For me, I find the better deal to make with myself is to work for Y minutes now after which I have to take a break and do non-work things for X minutes. Typically Y = 45 and X is widely variable. I set a timer to interrupt my work. Often I find myself wanting to keep working after Y minutes are up, but I try not to dwell on this too much, and I really do try to stop working — when I set the timer I want the reward to be credible.
For me, I find the better deal to make with myself is to work for Y minutes now after which I have to take a break and do non-work things for X minutes. Typically Y = 45 and X is widely variable. I set a timer to interrupt my work. Often I find myself wanting to keep working after Y minutes are up, but I try not to dwell on this too much, and I really do try to stop working — when I set the timer I want the reward to be credible.
You may be interested in this: http://lesswrong.com/lw/4sh/how_i_lost_100_pounds_using_tdt/