I have read that meditation helps build a control circuit in the brain and I practice it regularly. I often listen to music or some well known old TV show, something that flows familiar impressions to block out external noise but does not command my attention. Finally, my somewhat silly but surprisingly effective method is budgeting my time with a vibrating watch. http://www.epill.com/medos.html I set this up with a 60 minute countdown and commit myself to work for that hour. The alarm is subtle and doesn't distract others, just a small vibration. Then, I take a break. My goal is always to do that 1 hour work, so I take a break for long enough that I feel I can do the next 1 hour sprint. Then, I figured out how many I could do in a day (started at 4, now working on 9) and moved it up, just like working out. That is not to say I don't do other work as well, but these sprints are both more productive and more stressful.