online. i get jobs by word of mouth, from people in similar positions as me but without as much of the technical skills, but who are good at the meeting and talking stuff. i get my foot in the door by offering to do jobs for peanuts at first. a surprising amount of small-medium companies will pay a few hundred for a simple web app that displays charts, or automates something for them.

Ahh, that's good to know, thanks user. I've always been thinking of freelancing at some point, this looks like a decent way to get started.

In terms of your issue, I struggle with it to but with self-studying. For me what often helps is breaking things into 30 minute chunks (with the goal of completing 12 total) or something a bit more strict like the Pomodoro technique. If you've never heard of it before you might want to give it a shot, it's actually a pretty decent method.

just remember the #1 thing you can get is a personal recommendation. nobody likes hiring a random pajeet. with new clients quote low and always deliver more than you promise
i do use pomodoro from time to time, and it does help. i never tried having a set number for a day though. the worst thing is those days (sometimes stretching into weeks, months) where i just lay around and do dick all, and when i try to do something i can't keep focus
the sheer quantity of lost opportunities gets you down after a while
thanks for your input

I’ve suffered from this as well. I also am self employed, programming related.

What helped me was getting up from my chair once per hour to do 5 push-ups and 5 light squats. Takes like 10 seconds but something about the little circulation boost, endorphins, muscle movements keeps me in work mode and alert. It seems dumb when your doing it helps.

that's an interesting idea. i barely move except to get between my bed, my desk, and the shitter most days. can't be good for anyone. i'll try this out tomorrow, in combination with pomodoro it could be a nice routine
thanks

Lost opportunities are lost. Ignore them and move on, don't dwell, otherwise you'll get hung up on all the things you could have done, and forget to do them now instead.

you're right. a little easier said than done, but you need to keep your mind in the present rather than worrying about things you can't change

It seems like you think you need to make all your money one way. You code, so naturally you make money coding, but what else do you do during your goof off time? It took me a long time to realize I was too scatterbrained for 1 thing and branched out into other areas that interested me. Now I make a little money a lot of ways and it fits. Those moments when everything comes together and you get a lot of work done at once can be harnessed for other things as well.

that's a thinker. i'm usually always doing something constructive since i don't enjoy passive things so much. whether any of it could be a marketable skill is another question. do you have any examples?

Biggest eye opener for me was going to garage sales and flipping items I knew about on ebay. Almost anyone can clear $25/hour if they apply themselves. Way more if you learn new niches and streamline. For me it did a few things, I learned arbitrage, photography/staging, bargaining, shipping, and ended up branching out from there. Plus it forces you to meet and have conversations with people which can lead to more income. You could definitely find freelance tech jobs through people you meet. I also do custom watercooling, and customize firearms.

that's a good idea. i have had some success doing similar things several years back, it was always really fun to find something massively undervalued. i recall picking up a boxed game and watch from the 80s and selling it for 5x the price once.
my interests are pretty all over the place so i'm sure there's some kind of niche i could profit from. just need to have some money in the first place to get started, really
thanks for the ideas

i need to sleep, but i'll return to the thread in the morning if it's still alive. i wasn't really expecting anything so i appreciate the replies (even ). it feels better knowing i have some actionable suggestions to work with.