There's a lot to be said for habit for making tasks happen that are hard to motivate. If you can spend a week consciously putting on running shoes every morning before breakfast, then it gets easier to do it on other days. Key to this is to break it down. Instead of a task being a single behemoth (run 5km), it should be a series of small steps that by themselves are easier to take (put on shoes by the bed), each leading onto the other.
I agree. Creating habits and reducing obstacles makes a huge difference. For some time, I just stopped buying bus passes, which "forced me" to walk to work.
The nice part was that I was able to listen to podcasts on my walk, and this resulted in a really nice way to start my day.