My mind follows the same pattern, and often when I have to do something unpleasant or anxiety-triggering. The support email might be about something I broke, or the phone call requires a big ask, or I’m avoiding feeling incompetent about what I need to do. The distraction is almost always either to numb/overwhelm senses to suppress that feeling, or something new to make me feel competent / intelligent / good. As an engineer, checking HN often satisfies both needs.

Pushing back from the desk and breathing helps me recenter and refocus, and “costs” me only 100 seconds from the day.