Internet players only - How many of you "just" play?

[Lestat]

I apologize if this has been covered before or if this is the wrong forum. I thought about posting on the internet forum, but it's a zoo over there. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] Anyway, I wanted serious repsonses from serious internet players.

I have a problem which I'm sure is costing me EV. I 4-table and cannot seem to stay focused soley on the games for any length of time. I try to give the games 100%, but after a short while I begin to lose focus and I'm reading 2+2, writing an email, or talking on the phone while I play.

I'm curious if this is something unique to me, or do other pros struggle with this as well? Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or suggestions on how to stay focused? I mean it isn't as if this isn't important enough to me. I think what happens is that overall I'm making decent money and I think it's ok to slack off, but I'm not a slacker as a general rule. I have fun when I play live and don't sit there like a robot, but I do pay very close attention to what's going on. The thing that scares me the most about online, is that I'll have played 200 hands with somebody and I won't even realize it until my HUD kicks in! And I call myself a professional?

Another problem I have is that I can't seem to play more than a couple of hours without taking a break. In fact, I'm more likely to slack off when I'm having a decent day!? Anyway, all of this concerns me because it is NOT how I approach live play. I'm developing what I feel are non-productive patterns and I'm afraid this will bite me in the ass soon if I'm not careful. I'm curious if this is normal or not and if not... How do you guys maintain your focus and work ethic?