distraction

It's getting harder to focus every day

2 months ago

The author struggles to maintain focus and gets easily distracted, even when doing things they want to do.
They used to be able to concentrate for long periods while studying, working, and contributing to open source, but now cannot get even one hour of focused time.
Distractions include browsing the web, checking the phone, making the bed, and avoiding boredom or hard work.
They recall a high school decision to keep phone chargers away from the bed, which helped maintain intentional activities, but later discovered browsing sites like HackerNoon and Medium, which became distractions.
The work environment, with excessive meetings and chat, habituated them to distractions, including spending 8 hours a week on Slack.
Using LLMs for tasks leads to multitasking and overstimulation, making focus harder as they wait for answers instead of working through problems.
They are adopting new habits like reading books and gardening to replace addictive distractions, and use techniques like livestreaming to force focus.
Setting a timer helped them start writing this reflection and provided initial motivation.