Distraction can come when you decide to do something else other than solve the seemingly difficult problem in front of you right now.
That’s what I’m doing here; writing this to distract myself away from a problem I need to solve, as if somehow, writing this will take me closer to solving the problem.
It won’t. It takes you further away.
Sometimes, there’s merit in stepping away, getting a break and returning refreshed. That’s different. That’s when you’re knee deep in the problem and need some breathing space. That’s fine.
Other times, you’ll bail as soon as the problem arises and don’t even try to solve it because it seems too hard to solve right now.
Here, you’re just avoiding a difficult problem because you’re lazy and can’t be arsed going through the mental effort of actually solving the problem that’s in front of you now.
You’re procrastinating and this is another example of a destructive habit. Not as destructive as sitting scrolling social media, but destructive enough to take you away from what you were doing and what is more important.
No matter how much you distract yourself, the problem will still be there when you return and it’ll still need solving. The only difference you’ll have made is that you’ll have wasted a good chunk of time doing nothing, and you’ll have taken yourself out of your concentrated mentality, your zone; flow, and you’ll have to take the time to get your head back into it again.
Either way, you’re wasting time, so you might as well just face the job to be done when it rears its head.