I think your brain is working quite normally. It knows that there is something very interesting and novel nearby so it wants to keep an eye on it. You can’t expect to just simply control or subdue this because it’s kind of a core cognitive function, as far as I can tell. But you can exert conscious changing of your environment.

I don’t think “listening to recorded music alone” has been a big part of human behavior for more than a few years in the 20th century. Music used to be something you’d attend to with company in convivial places. That’s a very different context for your attention.

The phone is like a very compelling alternative. Imagine a negotiation: you’re always referencing your backup alternative. Even a lover can have a hard time competing with the infinite jest of the internet. This is our world, maybe our central challenge.

Maybe you can clean your place in a way that’s more radical, funny, joyous. Maybe you can do it while listening to a podcast. Maybe you can turn it into a thrilling kind of spiritual exercise.

Religion, I think, has always revolved around this challenge, in different manifestations. Some old people might call it the devil, he’s always alluring, appealing, fascinating, charismatic, addictive… You might not want to be religious about it but still, you might need some powerful and radiant ally against the “adversary.” Or maybe you need to bow down and admit your weakness and find some paradoxical shimmering of strength in humility.