it is a simple question of self-discipline You say that as though there's nothing to be learned about self-discipline or as though there's no way to increase y

it is a simple question of self-discipline You say that as though there's nothing to be learned about self-discipline or as though there's no way to increase your ability in self-discipline by using a technique you don't already know. There are lots of little techniques and tricks that people can use to fake or encourage self-discipline until neural pathways build that make the whole concept come more naturally. The Pomodoro technique works for lots of people. Personally, I've found that I can induce a lot of focus by putting on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and listening to music without words. I have a rule whereby I can have my headphones ONLY if I'm doing real work. The other thing that works really well for me is the "just one little thing" strategy. If I'm avoiding some task because it's huge and daunting, I decide to close my HN browser window for a few minutes and just do one little thing to make progress on the overall task. Nothing big, just one little thing. Maybe if I'm going to start a new web site, I decide to just create the repository or import a template. It's a good trick since typically what ends up happening is that one thing is easy so I decide to do another... and another. Before I know it, I'm engrossed in the task and feeling good about making progress.