[afarrell]

I use a three-pronged approach:

1) Put my vices out of reach. I don't keep candy in my house and I use https://freedom.to/ and https://selfcontrolapp.com/ to block distracting websites.

2) Build habits and structures to take care of my physical health. I use a spaced-repetition flashcard app https://ankiweb.net/ on my phone to remind myself of the habits I should be following. I go to sleep at 11:30 and wake up at 8:30 (+/1 30 minutes either way) so I get 9 hours of sleep a night. If I feel anxious when going to sleep, I put on an audiobook. I do a 20 minute workout (run 1km, bench press, situp, back-up, lunges) before work. I'm not building muscle, but it makes my mind clearer.

3) Reinforce mental toughness by explicitly saying to myself "this is frustrating, but it is worth it to work through it and I'm stronger than I think."