Using Home Assistant, adguard home and an $8 smart outlet to avoid brain rot

Distracting yourself from distractions by building an overly complex system to help you do that, and writing an article about it, is certainly a very HN-ish thing to do.

Modern problems require modern solutions.

But on a more serious note, distraction and focus are difficult topics. When I'm highly motivated, I'm utterly indistractible. When I have to do boring toil, absolutely anything & everything can distract me.

I have recently discovered that hardcore punk (like the album Feel The Darkness by Poison Idea) played at high volume in some headphones really helps me when I have to do those kinds of tasks. My hunch is that is translates my ennui into cathartic anger that I have to do this studpid f__king task, which generates motivation to show it who's boss and I plough through it. YMMV obviously - relies on you enjoying hardcore punk!