"zombie mode" -- I love this description! Mostly because it reminds me of Professor Quirrell, but still, it definitely describes how I feel when I'm in a procrastination/akrasia/depression cycle. I also have StayFocusd, which I find useful for automatically logging the amount of time I spend doing things I don't care about. It doesn't forcibly stop me from wandering (since it's simple enough to disable), but just knowing that I'm eating up my "leisure time" is enough to keep me doing things that are at least pseudo-productive.
This is the public group instrumental rationality diary for the week of May 28th. It's a place to record and chat about it if you have done, or are actively doing, things like:
Or anything else interesting which you want to share, so that other people can think about it, and perhaps be inspired to take action themselves. Try to include enough details so that everyone can use each other's experiences to learn about what tends to work out, and what doesn't tend to work out.
Thanks to everyone who contributes!
(Previously: 5/14/12, 5/21/12)