Friction. Friction delays taking an action. This is true for both things we want to do and things we need to do. So you want to reduce the friction involved in your actual goals (learning a subject, deploying a system, updating code), and increase the friction involved for things you want to avoid.
I want to avoid snacks and sodas. I've gotten good at restaurants (order a coke once a month, a dessert about as often). But the office snack bar. So I stopped carrying cash. When I do collect change, I occasionally treat myself to a candy bar or something from that snack bar but since I'm not spending as much cash, this is once every 2-3 months.
At the same time I keep my desk stocked with pistachios (in shells) or similar things that take too long to eat to just eat all at once, but are tasty enough that when I get peckish they still satisfy.
I want to learn more advanced math subjects. So I always keep a notebook on me and either the book I'm working through, or a printout of the chapter (if it's a PDF or something). So when I have downtime I don't have to seek it out, it's already here.
I want to avoid snacks and sodas. I've gotten good at restaurants (order a coke once a month, a dessert about as often). But the office snack bar. So I stopped carrying cash. When I do collect change, I occasionally treat myself to a candy bar or something from that snack bar but since I'm not spending as much cash, this is once every 2-3 months.
At the same time I keep my desk stocked with pistachios (in shells) or similar things that take too long to eat to just eat all at once, but are tasty enough that when I get peckish they still satisfy.
I want to learn more advanced math subjects. So I always keep a notebook on me and either the book I'm working through, or a printout of the chapter (if it's a PDF or something). So when I have downtime I don't have to seek it out, it's already here.