I have the same problem. Once I write down what I have to do I start thinking about the best way to do it and all the possible scenarios it could lead to.

I've found that having a regular sleep time has helped me the most. I get up between 7am and 9am everyday and go to bed between 11pm and 12am. If I keep to this schedule I find myself naturally getting tired around 11pm everyday. If I don't keep this schedule (which happens often before I rediscover it's benefits) I find I suffer from bad insomnia and often lie awake all night even when I feel extremely tired.

I was a terribly good sleeper, up to some point a year and some months ago. Since I had travelled, I thought I had a jetlag. But the insomnia continued for months. Then I started to change things:

- Change my bed time from 24:00 to 23:00. Whenever I don't sleep immediately, my mind doesn't go into the 'yet another night' train. Instead it changes to 'there's still plenty time to sleep'. On the upside, when I sleep quickly, I get plenty of sleep compensation.

- Be regular. During the weekends I try to get to bed at most an hour later and get out of bed an hour later. I notice may body gets accustomed to that schedule. I get tired at the right time, and wake up at the right time.

- I stopped reading news sites (including Hacker News) after 21:00. They get me exited and put my mind into overdrive.

- I stopped using a computer or mobile phone after 22:00. Lots of research has shown that prolonged screen use reduces melatolin production.

- End the day with some simple activity that is only mildly interesting. E.g., if you are not too much into sports, watch some boring sports on television.

- Have some melatolin tablets at home, just in case you have some really bad nights. It's said that they do very little harm.

- Have a second place in your house to sleep (e.g. a couch) if you have a partner. You can avoid keeping him/her awake as well.

- Stop worrying about sleep. It's hard, but it helps.

Since I made these changes, I sleep well 95% of the time. The other 5% I still sleep enough ours to make it through the day.

With respect to the Scotch, as much as I like Scotch, I would avoid it. It helps some, but it can quickly turn into an addiction.

I never understood the old TV show/movie technique, but I might have to try it now. My girlfriend's mother watches Pride and Prejudice almost every night before bed, and I never really got it.

I'd suspect that it can be helpful because it distracts you from thinking about other things, and if it's a show you're familiar with (or something where you don't need to pay too much attention) then it doesn't require much active effort from you either, hopefully leaving you in a state where you've purged yourself of too many other pressing thoughts and you're relaxed - both of which should help you sleep.

A book might be better though, since blue light is supposed to promote wakefulness and is more prevalent in light coming from screens that from your average light bulb.

(FWIW - I tend to watch cartoons on my iPhone just before I go to sleep, but only ones which I find slightly amusing and wouldn't watch otherwise)

I've found audiobooks work really well - there's no screen glow to keep you up and most players let you set up a shutdown timer.

The Audible edition of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" has worked really well for me: it's a fascinating panorama of history, but very episodic so you don't miss out on plot points if you actually fall asleep; the writing style is clear, elegant, and often funny; and the narrator has a calming voice and a smooth even tone throughout all 1300+ years of history so you won't be jarred awake by changes in volume.

+1 on the TV advice, but I personally don't need the scotch ;) I find that old cartoons and/or space documentaries on Netflix do the trick.