I have no sources, but if modafinil was actually effective for moderate-severe ADHD the drug company probably would have tried to get it approved to treat ADHD. They must have run at least some studies to determine that FDA approval for ADHD treatment was not going to happen.
Anecdotally, I believe that most psychiatrists only try modafanil for relatively mild ADHD in adults and usually only if the drug is requested by the patient.
My intuition on this is because amphetamine is just a much, much stronger drug than modafanil.
They are different types of drugs, sure. The most likely way for my comment to not be true is if ata stopped taking amphetamine not because it was ineffective, but because of the side effect profile. Modafanil does have a milder side effect profile. Failing that, modafanil would only probably really work for severe ADHD if it fixes a specific brain defect -- possible, but it seems unlikely.
Edit: This claims that the FDA rejection for modafanil was because of a single very adverse reaction of the frequently lethal Steven Johnsons Syndrome, where the diagnosis was later recanted. Not sure if that is the whole truth, but it means my premise is somewhat less likely based on the evidence. My intuition still holds. http://www.modafinil.com/
How does the lesswrong crowd feel about these recent stories? Having grown up in Europe I've always found the North American faith in treating psychological conditions with drugs a bit odd, I feel vindicated reading stories like this but I wonder if it is just cultural bias?
I recently had occasion to review some of the akrasia tricks I've found on Less Wrong, and it occurred to me that there's probably quite a lot of others who've tried them as well. Perhaps it's a good idea to organize the experiences of a couple dozen procrastinating rationalists?
Therefore, I'll aggregate any such data you provide in the comments, according to the following scheme:
Every so often, I'll combine all the data back into the main post, listing average scores, sample size and common effects for each technique. Ready?
Here's the list of specific akrasia tactics I've found around LW (and also in outside links from here); again, if I'm missing one, let me know and I'll add it. Special thanks to Vladimir Golovin for the Share Your Anti-Akrasia Tricks post.
Without further ado, here are the results so far as I've recorded them, with average score, number of reviews, standard deviation and recurring comments.
3 or More Reviews:
Collaboration with Others: Average +7.7 (3 reviews) (SD 0.6)
No Multitasking: Average +6.0 (3 reviews) (SD 2.0); note variants
P.J. Eby's Motivation Trilogy: Average +5.8 (6 reviews) (SD 3.3)
Monoidealism: Average +8.0 (3 reviews) (SD 2.0)
"Just Do It": Average +4 (2 reviews) (SD 4.2)
Irresistible Instant Motivation: +3 (1 review)
Getting Things Done: Average +4.9 (7 reviews) (SD 2.6)
Regular Exercise: Average +4.4 (5 reviews) (SD 2.3)
Cripple your Internet: Average +4.2 (11 reviews) (SD 3.0)
LeechBlock: Average +5.4 (5 reviews) (SD 2.9); basically everyone who's tried has found it helpful.
PageAddict: +3 (1 review)
Freedom (Mac)
Melatonin: Average +4.0 (5 reviews) (SD 5.4); works well for some, others feel groggy the next day; might help to vary the dosage
Execute by Default: Average +3.7 (7 reviews) (SD 2.4); all sorts of variants; universally helpful, not typically a life-changer.
Pomodoro Technique: Average +3.3 (3 reviews) (SD 4.2); mathemajician suggests a 45-minute variant
Being Watched: Average +3.2 (6 reviews) (SD 4.1); variations like co-working seem more effective; see "collaboration" below
Utility Function Experiment: Average +2.8 (4 reviews) (SD 2.8)
Meditation: Average +2.8 (5 reviews) (SD 2.8)
Modafinil and Equivalents: Average -0.8 (5 reviews) (SD 8.5); fantastic for some, terrible for others. Seriously, look at that standard deviation!
Structured Procrastination: Average -1.0 (3 reviews) (SD 4.4); polarized opinion
Resolutions (Applied Picoeconomics): Average -3.2 (5 reviews) (SD 3.3); easy to fail & get even more demotivated
1 or 2 Reviews:
Dual n-back: Average +6.5 (2 reviews) (SD 2.1)
Think It, Do It: Average +6 (2 reviews) (SD 1.4)
Self-Affirmation: Average +4 (2 reviews) (SD 2.8)
Create Trivial Inconveniences to Procrastination
Close the Dang Browser: Average +3.5 (2 reviews) (SD 3.5)
Get More Sleep: Average +3 (2 reviews) (SD 1.4)
Every Other Day Off: Average +0.5 (2 reviews) (SD 0.7)
Strict Scheduling: Average -9 (2 reviews) (SD 1.4)
Elimination (80/20 Rule): +8 (1 review)
Methylphenidate: +8 (1 review)
Begin Now: +8 (1 review)
Learning to Say No: +8 (1 review)
Caffeine Nap: +8 (1 review)
Write While Doing: +8 (1 review)
Leave Some Tasty Bits: +7 (1 review)
Preserve the Mental State: +6 (1 review)
Acedia and Me: +5 (1 review)
Third Person Perspective: +5 (1 review)
Watching Others: +5 (1 review)
Multiple Selves Theory: +5 (1 review)
Getting Back to the Music: +5 (1 review)
Remove Trivial Inconveniences: +4 (1 review)
Accountability: +2 (1 review)
Scheduling Aggressively...: +2 (1 review)
Autofocus: 0 (1 review)
Take Every Other 20 to 40 Minutes Off: -4 (1 review)
Not Yet Reviewed:
Fire and Motion
Stare at the Wall
Kibotzer
Thanks for your data!
EDIT: People seem to enjoy throwing really low scores out there for things that just didn't work, had some negative side effects and annoyed them. I added "-10 if it nearly killed you" to give a sense of perspective on this bounded scale... although, looking at the comments, it looks like the -10 and -8 were pretty much justified after all. Anyway, here's your anchor for the negative side!