The problem with little distractions is that they turn into big distractions. They always do. How often has anyone done a distraction and set a timer? Even if you set a “distraction timer” for two minutes, will you care when it goes off?
Nope. Because as soon as you entertain a distraction you shift from a production/creation mode to a passive/consumption mode.
In that mode, you cease caring about production until guilt for being distracted takes over. That seems to be the only thing that snaps you out of it.
Why? Because when you’re in that passive mode, you aren’t active, you’re reactive. You don’t act out of good intention for you/business/your family, you act when you’re pricked by feelings. I’ve found that it takes roughly 52 minutes of being totally distracted before guilt snaps me back to a production mode.
It’s an annoying cycle, but the more I don’t even allow the distraction serpent through the door, the more I remain in the production/creation mode.