The reward doesn't have to be better, just different. Because of (5) your brain will be giving the chosen reward more prominence. Also, you could pick the best superstimuli you now have and consume it only as the reward. Finally, the reward won't be the only reason you work on the project, rather it will be an additional reason and so the reward, by itself, doesn't have to beat out all other superstimuli.
The best superstimuli are the ones that are scarce. I can only reward myself with reading the new Drowtales comic once a day. Still, that's once more than I do now, and I read a lot of webcomics.
I have a rss feeds to tell me when webcomics updated. I need it with the ones that don't update regularly. If I want to use this method, I'm going to have to get over whatever OCD impulse is forcing me to check every update as soon as possible.
I can apparently just hide the rss button. Doing things the easy way is awesome.
I have a master's project I'm having trouble working on. It's something I've wanted to do, and I even started working on, long before I started my master's degree. If I can't even enjoy that, then I'm doomed to spend eight hours a day doing something I hate for the rest of my life. Even if I manage to improve my willpower, I doubt I'll be very productive doing something I don't want to do.
Does anyone have any idea how I can enjoy working more?