I am trying to do this! I currently use this planner and it still doesn't help that much. I'll definitely try to use focusmate.com. Thanks for the suggestion.
If this doesn't work out, I'm down to do the slack channel with you @treebucketeer only thing is I'm in California.
Best of luck to you!
LaTex is pretty easy to start using. Overleaf is good if you want something web-based and Texpad is the best I've found if you're on Mac.
This explains how to organise a lit review with a spreadsheet. I actually found it quite difficult to draw the different research `threads' together using a spreadsheet so resorted to note cards but YMMV.
Day-to-day I found it almost impossible to get stuff done until I found a day planner that worked for me. There are more complicated reasons for this beyond just being a lazy bastard so don't be afraid to ask someone for help if you find yourself stuck in that sort of situation.
The Intelligence Change Productivity Planner + Pomodoro technique has been a game changer for getting shit done lately. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0991846222/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yjsNCb8SFY0YY
i literally typed in "productivity planner amazon" and it was number 1. come on mate.
https://www.amazon.com/Productivity-Planner-Daily-Non-Dated/dp/0991846222