I work from home, and I have to use lots of methods. Then it works.

Just two examples:

• I always have to work strictly with todo-lists. When it’s not on a list, it’s not getting done. On the other hand, putting it on the list, rather than doing it, feels like 55 % of the mental effort.

• Implementation intention: My brain takes offence to “must do now” orders. Instead, when I catch myself on a youtube/scrolling binge, I set a trigger (e. g. time, end of video) at which I do one item from the list. If there is no list, I write the list. That way, I get to continue enjoying for a bit longer, but now guilt-free (!), and can continue guilt-free after doing that one thing.

I schedule “Focus Time” sessions in outlook tied to specific things I need to get done. This sets Teams to DND and I get the meeting reminder pop up that guilts me into either continually delaying the reminder or just doing the work. I set each period to a task/topic that needs worked on.

I also leave emails unread until I’ve dealt with them, my anxiety over having unread emails then forces me to do something with them.

It helps that we block pretty much everything in our work laptops and force use of a different browser that’s pretty slow and shitty for all sites that aren’t strictly work related. Combined with having a phone from work for work things means I can just put my personal phone away and not get tempted by it.

Smoking weed and playing video games most of the day hasnt worked so far but im no quitter

When medicated I feel like it’s easier to stick to a task, but it doesn’t help me with picking the right task so I think I understand some of what you feel. The Time Timer has helped me sometimes when I just need the extra bit of external help. The act of picking it up and deciding to use it helps reaffirm my intention of working on a thing, and then the visual indicator of time passing helps my really really bad time sense to be moored to reality a bit better. The mental UHG of beginning the work task seems to melt away pretty quick after that initial step. Then the medication helps to let me proceed without my mind wandering. Other stuff is a necessity like physical activity and enough sleep. Getting out of a misdirected focus is tough, so I feel for ya.

Some great advice here, probably repeating others a bit but stuff that works for me:

• to do lists for each day / physically writing stuff down
• Generally work in 4 blocks (~60 - 90 mins each), 2 in the morning with a break in between then the same in the afternoon after a decent lunch break. (Afternoons are always less productive mind)
• Seperate work/home laptops. Only work stuff happens on work laptop.
• if I find I’m not being productive I just leave my desk for 5 mins then come back and try again.
• lots of walks

For YouTube stuff I’d recommend an alternative front end like freetube. Much less in your face with throwing vids at you, plus no ads!

WFH and the biggest simple hack. Drink water… If properly hydrated you release fluid approx once an hour. Enough to get up and should allow for reset.

No data on this approach other personal experience

My husband deals with that, and one thing that has helped him quite a bit is setting alarms. If he knows he is taking on an extended task, he will set an alarm on his phone for every hour or so. When it goes off, it distracts him from whatever he was doing and interrupts anything he is watching, so he is reminded to get back on task.

Another tool is accountability to another person. If he is having a bad focus day, he will sometimes ask me to bug him if I notice he is distracted for too long. Use this sparingly. I have been this person for a few people with ADHD, and using this too often has resulted in me being responded to like a parent asking their kid to stop playing games and eat their dinner. You don’t want to end up viewing your friends and partners as though they are an authority figure.

Also corporations steal our livelihood and don’t give a shit about you, so don’t feel that guilty about wasting some of their time. I get it, I get the same way but I have to remind myself of this fact.