1. Exactly you already said: "write a list of the steps you need to take and keep breaking it into smaller parts" :)
2. Play competing heel-dragging tasks against each other, when possible.
I find that doing this ensures that sustained effort is almost guaranteed to be more productive (and it doesn't take long) than trying to do a controlled, focused burst to get something out of the way.
Two tricks in my bag for this:
I find that doing this ensures that sustained effort is almost guaranteed to be more productive (and it doesn't take long) than trying to do a controlled, focused burst to get something out of the way.