A few weeks ago, when I was struggling with focusing, HNers had a lot of advice which I tried to take, including to try out the pomodoro technique (set a timer

A few weeks ago, when I was struggling with focusing, HNers had a lot of advice which I tried to take, including to try out the pomodoro technique (set a timer for a task, give yourself a break at the end of it). Others also suggested setting a timer for a task and sticking to it, or creating a work plan for the day. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11804035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11804035 After two weeks of using it that technique, I found the number of hours I've spent on working, both on projects and on hobbies increased by 6x. Even my weekends feel a lot more productive in terms of getting certain fun project I want done. And I reduced the number of hours on social media, YouTube, and gaming. I also spent more time calming my brain through meditation and spent a little less time on the computer. I think a big part of all this is being very concerted in not allowing certain work times to be interrupted by e-mail/Slack/text or random thoughts that pop in my head ("Hey, I feel like going on Reddit/YouTube!"). And the fact that I was creating a structure where none existed before. Subsequently, because I worked longer hours, I got tired more easily in the evening. So I ended up sleeping earlier and waking up at a regular time. And then I never considered perceiving self-discipline as a muscle (as others mentioned in that comment thread), but by creating more structure via the pomodoro technique and just believing that keeping that focus could make it easier in the long run, I have definitely found it easier to keep true to my work hours even when I hit a road block.