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1) Keep a book open on your work machine (pdf, epub, .txt in a terminal with "less", whatever) and every time you would read HN or FB or Twitter any other time wasting Internet BS, read some of the book instead. DO NOT let yourself do anything else when you want/need a distraction. It has to be the book, or else you keep working. Physical book might work too though it might be a little weird, depending on your work environment—maybe put paper over the cover if it's especially not-related-to-work looking. I don't know, I haven't tried this.

2) There is no step two.




I have to say, that definitively wouldn't work for me. I take breaks when I need to de-focus from the problem and let my mind work on it unattended, so I can't do anything mentally demanding during them.




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