I've accepted that I'm going to ignore a certain interest for months, maybe years, and then come back to it when my energy for that subject comes back. Of course this means that I have a lot of books and stuff...
In recent years I've gotten better about hitting the library first instead of buying books. It imposes a natural deadline on things: if you couldn't be bothered to start reading in 3 weeks, then maybe it was just a passing fancy.
Getting older helps too. I feel like I have less energy, which needs to be spent more carefully. But there's also perspective that comes with maturity, and the willingness to forgive myself for not being maximally "productive".
In recent years I've gotten better about hitting the library first instead of buying books. It imposes a natural deadline on things: if you couldn't be bothered to start reading in 3 weeks, then maybe it was just a passing fancy.
Getting older helps too. I feel like I have less energy, which needs to be spent more carefully. But there's also perspective that comes with maturity, and the willingness to forgive myself for not being maximally "productive".