So my commute is 90 minutes each way, and for the longest time the second I walked in the door I’d drop my bag and open the laptop again just to “check quickly,” and that quick check turned into another hour every time.
3 weeks ago I told myself the laptop stays in the bag until after dinner, NO exceptions, even if there’s an email sitting there with the subject line practically shouting at me. First week was rough, I kept reaching for my phone instead (same problem, smaller box). By week two though I noticed I was actually tasting what I was eating instead of half-reading the team chat while I ate.
Started baking again on weeknights too, which sounds unrelated, but kneading dough for 10 minutes does something scrolling never did. Nothing changed at work, the deadlines are still the deadlines, but my evenings stopped feeling like an extension of the office. Quarter-end’s coming up again and I honestly don’t know if I can hold the line once it gets bad, but for now it’s holding.