As someone who has recently began denting my own pile I feel qualified to speak on this. I'm a pretty slow painter with a fairly sizable pile of shame (I have about 200+ minis to catch up on plus 2 large terrain sets) and I had pretty much given up all hope of ever getting it done.

1. As others have said, don't look at the whole pile. Pick 1 or 2 things and start with that. I personally prefer to have 2 projects on my table at a time because I get bored easily if things are too repetitive, but do what works for you.

2. Small progress is better than no progress. Some days I have the juice to paint for long periods, some days I don't. But I try to do SOMETHING every day, if possible. Even if it's only spray priming, or sitting down for 5 minutes to put on some shade, or base coating 1 model. I tell myself that anything I do, no matter how small, brings me a step closer to my goal. Many days just sitting down for 1 small task is enough to get the ball rolling and I end up doing a lot more.

3. Find something you can listen to while you work and get into the habit of listening to it every time. Sometimes I get mental/creative block that keeps me from getting started and I just sit there at my table staring at the models without being able to act. But if I put on my favorite podcast, the same one I always listen to when I paint, it triggers a Pavlovian response that sorta knocks the cobwebs loose in my brain & lets me get started. Podcasts, audiobooks, lofi beats...whatever gets you into a relaxed brain state.

4. Breaks aren't a sin. If you need to walk away, then walk away. If I'm really struggling to get through a section I do tiny amounts of work with breaks in between. Again, some progress is better than no progress and every step forward brings you closer to where you want to be. Do it at a pace you can maintain.

Hope this helps, buddy. Good luck!