How do I regain my attention span?
dfranke: Step 2: stop reading Hacker News :-)But seriously, log off for a while.  Stop Twittering, stop IMing, stop reading your RSS feeds.  If you're regularly employed, then take a vacation and go to the mountains.  If not, go there and stay there.  Come back once the spontaneous urge to do so goes away.  While you're there, read a book.  Not a computer book, and not a junk novel.  Pick a text that requires mental engagement but not hands-on experimentation.  A history book with citations in it, or a heavy philosophical tract, is a good choice.