Just a tip that may or may not be helpful for you:
I have personally gone through periods where I am extremely unproductive due to that exact process. For years I tried to fix it: using web extensions to limit the sites I can use, pomodoro, removing autocomplete results so I don’t enter a website through muscle memory, etc.
Results, however, were mostly temporary and not really successful in the long term.
What did work for me, as suggested in a book, was really thinking about myself, taking notes, and trying to find a pattern of what times in my life procrastination comes back in full force.
What I found out is that these periods happen whenever I'm avoiding a specific task, no matter how unrelated to the job at hand. So for example, if I need to have a difficult conversation with a partner and I start putting it off, that triggers my avoidant behaviour and I won't get anything done at work or in personal projects until I face the issue. Then the behaviour gets magically resolved and I feel super productive again.
Things that have triggered avoidance so far are as big as making up with a friend after an argument, and as small as having to go through phone customer service to solve an issue with my phone carrier's bill.
So I'd recommend you to stop and ponder for a moment if there's any important unrelated things you've been avoiding.
My mind follows the same pattern, and often when I have to do something unpleasant or anxiety-triggering. The support email might be about something I broke, or the phone call requires a big ask, or I’m avoiding feeling incompetent about what I need to do. The distraction is almost always either to numb/overwhelm senses to suppress that feeling, or something new to make me feel competent / intelligent / good. As an engineer, checking HN often satisfies both needs.
Pushing back from the desk and breathing helps me recenter and refocus, and “costs” me only 100 seconds from the day.
Just a tip that may or may not be helpful for you:
I have personally gone through periods where I am extremely unproductive due to that exact process. For years I tried to fix it: using web extensions to limit the sites I can use, pomodoro, removing autocomplete results so I don’t enter a website through muscle memory, etc.
Results, however, were mostly temporary and not really successful in the long term.
What did work for me, as suggested in a book, was really thinking about myself, taking notes, and trying to find a pattern of what times in my life procrastination comes back in full force.
What I found out is that these periods happen whenever I'm avoiding a specific task, no matter how unrelated to the job at hand. So for example, if I need to have a difficult conversation with a partner and I start putting it off, that triggers my avoidant behaviour and I won't get anything done at work or in personal projects until I face the issue. Then the behaviour gets magically resolved and I feel super productive again.
Things that have triggered avoidance so far are as big as making up with a friend after an argument, and as small as having to go through phone customer service to solve an issue with my phone carrier's bill.
So I'd recommend you to stop and ponder for a moment if there's any important unrelated things you've been avoiding.