My main problem is just getting started on a task, but once I get started I can usually follow through. What do people here do to get over that inertial bump?
1. Shock yourself out of the inertia of the previous context by removing yourself from it quickly and decisively as soon as you realize it's time to get to work. Devote a few minutes to something as far removed as possible for the explicit purpose of clearing your head of what you've been doing. Do not delay. Leave things unfinished: if it is not as important as the task you're switching to, then by definition it can wait.
2. Start with the smallest, simplest, most self-evident and well-defined part of the larger task that you can think of. Reduce every task until you find something you can do right this minute without having to think more than a few minutes ahead, and repeat. Make reversible decisions by guesses or random selection if necessary to keep moving forward. Resist the urge to prematurely optimize by batching, list-making, or prioritizing until your attention is fully on the new task.
The timeboxing described here works well for me because it makes me just sit there and start. I've noticed doing that with other things. The reasoning is if I have to sit here anyways, might as well work.
Just so you know, I set up my office along pg's suggestions. I had moved off all non-work-related stuff to the desktop computer.
I've also been using Pivotal Tracker. The gig I'm working on had pulled in Hashrocket, and they insisted on it. The stories are chunked down to easy bite sizes, so I've been able to crank it out.
The real test though will be doing this for the non-consulting projects, where the payoff is going to be far far away...
