Hi ro66!
first of all u should know that u r not the only one facing this issue. unfortunately many (if not most) of us do. i was once at a class about kavanah in teffilah and the speaker’s advice was to think of specific needs in each beracha. for example in the beracha of chonen hadaat u should think about a certain area that u wish that Hashem grant u clarity. as a student i always thought of a test or assignment, now i think of shidduchim…
in the beracha of modim, the speaker advised to think of just one thing u r grateful for since the last time u prayed. even if its something as trivial as finding a parking space this morning.
basicly one shold try to harness his thoughts to think about something practical and day to day.
there is no problem to small for Hashem to handle! 🙂
Hope this helps!