smart guys who avoid drama have this ability I lack: to do their job, even if it means working more than an established, well connected lazy group of people.

Getting smart cannot be done in 1 step.

You need to go 2 steps in their right order:

Smart guys do their 30 minute pause and then keep working, even if the lazier ones have longer pauses.

Your step 1:

Once every day, exactly once, you must yell at them while they sit around extending their pause. Be loud enough so that at least 10 of the patients can hear it and understand it. Call them lazy etc. Be specific enough so that you feel better after saying it aloud.

Your step 2:

After practising step 1 for a while, you will get smarter.