I've found two things can keep this at bay: reading old-school dead-tree books, and meditation. I am an avid reader who is quite fussy about what he's reading.

I've found two things can keep this at bay: reading old-school dead-tree books, and meditation. I am an avid reader who is quite fussy about what he's reading. Everyone around me knows I read a lot, so of course what better present for my birthday than an e-reader, right? Wrong. I can't use that stuff. It puts me in the Distracted Mode, whereas when I do serious reading, I need to be in the Focused Mode. E-stuff automatically flips on the Distracted switch. You know - the stumbleupon links, the reddit cats, the endless outpouring of youtube video mud. Old school books do the opposite. Also, meditation is pretty much the polar opposite of twitter-driven thinking. Things like The Long Now Foundation, and the book called Anathem by Neal Stephenson, are direct reactions and backlashes to the twitterification of the modern mind.