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Addiction to Distraction: Why You're Exhausted, Unmotivated, and Still Falling Behind

You're showing up to work. You're grabbing groceries. You’re trying to be a decent human in your relationships. You're setting goals—eat better, sleep more, spend less, move your body, be kind. And yet every single day, it feels like you’re slipping further behind.


I know that feeling. I lived it for years. And I reached a point where I had to admit: doing all the things I needed to do and all the things I wanted to do felt impossible. Not hard—impossible.


The turning point came when I realized there was a piece missing from the equation.


The Reason You’re Always Behind


This might sound extreme, but stay with me: the missing piece keeping me stuck was addiction.


And I’m not talking about the kind that requires rehab or intervention. I’m talking about everyday behaviors—scrolling, shopping, streaming, gaming—that consume your time and energy, but give you nothing back.


I define addiction as this: consistently prioritizing something that gives you short-term stimulation over something you truly value.


For example, I used to say I valued being present with my kids. But I was regularly choosing video games instead. That wasn’t about laziness or poor time management. It was addiction. Same goes for social media, or obsessing over buying stuff I didn’t need.


These behaviors were invasive species in my life—harmless-looking, but slowly choking out the things that actually mattered.


Breaking the Cycle of Addiction


What changed everything was brutally honest self-inventory. I looked at where my time was really going. And I had to face the truth: my days were packed with “empty” activities. Not harmful. Just useless. Just… in the way.


So I removed them.


Yes, I actually cut them out. Entirely. And I thought it would make my life miserable. But it didn’t.


What it gave me was clarity. Stability. Space. I started doing what I needed to do—because there wasn’t anything “better” to distract me anymore.


Right now, I’m literally practicing this. I’m sitting in a dark room, talking to a webcam. It’s not thrilling. But it aligns with what I care about. When this video is out and you see it, that will feel good. Not the scroll, not the game, not the instant gratification. But the long-term movement toward who I want to be.


Engineered Distraction.


Your attention is under attack by corporations, algorithms, and apps engineered to keep you hooked. And they don’t care what it costs you. But you can set a boundary. You can decide that your time, your energy, and your life are reserved for what matters most.

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being honest. And if you feel like life is a slow spiral away from the person you hoped you'd be, this honesty might be the thing that turns it around.


I'm sharing the strategy I've used to solve what felt like an impossible problem in my life: how to get done both the things I have to do, as well as the things I really want to do.


-Scott

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