Wow. Yeah. I’m trying to break down the reasons why this is working for me — I’ve been working in 10-minute chunks of time for a couple of days, now. Instead of a kitchen timer, I downloaded and installed this handy Konfabulator widget:

http://www.widgetgallery.com/view.php?widget=28040

I’ve cleared three projects off my desk, and I’m about to hammer away at a fourth one. It’s definitely not the promise of the two-minute break that motivates me, although I take them without fail. I think the psychological motivator is that I don’t have to finish a given project; I just have to work on it for 10 minutes.

Sorry if this comment is redundant; I’m just really enthusiastic about this tip.