I study computer science and any time I sit down to code, I just browse or watch Youtube. Anything but do the work. Days and even months have gone by like this where I haven't done even an hour of learning. Its tough because in order to code I need to be in front of a screen but my brain refuses to study and just looks for that dopamine hit. My grades have suffered and I feel like a constant failure.
To clarify this is not an effect of the pandemic but has been happening for the past few years.
That sounds like an awesome idea. I didn't realize it when I was setting the goal, but having that "trigger" was an essential part of the routine for me. I think if I just said "I'll read every day" then it would just be, like, hanging over my head all day making me feel guilty. Instead I took a time that is super unproductive and not conducive to me feeling good about myself - typically I'm just watching random junk and simultaneously scrolling social media and paying attention to neither of them - and use it in a way that makes me feel better.