INSTANCE: Ooh, shiny! (online)
Often, when I have some specific task to do on the internet, I'll get distracted by something else and forget about my original task, even if it was something that I was genuinely interested in. For example, let's say that I need to check how much a gym membership costs. I might grab my laptop, open it up, and think "I'll take a quick break (since I'm already on the internet)." Next thing I know I'm on LW or another blog engrossed in whatever new shiny popped up lately. The time it takes me to realize that I actually had something to do varies, but probably isn't more than 7 to 10 minutes. However, at this point, I actually have to rip myself away from the shiny, which can take a bit longer.
The idea for this came to me when reading nyan_sandwich's "An akrasia case study." I outlined the idea itself in my comment in that thread.
So here's the plan:
Let me emphasize one more time that we are not looking for solutions in this thread. Please don't give each other suggestions! If you think you're on to something hot in terms of the "kicking" aspect of the Art, please show us with a description of how the technique worked for you on a specific instance - but share the instance first. The goal here is not to demonstrate that you have a clever anti-akrasia technique. The goal instead is to see what different instances of akrasia and attempts to tackle it actually look like.
If at all possible, please share both successes and failures. This is especially helpful if we can see successes and failures of the same technique. This helps to balance out positive bias and gives us a better idea of the parameters within which different techniques work. Be especially wary if you have a favorite anti-akrasia technique because of the subconscious desire to attempt to change reality by pretending your favorite technique is actually perfect. If you do have a favorite technique, please actively seek out its true weak points.
Let's crack this thing!