| Suggestions from my own experience: 1) Set written goals: quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily. I have a pre-printed "form" that I populate with my goals. Then I check them off at the end of a period (day, week, etc.), grade myself, and make notes about what worked, what didn't and what I learned. Save these in a binder so you can see your progress, or lack thereof. 2) Use Pomodoro or HoursTracker or some other app that works for you. Observing how many (few) hours I was productively working was eye-opening. 3) Reward yourself. The idea is, work shouldn't stretch on "indefinitely" - then you have little psychological incentive to complete. 4) Separate your workspace from your living space, even if it is only a desk that you use solely for work. 5) Use StickK or some other form of commitment contract. 6) Use SelfControl or other internet-limiting app. Watch out for blocking Google URLs though - block youtube, and you can end up blocking Google Drive. 7) In the beginning, overinvest in setting up systems and tracking to discover what really works for you. Getting a good system going will easily pay for itself in efficiency gains. |