I watched almost all of that series of videos because I'm putting off reading a research paper. If it weren't for that paper hanging over my head, I doubt I would have been able to watch them all without being distracted. There's definitely something to this structured procrastination idea.

I have a system where I read one interesting paper every day, then cross out that day on the calendar -- it's the Don't Break the Chain method. So far it's working great; once I read one, I want to read another, and it keeps the topics fresh in my head every day. I wish I had figured this out years ago.