Distraction will only work with me spending 24 hours a day playing with him one to one - I cannot - I have another child, and need to prepare meals etc occasionally.
He opens the fridge and plays with food, he plays with the playstation, he piles videos up on the floor (that one doesn't bother me tbh), he runs up the stairs at my mum's, he plays flicking plug sockets on and off, he climbs on anything.
"No" in any tone of voice, loud, quiet, at his level, above his head etc does NOTHING - even my friend who normally can stop any child doing anything with one NO gets looked at and then grinned at .
I distract him to get him away from the fridge, he waits until you think he is playing nicely and then legs it back.
I distract him at mum's (she can't have a stairgate because it doesn't fit with the stairlift), and the second you turn your back to do something else - he's up the stairs. You tell him to come back and he runs faster giggling.
I have tried putting him in his cot/naughty corner for 2 mins at a time - he just plays with his feet
I know in some ways I am lucky - he is a very happy little dude and nothing phases him, but at the same time NOTHING phases him.
DH gets home from work and I am exhausted and grumpy.
Oddly enough he is still easier than DD (possibly because he sleeps and because he is so happy), but I need to do something. DD was stopping doing things when she was told not to by this age.