> Lacking objective, or structure in the day, I found myself playing video games or surfing web pretty much all day. I think the key is to identify these times

> Lacking objective, or structure in the day, I found myself playing video games or surfing web pretty much all day. I think the key is to identify these timesinks and to eliminate them one-by-one. Often these are dopamine-hijacking activities. So, suppose you decided to yourself that you are not going to be surfing the web at all, or limit it to a strictly scheduled timeslot, or only use the web when you have a specific purpose in mind. Suppose you did the same with videogames - limit it to a specific timeslot in your week, or eliminate it altogether. What would you do then? What would you find yourself doing if you found yourself in living conditions where you do not have access to such easy entertainment? You would probably get very bored at first. That's great! The first step is to stop seeing boredom as something to be avoided at all costs. It is ok to be bored - in fact it is good to be bored. Sit with it and do not allow yourself to fall back onto the easy entertainment options. You will find that after a while you are actually just going to pick up that physics textbook you meant to study off the shelf - or end up doing whatever interesting project you thought you would be doing. It will be easy, interesting and natural. Just like it was when you were a child on summer holidays and probably didn't have access to unlimited video games, broadband internet or other dopamine-hijacking forms of easy entertainment! Just eliminate the timesinks from your life one-by-one and allow yourself to become bored.