The thermostat in the operations room in a datacenter was kept at a frosty 57 degrees ("for the computers"), but actual air temps were in the forties. The room also had floor to ceiling glass walls that reinforced the whole "Fish in a Bowl" feeling. Oh yeah, and the control panels for _all_ the building systems were on the back wall, meaning that any time the temperature on the roof got above 110 degrees (frequent in the summer) or the humidity got above a certain level (frequent in the spring), an ear-piercing klaxon would go off. This would, of course, occur randomly.
i know the feeling. it's sort of frustrating to be able to do something, have the knowlege of your capacity, yet still when the time comes, there's always that next website to check up on or that last level to conquer. I can only offer a few general tactics:
set aside time for work. this can be on the order of hours per day, or days per week, depending on your comfort level. do not be overly ambbitious with setting aside too much time, you may procrastinate to fill the time available.
separate work areas from relaxation/play areas. this is critical for creating a setting conducive to working. if at all possible, make it somewhere you do not sleep/eat/watch tv(porn)/game/etc.
if possible, use separate computers for work/play. an old 120mhz beater is enough to run office 95 and netscape 3.0 or something equivalent.
disconnect everything (tv, cell, internet, etc) while working whenever possible.
If you find yourself avoiding work because it is giving you anxiety/you feel overwhelmed/can't concentrate because you are constantly worrying about stuff, and it doesn't let up, seek the help of a physician or psychiatrist. that could be depression or an anxiety disorder.
following from above, if the depression or anxiety is significantly impacting your ability to function, you may want to consider meds or psychotherapy. it may seem like an extreme solution, but that's just not true. it's a highly effective solution that may allow you to shelve your concentration/focus problems and actually get work done without creating other problems in the form of extended deadlines/late nite cram sessions/etc. it also allows you do do a little introspection in to the underlying issues that create these situations. it may even enable an ah-ha moment.
following from above - i know this might be flame bait, but stay away from paxil. withdrawal is a bitch.
Context-switch. Work on something else, preferably something incredibly easy. I find it easier to start back into a tough chunk of work after doing something else for a while. Clean the apartment, hack perl, work on the BSD box, etc.
Is that you get all of your hassle from a single company, rather than multiple ones. I've had it both ways, and each one is just as evil as the other. Check out DSL Reports to see who have been the historic performers in your area.
<RANT>Believe me, if you are thinking of going w/ just Bell Atlantic as a means of reducing complications, think again. I went through 6 weeks of tech support, at least 12 different support technicians, 3 different support managers, 2 different line technicians, and 5 C.O. trouble tickets to find out that they never actually provisioned me on the ATM network.</RANT>
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eating your seed corn. Or more appropriately, throwing it in the garbage.
The thermostat in the operations room in a datacenter was kept at a frosty 57 degrees ("for the computers"), but actual air temps were in the forties. The room also had floor to ceiling glass walls that reinforced the whole "Fish in a Bowl" feeling. Oh yeah, and the control panels for _all_ the building systems were on the back wall, meaning that any time the temperature on the roof got above 110 degrees (frequent in the summer) or the humidity got above a certain level (frequent in the spring), an ear-piercing klaxon would go off. This would, of course, occur randomly.
hth
If you can convert the format to PKCS#12, you could use S/MIME mail in NS Communicator
<RANT>Believe me, if you are thinking of going w/ just Bell Atlantic as a means of reducing complications, think again. I went through 6 weeks of tech support, at least 12 different support technicians, 3 different support managers, 2 different line technicians, and 5 C.O. trouble tickets to find out that they never actually provisioned me on the ATM network.</RANT>