The most successful technique I've found to fight my own periodic recalcitrance is to get enough sleep. Seriously, being even a little tired weakens my focus so much.
The second is, when I'm having very bad days, I will try and recognize that and bust out the Pomodoro method. In general I don't need it, but I've worked with it a bunch and it's "just 10 more minutes" philosophy and ever-ticking-timer help me play a carrot-stick game when I'm otherwise unable to get a good cognitive state going.
The second is, when I'm having very bad days, I will try and recognize that and bust out the Pomodoro method. In general I don't need it, but I've worked with it a bunch and it's "just 10 more minutes" philosophy and ever-ticking-timer help me play a carrot-stick game when I'm otherwise unable to get a good cognitive state going.