50% of prisoners say they read every day. A career criminal who has never had an intellectual inclination in his life will go to prison and become a prolific reader.
Meanwhile you, a well-adjusted, critical thinker, finishes maybe a book a year.
This is not because prisoners are smarter than you. Its because reading whatever aged out novel they have stocked in the prison library is more enjoyable than the alternative of staring at a wall in a 6-8" cell.
If you want to read, write, learn, or whatever other habit you know is good for you but are too overstimulated to actually do: Reduce. Your. Inputs.
Engage prison simulator: Eat simple consistent meals, restrict device usage, heavily filter your entertainment allowance. Your brain has adapted to convenience, but all the things worth doing in life are generally inconvenient.
Everybody is trying to suck you dry of your most important asset: attention. And they will do whatever it takes to pry it from you. The strongest form of agency is tuning it all out. Go inward and go analog.
If I had to start over in the gym here's what I'd do.
-Train 4 days a week
-Upper/Lower Upper/Lower
-5-6 Exercises per session
-3-4 Sets 6-15 reps each
-Focus on proper form
-Increase weight/reps week after week
-Send it
-Keep sending it