I identify with the author of this post a lot. I tried a lot of things, but two stuck: 1. I got a big ol' whiteboard and wrote down everything I could be doi

I identify with the author of this post a lot. I tried a lot of things, but two stuck: 1. I got a big ol' whiteboard and wrote down everything I could be doing (project list, todo list, reading list, etc. etc.) The thing about using a .txt file or a Google Doc is that windows or open tabs can always be ignored, accidentally closed, minimized -- when an entire wall in one of your rooms is devoted to the things you want to be doing, its a lot harder to pretend they don't exist. 2. I started working with other people. I have a standing man-date with one of my friends where every Tuesday night, one of us buys a six-pack and we just plug away on our computer with a new album or something in the background. I don't know what it is about being around other people that makes me inherently more productive, but I feel like I have a part of my brain that wants to do work and part of my brain that wants to goof off: when I have friends in the room, the goofy hemisphere can spend time cracking jokes and scattered conversations, while the productive hemisphere codes away. (Otherwise, goofy Justin hogs the computer and productive Justin just can't pry him away from /r/corgi.)