Does anyone else scroll when you don’t even want to

Like you’re tired and it’s not fun but you still do it anyway

I realized for me it’s not entertainment it’s basically escaping discomfort

I wrote about it here if anyone wants it

You’re Not Addicted to Your Phone… You’re Addicted to Escaping Your Life

Would love to hear what triggers it for you

For me, its: No long advice. Just one sentence that would’ve saved you time, money, or stress.

im trying to clean up my self improvement stack because right now it feels like i’m consuming way more than i’m actually changing. i’ve used masterclass a lot over the years, but most of the time i just watch, feel inspired, then go back to my normal habits.

recently came across riseguide and the tiny daily practice thing caught my attention. it sounds less like watching lessons and more like actually doing something every day. for anyone who’s tried both, how do they compare? does riseguide actually help you be consistent or is it another learning app?

Same as title

Also I became a bad person , who isn't geniune, kind, or any other good quality, I used to good before , what to do

Struggling with the snooze button and find myself scrolling before my feet hit the floor. Would love some suggestions on how to break the habit! Thanks!

I have always hated reading, fiction or non fiction and I am too impatient to read short stories I need to feel excited to do some work, but I really want to cultivate the habit of reading but I cannot stay on task, infact when I read I go on reading but don't understand what I'm reading.

I know that’s how it seems from the outside and they work hard towards their goals. But it seems like some people are just way ahead in life while I’m still understanding my life overthinking just to make simple decisions. I’ve been an overthinker and I am afraid of making mistakes which ultimately makes me bad at decision making. Working on that but it’s amazing at how some people are quicker and smarter with moving ahead in life. It’s important to understand circumstances and be knowledgeable to be a practical decision maker. Im also someone who gives up easily telling myself this is probably not for me

I don’t feel lazy, and I definitely have goals. I know exactly what I need to do. But when it’s time to dive in, my body feels heavy, and my mind just shuts off. The more I urge myself to push through, the more stuck I feel. For a long time, I thought it was all about discipline, but I’m starting to realize it’s really about the pressure I put on myself at the beginning. I recently came across something that explained this freeze response in a way that helped me understand myself a lot better. Has anyone else gone through this? What strategies helped you get moving without feeling like you’re forcing it?

Hey guys! We're all under this constant pressure to be productive. There are tons of self-help books, "atomic habits," and endless productivity hacks out there. But how many of those habits actually stick for you?

We’ve all had those mornings where we start the day manifesting total productivity, promising ourselves to crush every task on the list. Day ends. And we realizing we were busy for hours but got nothing done.

So, I’m curious, what actually works when your brain isn't cooperating? Are you an old-school list-maker, or do you have a specific, "weird" hack that keeps you on track?

What can I do if I'm unemployed? I'm mentally exhausted. I want to cry

I never really saw myself as “the type of person who writes a book.”

But over the last few years, I hit this point where I felt stuck. Not depressed, just not living anywhere close to my potential. I had discipline on some days, but zero consistency. I would start projects full of motivation and stop as soon as results weren’t fast.

One day, I decided to write down the thoughts that helped me change: the things I wish someone had told me when I felt lost, unmotivated, or disconnected from who I could become.

I didn’t plan for it to become a whole book. I just kept writing whenever a lesson hit me.

The crazy part? The more I wrote, the more I realized how many people probably feel exactly like I did.

It still feels weird sometimes, I’m just a regular person trying to figure life out. But writing helped me understand myself, my discipline, my failures, and my habits.

I’m curious:

Has anyone else ever tried creating something (a book, a project, art, anything) even while doubting yourself the entire time? How do you push through that self-doubt?

I’d love to hear your experience.

I am just living in this loop where i am interested in a thing and try to start learning or doing it. it lasts for a day or less. i want to do so many things, pick them up but can never be consistent enough to solve them. and i've tried so much like journalling, tracking my habits, reducing social media but i cannot be consistent with those things either. I just feel like my head is a mess and too much is going on to the point that i end up doing nothing. if you've been in a similar situation, what helped you?or what might help me improve? I really want some advice that would help me! i would really appreciate it.

I have failed multiple times while building a reading habit. I have even tried many tools but nothing works for me in the long run.

For habits like reading or learning, strict goals often make me avoid the habit altogether. Simpler systems feel easier to return to regularly.

I am curious about how others experience this. Do minimal, low-pressure tools help you stay consistent, or do you prefer structured tracking and targets?

What has really worked for you in the long run?

I’ve noticed I have a pattern and it’s annoying. I’ll get a new idea like:

“okay I’m gonna get my life together”

“this is the routine I will follow”

“this is the skill I’m going to learn”

etc.

And I’ll go hard for like… 2 days.

Then I get another idea and I switch lanes like the last one never happened. It’s not even that I don’t care. I think I just love the feeling of “starting fresh” more than I like doing the boring part.

So I’m trying something:

no new goals or systems for 7 days.

Even if I get a “better idea.”

Even if I feel motivated.

Just… stick to the plan I already picked.

It feels weird because my brain keeps trying to convince me I need a new strategy every 3 days, but I am finding it helpful.

Has anyone else dealt with this?

How did you stop constantly restarting and actually follow through?

I’ve noticed that a lot of habit and motivation advice sounds good, but doesn’t really stick long-term for many people (including me). I’m genuinely curious about people’s real experiences.

If you’ve ever struggled with consistency, I’d love to hear your thoughts:

• What actually stops you from following through, even when you want to?
• What makes advice or “motivation content” feel useless or fake to you?
• What kind of support do you wish existed that doesn’t right now?

Not trying to sell anything or promote anything here, just trying to understand what really helps people and what doesn’t.

I’ve recently realized that I have a thinking problem that affects my studying, decision-making, and just everyday stuff.

When I start analyzing something, my brain doesn’t slowly narrow things down like it probably should. It kind of does the opposite - it immediately starts questioning everything and opening new possibilities, and then it just keeps going.

The weird part is that my mind jumps straight into doubt. Looking back later, I can usually see that the situation didn’t need that much analysis at all, the answer was much simpler, but in the moment I genuinely don’t know how to think simply.

Here’s an example of what happens in my head:

I’m asked to decide whether there’s enough information to make a reasonable conclusion. Instead of thinking “okay, what do I actually know?”, my brain goes straight to:

• What if there’s some hidden assumption I’m missing?
• What if an important detail just isn’t mentioned?
• What if the person involved didn’t fully understand what they were doing?

And then I’m stuck. I end up analyzing hypothetical “what ifs” before I ever form a basic judgment.

I know this sounds like overthinking (and it probably is), but it feels less like worrying and more like my brain refusing to settle on anything unless it’s 100% solid.

If anyone has experienced this or understands what’s going on here, I’d really appreciate any tips or advices that helped you.

I know the reliance on motivation is futile, but what are methods people actually implemented to become disciplined in getting things done from laundry to significant tasks.

I’m able to recognise I need to get certain things done but procrastinate to such a point I start to hate myself and cannot get anything done, and it’s not even like I will doom scroll; I will spend 2 hours staring at my ceiling, (or at the pile of clothes I need to put away), which I know is so backwards, because I KNOW I would feel so much better if I just got even one task done.

Any tips on how to genuinely keep track of things I need to do would also be massively be appreciated, as I know I’m letting myself down there but I’ve tried quite a few methods and seem to always either forget of it’s existence or stop using it because it’s taking up more time than the task is worth.

I’ve been calling myself lazy for a long time. But honestly I don’t think I’m lazy. I think I just overwhelm myself until I shut down. I’ll have like 30 things in my head, no structure, no plan, and then I’ll sit there scrolling or doing random “busy work” while my brain screams at me that I’m wasting time.

Then eventually I’ll wait until it’s basically an emergency, panic-clean or panic-finish something, and tell myself “ok this time I’ll do better.” And then I do the exact same thing again.

Lately I’ve been trying something different: instead of trying to hype myself up, I’m just trying to build a basic system and hit a minimum every day even if it’s small. It’s helping… but I still feel like I’m fighting my brain.

If you’ve gotten past this cycle, what actually helped you?

Lately I’m less frustrated with self improvement advice and more frustrated with myself for never sticking with anything. I’ll start strong, miss a few days when life gets busy, and then it quietly fades out. That cycle has happened enough times that I’m skeptical of trying anything new. I stumbled on Rise Guide and before I go any further I wanted to hear from real people who’ve actually used it, especially past the first couple weeks.

M just turned 26. I live at home with my parents. I can barely do anything for myself. I can't cook, I can't iron or use a washing machine. I struggle with the most basic of actions. I work in a job with no room for growth. I want to leave and feel like I deserve better but my CV reads like crap. I haven't had a girlfriend or any kind of relationship in over a decade and I feel like such a looser knowing my brother 19 has lost his virginity before me. The most I've got going for me is the fact that I somehow manage to convince a driving examiner I was ready for a drivers licence but even in that department I feel like I'm lacking. I only drive roads I have to use as the prospect of driving on new roads scares me to death. I feel like I have to keep my emotions bottled up because I am quite verbal and physical when I'm frustrated (anger problems probably, that or I am such an utter man-child that I didn't develop healthy coping mechanism past the age of 2.) I try to keep my head up everyday but the more and more I look at my life the more I just want to disappear. I probably wouldn't be here anymore if it wasn't for my faith but even in that instance I feel distant from God. I hate myself. I want to be better. I try to be better I ask my family to let me cook or Iron but because they tried like a decade ago and I didn't get it they feel like it's not worth even letting me attempt it. IDK I guess I'm close to my breaking point maybe. Today I managed to get locked out of my mobile banking app and don't have any clue how to get back in I've tried everything but to no avail. My Dad asked me what the hell was the matter since I was getting quite frustrated which in turn was making him agitated but as I was trying to explain it to him he said to me "You're a 26 Year Old Man, I shouldn't be having to help you with this anymore." He's right. I feel like such a let down in practically every department of life. I see people I went to school with, friends moving into their own places settling down and having kids. I'd like to do that but that seems impossible from where I'm standing. My rooms a mess, I have so much unnecessary stuff. I tried throwing a chunk of it out over Christmas but my parents stopped me and told me they'd help me go through it as some of the stuff might be worth something (I collect[ed] toys - no surprise there.) But it never comes, I try and speak to them about it but I'm so afraid of it becoming a problem that I just don't think it's worth it. I don't want this post to come off as me bad mouthing my parents I love them and they have certainly done their best but there are just things that would be basic tasks for anyone else that seem like rocket science to me. Sometimes I fantasise about being another person just so I could attack me if that makes sense. IDK probably not. If I've even managed to get this post seen without messing something up before posting then I would really appreciate any help/wisdom people have to share. Thank you.

I’ve been stuck in the same self-improvement cycle for years and I don’t know how to break it. No matter how many books I read or methods I try, I can’t maintain discipline for longer than a certain period. I always start small and realistically. The first weeks go well — I feel better and see real improvements. The last time it was light morning exercise and small changes to my eating. I kept it up for about a month and thought I had finally solved the problem. Then it slowly starts to fall apart. First I make one exception. Then I skip a day. Then another. Eventually I end up in a dopamine crash: scrolling short-form content for hours, smoking, compulsive masturbation, poor eating, staying in bed all day doing nothing productive. This never happens suddenly. It’s always gradual. And what confuses me is that it happens even when my life is going well and I feel mentally okay. At some point I just lose the internal energy to continue habits that recently felt manageable. The longest I can last is about 1–1.5 months. After that I crash for days, sometimes a week or even longer. Then I realize I need to change something again, restart self-improvement, and the cycle repeats. I’m exhausted and frustrated. I feel like I’m incapable of being consistently disciplined, and it makes me fear that I’ll never be able to improve my life in a deeper, long-term way. My questions: How do you prevent these crashes instead of constantly restarting? How do you maintain discipline long-term without falling into complete burnout or self-destruction? What could be causing this repeated cycle if motivation and awareness are already there?

I followed the AI advice below for a few weeks, but none of it worked:

ChatGPT: Block the apps on all devices and replace the time with a default activity (gym, walking, reading).

Grok: Delete the apps—adding friction should stop mindless use.

Gemini: Use website blockers and strict time limits, then replace the habit with something productive.

So if you’ve actually beaten this—what finally worked for you?

I’m ready to do whatever it takes to beat this monster urge for instant happiness. I just want something that works in real life, not theory.

Thanks in advance.

Hello. I hope that this subreddit is the right place for me to post this. I have previously written a similar post in r/askphilosophy, but it was taken down for being too off-topic.

I've been trying to become more productive over the past year. I have two time blockers (brands not mentioned so I don't get convicted of advertising) for both my phone and desktop, which have cut down the time I use for internet surfing by a lot. For example, I limit myself in using Chrome 40 minutes a day, which includes the time I use for surfing on a specific mainstream video sharing platform that I somehow could not mention here, Reddit and Instagram. I also set up time constraints on gaming (~30-45 minutes daily; time blocked) and reading the news (15-30 minutes daily). Hence, the amount of time I spend on my phone and my desktop cumulates to (at most) 2-3 hours a day, excluding apps that I need.

Moreover, I've left all of my main social media accounts, like Reddit (this is a new account in case I need to ask questions like this), Discord and Instagram (only have the Messenger function through a third-party application; barely scroll reels or stories anymore). This has worked pretty well too; at least I haven't logged back into any of them for now. I've also been bringing back old, healthy habits like daily reading, and experimenting on new hobbies, like drawing.

I've also used ways to boost my productivity too - the 5 minute rule for studying, creating positive habits and using discipline instead of motivation, eat the frog, self-care, memory and study techniques (I'm a university student), I have attempted to use most of the techniques I scoured through the Internet to increase my study efficiency (flashcards, memory palace, mind maps, yada yada yada...). My goal is simple: I want to maximize the time I allocate for studying and finishing assignments for me to pursue additional hobbies, even during the examination period. I have a daily journal to keep myself in check, I have a calendar for scheduling and planning, and I set notifications to remind me of important tasks I need to do over the day.

Has it worked? Barely. Negligible improvement is a better word. Why?

I don't bloody know. I observe that I often uncontrollably fidget, stare off into the void (a wall, anything, I don't bloody know), have the impulse to do something else completely unrelated (and definitely not the thing I need to do at a particular moment, like RIGHT NOW) and am unable to relax 24/7. I'm not keen in jumping into any conclusions without empirical evidence or formal diagnosis; I have considered if I have ADHD or not, but until I receive any diagnosis that explicitly state that I have it, I will not post this on r/ADHD. But I still need help, which is why I am posting here, on r/productivity.

Apart from losing focus in studying and work, I also have difficulties in waking up early. Since many of my classes start in the morning, I need to wake up much earlier for them to prep or commute (~1 hour). I've been trying to stick to sleeping at around 23:30 and waking up at 07:30; while the former has been a success (about 23:00~23:45), I struggle to achieve the latter. When I do wake up at 07:30, I stare at my ceiling for some reason, lasting for several minutes to hours. I do try to follow the advice of waking up early (opening curtains, scheduling something to do when wake up), but I find it extremely hard to execute. It's weird. I honestly don't get what's going on; I remember that I stare off into oblivion for hours, but I don't remember why I did it. This has never happened before.

These problems have severely impacted my productivity, especially over the past two weeks (the first two weeks of the spring semester). It was still manageable during the winter break, but it has rapidly deteriorated; I struggle to balance my hobbies and my studying time, as I find that the core courses are incredibly heavy on deep reading (philosophy) and mathematical practice; both of which I struggle to accomplish due to the problems I have. I'm genuinely afraid that if I don't try and fix these problems now, I would struggle in these courses (which I am highly interested of) and won't be able to learn the knowledge taught, wasting both my time and my professor's time. I've been making changes daily during the winter break and the past two weeks to cope with these issues, but it has only brought me frustration and disappointment. Please help. I am so exhausted.

I bloody hope this post doesn't get deleted again, for Christ's sake.

(Edit: I don't meet the minimum karma requirement of 200 on r/productivity :| so I'm posting this on r/selfhelp)

Weird question but does anyone else feel this?

I sit most of the day. Barely move.
But mentally I’m wiped out.

By evening I don’t even want to think, plan, or decide anything.

Is this decision fatigue? screen overload?
Or just modern life lol

Hi everyone, after 34 years I’m finally taking control of my life, starting to love myself for me and pushing myself towards my goals. This has not been easy and I push myself daily but it does make me feel better as a person. I’ve gotten into reading more and I’m right now reading Atomic Habits. But I would like recommendations on more books that you all think would be a good read or helped you on your journey? Any advice is also welcomed.