My Motivation Wasn’t Gone - It Was Buried Under Distractions, Assalamu Alaikum

Assalamu Alaikum - For a while I honestly thought my motivation had just vanished. Like something inside me had flipped off. Starting anything felt harder and the things I used to care about didn’t pull me like before. I kept telling myself stories: Maybe I’m burned out, maybe I’ve become lazy, maybe this is just how life is now. What I didn’t notice for a long time was how much constant background noise filled my day. Nothing dramatic - just small, steady stuff. Checking my phone between tasks, filling short breaks without thinking, having something playing while I worked, then wondering why I couldn’t focus. It all felt harmless, so I never questioned it. In the moment it seemed normal and comfortable. But after a while I noticed that whenever I tried to do something meaningful, I already felt scattered - like my mind was cluttered before I even began. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do the task, it just felt heavier than it should have. I didn’t fix it by pushing myself harder or forcing motivation. Mostly I stopped adding so much noise. I left my phone alone most of the day, didn’t auto-fill every pause with scrolling, and learned to sit with that restless feeling instead of instantly escaping it. It wasn’t a dramatic change. At first it felt boring and a little uncomfortable. But starting things didn’t feel as heavy anymore. I didn’t have to talk myself into action as much. Looking back, motivation hadn’t really disappeared - it was just buried under distractions so I couldn’t see it. That simple shift has made the biggest difference for me, Alhamdulillah. Edit (Update): JazakAllah khair for everyone who shared thoughts - didn’t expect so many to relate. A few suggestions stuck: catching the 5 seconds before you give up on a task really helps, and planning small habits on my calendar instead of waiting for motivation made a difference. I also tried using a screen-time pause app to create a short friction between opening apps, and that tiny pause actually stops me from slipping back into the loop. Combining those two things has made my day feel clearer, mashAllah.