Originally Posted by Socks

I think one of the best ways to stay focused is to keep a notebook beside your desk (or digital if that suits you better). I like notebook. Write a one liner about what you're about to do, and do it until it's done. If while you're working you need to do something related, add it to the next line. If you have an idea of something to do in the future, add it to another list that you can pull from when trying to figure out something current to do.

When you're done doing whatever it is you're doing, look at the notebook and decide what to do next, write it down and start. If you have to come back and finish later, you can see the last thing you were working on.

The hardest part about working is getting started, so doing this helps a lot with that, because you have a process for getting started every time. Also helps a lot with interruptions, because you can take one look at the notebook and remember what you were doing last.

You can also take it one step further and write down your non-work activities and set limits on them. Like 2 hours of video games, or go make dinner. When you're done, you'll think about the notebook and that will point you back towards work again. If you write down the time on each item, you can also see how long things take you.

Oh, and if you stick with it, you end up with a chronological view of what you've accomplished, and you can get a better sense overall of what you're spending your time on.