The Gita talks about two kinds of karma, sakama and nishkama. ANANDMURTI GURUMAA tells us how to identify which of the two you are up to

In a nutshell, the Bhagwad Gita classifies karma under two broad categories,namely,sakama karma and nishkama karma. Sakama karma entails actions driven by some goal, some ulterior motive. Nishkama karma, on the contrary has no such ulterior motive.The concept of nishkama karma can be understood through the following verse in the Gita: “Yasya sarve samarambhah kamasankalpa- varjitah; Jnanagni dagdha-karmanam tamahuh panitam budhah —The one whose all undertakings are devoid of desires, who has relinquished all desires and motivations,whose all actions have been burnt in the fire of jnana, highest knowledge — the wise refer to such a being as pandit.” (19:4)
No Ulterior Motive How very incredibly amazing! No desire, no ulterior motive, no driving force, no sankalpa behind the actions. In fact,no desire to undertake,to commence, to start any action at all — when such a person performs any action,it is known as nishkama karma.And contrast this with people doing charity, building hospitals, schools and claiming their actions to be nishkama karma, but is it really so? Are these selfproclaimed do gooders doing it for no reason at all? Are they not seeking any desired result for their actions? Sure they do.The advertised inscriptions at the entrance foyer of such institutions clearly reveal their ulterior motives: ‘Dedicated in the memory of my late father or my grandfather so and so….’ On the face of it, these commemorative memorials may seem quite innocuous, but they clearly reflect the lurking head of a massive ego.Likewise, there are some so-called social workers who arrange mass marriages in the name of charity.
But here they are patting their own backs for doing nishkama karma and receiving funds with the other hand at the same time. Can this be labelled as nishkama karma? Krishna gives the perfect definition of nishkama karma — the one whose mind is expunged of all desires,expectations,motives — in fact, there is no thought planning at all, yet actions happen through him. Now,this may seem quite paradoxical to you.After all,can any action occur without any preceding thought, any preparatory planning? It sure is extremely difficult to even conceive this notion. Perplexingly amazing! ‘Mind empty of all desires, all sankalpa…’— when does the mind become completely devoid of desires, sankalpa? In the depth of meditation, when the mind is totally absorbed in a heightened meditative state — that is the moment when there is no wave of desire, no sankalpa arising in the mind. But, can any person perform an action in such a deep state of being? It is simply not possible.
Thus, the million-dollar question is: through whom can nishkama karma take place? Well,it can happen only through a person who is egoless and, experientially,knows the real Self in all its radiant incandescence.The one who has attained Self-realisation, who verily knows his Self,distinct from the bodymind- intellect,and whose mind is completely empty of desires and sankalpa — nishkama karma can happen only through such a man of Self-realisation, because there is no more any ‘doer’ of actions.As long as ‘I’ exists, so will desires. And inevitably, these desires will lead to some action.
But, all such desire- driven actions constitute sakama karma and not nishkama karma. Extraordinarily Rare Sakama karma is further classified into two subtypes: kamya karma and prayaschit karma.Actions motivated by the desire to become rich, become famous or to beget children are all examples of sakama karma.What’s more, performing yajnas or chanting mantras with the ulterior motive of pleasing the said deity so that your wishes may get fulfilled is also sakama karma.And bear in mind, serving your guru with the intention of pleasing her is also sakama karma.‘I want to serve Gurumaa so that a pleased master will shower her blessings upon me’— this too is sakama karma. Thus,it is extraordinarily rare to come across someone who does nishkama karma,in the true sense of the word. It is a very widely abused, misused, misinterpreted term,for people think that simply being charitable or serving others is nishkama karma….As long as the notion of ‘I am’ and ‘I am the doer’exists in you, nishkama karma can never happen through such a one.Karma Unravelled, Gurumaa Vani.