Comment by cmgriffing

This is something I have been noodling with a bit. I'm 40 (started in my late 20's). I welcome the distractions as well.

When I was learning, I would always have a movie or TV show on in the background.

On stream, I am constantly responding to chat. But I am able to delay that by up to a minute most times. So I get most of my work done in short bursts.

BUT, while distracted by a TV show or a chatter on stream, my brain is probably not completely distracted. It becomes a moment for diffuse thought to kick in rather than relying purely on focused thought. (For anyone reading and unaware, diffuse thinking is what causes "shower thoughts")

So, those distractions are just a way of forcing myself to toggle between thinking states.

Diffuse thought is also the reason why I never end on a resolution for the day. I always try to have something that I can stew on overnight while going to sleep, waking up, showering, doing the dishes, etc. I have solved several bugs on my morning commute back when I used to go into the office.

Something somewhat related. People who do non-traditional sleep patterns like biphasic, or even something as extreme as uberman, are able to get to sleep faster than most people with traditional sleep patterns. It is something that you can actually train and practice. Forcing diffuse thought more often maybe helps it kick in quicker too?