I could not sit down to read a programming book even before smartphones were a thing, I would end up doodling on the margins, or staring out the window for hours.
The only way I could actually sit and learn something was when an external force set a hard deadline, setting own deadlines did not work either.
I now thrive in companies where I have a personal interest in the product or the tech used and have hard deadlines that push me to try to deliver (I might still miss them but I do a lot better than without them). I have learned and been more productive in a 2week crunch than in years. althought it comes at the cost of frequent burnout.
Although I would like to try this, it doesn't seem feasible while working in IT.