"...if I didn't get enough work done, I was too embarrassed about my lack of progress to post a blog entry."

Heh. That's actually one of the reasons I started posting word counts years ago. If I wasn't making enough progress, I'd be embarrassed, which motivated me to sit my butt down and try to write more. Everyone's different, but for me it was one more factor helping me to stop vacuuming the cat and start writing.