I was talking to my wife about something like this at lunch today and am trying to get it started for myself.
The thing I struggle with when digesting all these methods (workstation popcorn, Pomodoro, gamification, etc) is how, if you are having so much trouble staying on-task, you actually get yourself to stick to the set time/reward schedule. What keeps you from going, "Fuck this!" and shitcanning your schedule/to-do list/whatever in the absence of an outside force? I have the dual issues of poor time management and trouble focusing when my mind wanders and wants to do something else. I'm not sure how to get past that second hurdle.
If you really just want to do something else, then maybe you should be doing that? And if in response to this you think "oh no, I can't do that because XYZ", then maybe that XYZ is the motivation you are looking for. You won't shitcan your schedule if you have a good internal reason for doing those tasks, because then you wouldn't get what you want.
My current motivation is that I want to grow recurring revenue by enough that I can move to a new apartment in Tokyo, which I have already picked out should I ever hit my goal. The tasks I pick for each day, I try my best to think "how will doing this task help me get there?". And sometimes the motivation is that whatever I happen to be doing is just interesting / fun in itself, where no grander goal is necessary to work on that.
> I have the dual issues of poor time management and trouble focusing when my mind wanders and wants to do something else.
I've worked a lot on these for myself and ended up with a process that's extremely similar to the article here.
Remember that changing your habits is hard and takes time: rather than changing everything at once, it may be better to build on and try to gradually improve on your existing routine. I'm not sure I could have successfully implemented all of this advice overnight, yet I've gotten there by building up good habits over time ('habit stacking').
I believe the exercise is perhaps the most important part of this: getting regular exercise helps you to keep good, consistent habits.
The biggest thing this comes down to is discipline. Deciding that you're going to do something & simply doing it.
Breaking this down into 3 parts means that I'm not spending more than 2-3 hours in one place. If I'm having trouble sticking to something for a couple hours - there's usually a bigger problem than just being "productive."
The thing I struggle with when digesting all these methods (workstation popcorn, Pomodoro, gamification, etc) is how, if you are having so much trouble staying on-task, you actually get yourself to stick to the set time/reward schedule. What keeps you from going, "Fuck this!" and shitcanning your schedule/to-do list/whatever in the absence of an outside force? I have the dual issues of poor time management and trouble focusing when my mind wanders and wants to do something else. I'm not sure how to get past that second hurdle.