Attention Reset Starts Now

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I started the day with coffee and spent about two hours reading a few Substack posts I had saved.

1. The Psychology of People Who Are Always Calm made me see simple routines as small ways to keep the mind steady:

   A morning ritual, a quiet walk, a cup of tea, a few minutes of silence before sleep. These little habits aren't random. They're anchors. Psychologically, repetition builds a sense of control and predictability.

   I do not expect life to be perfect, but I care about protecting my peace:

   The goal isn't to have a perfect life. It's to have a peaceful mind.

   Whenever something starts bothering me, I first ask myself if it is even worth fighting over. I keep reminding myself that I owe it to myself to stay calm and happy.

2. How to Pay Attention Again (The Neuroscience of Focus in the Age of Everything) made me think about why sitting still has become so difficult:

   High stimulation over time leads to desensitization. The more novelty you consume (think just how much content you consume in 5 mins of doomscrolling), the more you need to feel engaged. Everything else (like reading a book, sitting still, writing an email) starts to feel slow, boring, uncomfortable even.

   I find it hard to just sit idle. Within five minutes I get restless and need a task or goal. Even ten empty minutes on a vacation can make me uncomfortable. On a trek, though, I feel calm and sitting still comes naturally. I am still trying to understand how to bring more of that into regular life.

3. Neurodivergence: Why Your Brain Was Never Meant To Be Normal talks about how the brain learns to follow whatever feels interesting. I can see that in how I work. I have never enjoyed routines or work that does not interest me. Even with agents, I often have around ten things running in parallel. A random new game or website can hold my attention better than an important long-term goal simply because it feels exciting right now.

4. How to Trick Your Brain into Doing Difficult Things gave me a name for a trick I already use: ego protection. I see myself as athletic and in control, so before a weekend run at Nehru Park, I tell everyone that I am waking up at 5 AM. When the alarm rings, I now have my self-image to protect and it becomes harder to back out. It works surprisingly well.

I also read The Last Question. It is a short story about humans repeatedly asking computers if entropy can be reversed, with the answer unfolding all the way to the end of the universe. After reading it, I wanted more science fiction. I ended up ordering Project Hail Mary: Collector's Gift Edition, The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy box set, and Isaac Asimov's complete seven-book Foundation series.

Reading the four posts together made me look at how I have trained my attention. If I keep giving my brain something new every few seconds, normal work and quiet time will naturally feel slow.

Instagram is the obvious place to start. Most mornings, I open it before getting out of bed, planning to scroll for five minutes, and suddenly 30 or 40 minutes are gone. I hate starting my day that way. I am not on a trip and have nothing to post, so I am removing the app from my phone for a week.

Pomodoro timers, handwritten goals, and planning the day early have helped me out of unfocused phases before, so I am starting those again.