I think going somewhere and having a built-in time limit imposes a "better make this trip productive" mindset that's pretty powerful. For example, I go to the super-quiet room in my school's library for a few reasons (some obvious):
1) It's super quiet -- no talking allowed, cell phones need to be off, so fewer distractions available.
2) Being surrounded by other people who are all getting work done => a good kind of peer pressure / vibe to channel.
3) A built-in time limit (library closes at 5pm) causes me to focus on getting things done so that I can feel like my excursion to the library was a productive one.
4) Somewhat counter-intuitively, switching from double-monitor home setup to single-monitor on-the-go laptop means that while I might not be able to do certain things as efficiently as I would otherwise, I am 100% focused on whatever single window is open on my screen at once!
1) It's super quiet -- no talking allowed, cell phones need to be off, so fewer distractions available.
2) Being surrounded by other people who are all getting work done => a good kind of peer pressure / vibe to channel.
3) A built-in time limit (library closes at 5pm) causes me to focus on getting things done so that I can feel like my excursion to the library was a productive one.
4) Somewhat counter-intuitively, switching from double-monitor home setup to single-monitor on-the-go laptop means that while I might not be able to do certain things as efficiently as I would otherwise, I am 100% focused on whatever single window is open on my screen at once!