The Odysseus example is crucial. When I started examining how to fix my problem, that's where I started. Those who think they need wax should take a look at illusion of control bias. These days, if I have a task that is in a category of tasks that I've failed to do on at least three different occasions, I think its fair to assess that I need some serious wax.

Good post. I'm someone who has been working with serious attention hijacking problems that fit descriptions 1 and 2 well. Most of the stuff I've figured out is in your post, and you've added a couple things for me to consider or research.