What can I do to get to work?
1. 10% rule. Whenever you're doing something and feel like taking a break do 10%-20% more. Usually you go over the bump. After fixing a couple of bugs and you want to take a break - fix one more. Just read 50 pages? Read 10 pages more before you take a break. And so on. It gets easier once you're used to it. Concentration is something you have to work on, especially when you don't really like what you're doing.
2. Music helps me get started on work, but I usually do my best work in complete silence.
3. I get distracted more easily when tired.
4. Create deadlines. If you're a deadline-junkie you may do your best work by skipping sleep the night before the deadline and working for 16 hours straight. You can't slack for more than a few minutes when you know time is running out.
5. Realize that you don't really want to read social news sites, that's it mostly a waste of time. Think of the things you'd rather do, and then do that instead as "reward" for doing something productive.
I was also a little concerned about the privacy implications of sending them everything I do, and if you disable that (which you can), many things don't function as well.
Edit: WAIT!
What?? What happened to 8aweek!? Now it's socialbrowse, which so far as I can tell is designed to do exactly the opposite of what 8aweek was going to do (i.e. save your time - now they want to waste it).
Edit2:
8aweek was a ycombinator startup! What happened?
I remember 8aweek - and I did the same thing (turned it off).
At the end of the day it is too easy to click "sod off let me in anyway" (which is what I do to the anti-procrast feature here :D).
Now I use LeechBlock which is good (and has some good features) but doesn't feel as smooth: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4476
When/If the laptop dies... I can always head back and plug it in, but at least I'd given myself a dedicated block of time on the problem.
I do this and have found myself opening Firefox/Outlook/Newsgroup/RSS readers only to find a flat "no connection" page - that immediately scolds me for sidetracking and I get on with what I'm supposed to eb doing again.
My work is writing, so I find it extremely convenient to have internet access as it helps with checking if I've got the meaning correct for words I rarely use in common conversation. It also helps greatly with research, however there comes a time when I have to turn my wireless off and actually use what I've research, etc.
Using a TODO lists when you already know roughly what you have to do can help enormously. The mundane act of ticking off a box next to a small task is enough motivation to get started on the next task.
Especially in the morning it can be tempting to "catch up" with all the HN posts, but if you go through your TODO list and see that you have to "fix link on page X" it's really easy to just do it. Only takes a minute. You know what you have to do, and it doesn't "feel" like work. And when you've started the next task automatically follows.
You can even put off simple tasks so you can do them whenever you're not feeling motivated, just to help you get started.
writing a unit test is a small task completion, as is passing it in a non-brain-dead manner.
This is, of course, quite a bit simplified. In any non-trivial venture there will be a significant number of things that need to be done and that you don't particularly enjoy doing. But if the greater part is fun then it is easier to sometimes buckle down and get through the mundane parts.
I guess it also largely depends on the personality. I, for example, hate having to do something quickly, without fully understanding the area, and moving on. On the other hand, if I have a chance to spend time and get exhaustive knowledge about something then I genuinely enjoy working on it even if on the outset it seemed unattractive (think sales, marketing, writing, etc., vs hacking some interesting piece of software).
http://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Keys-Success-Long-Term-Fulfill...
How much would you be willing to pay for a solution to this?
1. If possible, use two computers. One for work. One for fun. I do all my work on my macbook and browsing etc on my ThinkPad.
2. Use OpenDNS to block all the news sites. You can add reddit, HN and all the other news sites to the blocked sites list. Most often than not, I used to land up on reddit/HN by "accident". That is, my fingers would go Cmd-L -> redd -> return.. even befor I realised it. Having a blocker works. Sometimes, I consciously want to browse HN/reddit, but OpenDNS takes 3 minutes before the block is lifted. By that time the urge would have passed. Or, as I do now, I get up and move to the "fun" PC .
Why am I on HN now? I unblocked all the sites on election day to read the news from the fire-hose :p . Sine I don't own a TV, internet is the only news source....
The thought of seeing "fun" being in my top 2 or 3 has so far given me enough of a guilt trip that I keep working.
(amusingly googling for "rescue time dashboard" pops up with this page as the top link :D)
1. Stop reading the internet.
2. Get to work.
If you can't do that maybe you find the internet more interesting than work. If that is the case, consider making a change so that reading the internet becomes your work. No sense spending your life fighting yourself.
Divide your day in small periods of time and set working goals for each of these. Let's say take 45 minutes to focus on work and finish some task. And then take 15 minutes to read feeds or social websites. And then back to focus on work. And so on.
The smaller the goal the easier it is to achieve it and the less boring it seems compared to these juicy websites waiting for you.
I recommend you read this on your first 15 min. break, it will help you to understand this method. It's a GTD thing: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/how-to-accomplish-...
I wrote that equation in a paper and have it right next to my screen at all times. That way I don't have the temptation to forget about it :)
Good luck!
I agree with the others: find ways to enjoy what you do hr by hr.
Part of my day job involves analysing up to 1,000,000 images at a time and categorising them (that many images takes around 3hrs with our software). That gets VERY boring: what I do is set myself targbets - so I say "at 40,000 I will read my mail". Only when I get there I say - oh just another 5,0000. I developed a very usfel OCD-like thing of not beign able to stop until the "done" number reaches a precisely round number (which nevert happens :D) like 10,000 etc. :)
Try something similar: set short targets after which you will break - but then extend them. Set targets and what time you hope to reach them by; but make sure you will easily make it in the time you set. Then say "oh well in the time I have left I could do... xyz".
Keep setting tiny targets till you can't face it anymore and then lose yourself in the net for a bit :) (until you realise you should be back at work).
I have found that forcing work in this way for 2hrs then breakign for 20mins gets a lot more work done :D
Of course, there are times when you just have to get shit done. When I'm sufficiently motivated about my code, my brain automatically shuts everything else out. I don't force myself, I just wait until motivation/inspiration hits. Sometimes takes a day or two, but it's worth it, because then I'll have (say) a week-long burst of creative output that I couldn't have gotten any other way.
Hard problem this one.
Some times you need to search the web for information. Other times you really need to turn access off to get work done. One suggestion would be to pre-search all you need to search for. But this is clumsy and sometimes unforeseen comes along. Then when it comes time to work, try working on a machine not connected to the Internet.
But this practice doesn't scale. Is anyone working on an idea that lets an algorythm to work this out for lots of individuals?
Also, as much as I thought I benefit from the internet while doing a lot of my work, I now really question it. In the past few years, when stuck on a problem, I'd just google it. Now, I think that's probably counterproductive in the long-run. It gets you out of what you were doing, and you don't learn as much or as deeply as working on the problem yourself.
Lately, I've been trying to figure out how to best deal with IM. I do need to have it up so people that are too far away to get to me can ask questions, but I like talking to people more than I like my work right now. (I'm dealing with that also)
[1] /etc/hosts on unix, %windir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts on windows
Also I've developed a mental filter, an attitude of "did I really want to read this?" comparing the feeling before and after reading the article. Now I see the headline and try to figure which will be my reaction after I see the article. Most of the times, the conclusion is that I'm really not interested.
Every day, I have to do at least one productive thing before I can leave work.
Usually I read email, programming stuff and news in the morning, then catch myself wasting time and then get to work. When I first get started, time usually passes by extremely fast (depending on my current assignment).
use things like growl notifications to alert you of instant messages and new e-mails. that way you can remain in your coding window and quickly glance at what that little chime was just for. if it's an important message, switch and take care of it (or don't). if not, ignore it. this way you aren't forced to switch workspaces and interrupt your work every time something comes in that you hope might be more fun than your current problem at hand.
Find yourself a useful dstraction :)
Creating a pre-work ritual is amazingly useful in getting into the correct mindset.
When I need to buckle down, I close Safari.
Stop embracing weakness. Empower yourself.
It can be very simple and small things, the only important point is to make it a habit.
There is no better way (all other things suggested can help, but if you are not able to do the above, nothing will save you...).