Everything comes back to intention in the end because even if we are looking for busyness for other things when we do not have the intention to stop or try to minimize so as not to be too aggressive in gambling then in the end everything is the same where no matter how busy when we still cannot eliminate and restrain the desire to gamble then everything will look the same where we will force to gamble even when we are busy.
This possibility always happens so in the end as you said in the end there must be a really strong goal and intention when trying to stop or reduce gambling because it is indeed important to do from the beginning especially this can be a strong basis for us to refrain from gambling like we always do.
From the very beginning, it will not make sense for you unless you reach the point where you understand that it is already an addiction. And after that, it seems to me that you should not reduce the time for gambling, but abstain altogether and preferably do it for a long time.
It will not be easy, because getting rid of any addiction is difficult, but if there is a desire, then it is possible. Whether it is worth returning to gambling again depends on each player, I would advise never returning, because if there is an addiction, it will interfere with making the right decisions.