One very nifty hack is the pomodoro technique.<p>Correctly applied [0] it seems to trigger competition-mode[1] and a sense of urgency. This helps the brain cross the &quot;interesting&quot; threshold and stay focused instead of coming up with other ideas or dozing off.<p>0:-)<p>1: &quot;I really should be able to get this done in the next 25 minutes.&quot;