- Taking a cue from my personal favourite, the batshit mental but never dull, Aleister Crowley, choose a word, for example "I", and try to delete it from your speech for a predefined period of time; should you transgress this self-imposed limitation, Uncle Al would have you cut yourself with a razor, however Bob Wilson suggests the less masochistic, but equally effective, biting your thumb. While this practice is aimed more at mindfulness of speech, the basic technique can be used as a ‘goad' for attentiveness in general. My own preference was to use an elastic band to "ping" my wrist . It's discreet enough to be unnoticeable, but it hurts enough to get you back to being attentive.