Wasn't there recently a link posted on HN to a service to help developers(maybe anyone) stay accountable with their projects? Perhaps someone can help me out here, as I can't find it.
I used this and really liked it while remotely contracting, but it wasn't as helpful for me while working on a team in an office. I find accountability is easier when I'm in more of a leadership role and I have a team to support.
With remote contracting though, ugh. So many small tasks come up, unclear direction, often very few people to work with, plenty of isolation. The person or people you're helping often don't know how to manage projects, but the impermanence of the project makes it unappealing to step in. Accountability gets difficult at times. Things like this can be helpful... It kind of became a game for me to stay on track and work with the 'boss'.