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Day 21 Drafted a new post on my blog, though the content could use more work. Just couldn't think of another solution to the problem...

Day 20 Spent far too much time fixing a few bugs in my coding when using A* algorithm for pathing finding. Those interested can read more about it here: http://theory.stanford.edu/~amitp/GameProgramming/Heuristics.html#S7

Day 19 Spending a bit too much time programming now that I have a bug I have yet to figure out. Hopefully can iron it out tomorrow... If you like solving technical problems, then you will enjoy being a Software Engineer as your career. Just note that 90% of the time, you will be maintaining someone else code. If you get the chance to do something new, jump on it immediately. Such opportunities are rare Have fun learning Unity!

Day 18 Read on how to do some pathing and of course, did some programming for it Now I'm trying to make a game! Before quitting gaming, I used to tab in Node.js and Python for my own projects. I got bored with the Node.js project, maybe because I didn't really have an end goal in what I wanted to develop. For Python, I made a Discord bot to help pull upcoming battles data for my gaming clan. I think my interest in games is making my transition to make them pretty painless, though I'm aware that it will open up more risks of me relapsing. For now,, I'm learning new things and it's fun to challenge myself

Day 17 Today is day 1 of my company global planning where we start work late and go back late to sync with our HQ time in Europe. I dislike these days, but at least we don't have to do work for two days Back to programming too during my free time...

Day 16 Good old programming, this time trying out something I learned. Never realized my numbers skills are awful! This journal makes me accountable. I know I have to update this journal everyday which motivates me to not fail. No doubt I don't post the most amazingly detailed updates, but I'm glad I can strike one more day off as a success

Day 15 No programming today, but read on some subjects I might want to do for next week. Did my usual house chores which I find actually more rewarding to do now. Get the same feeling of accomplishment compared to gaming.

Day 14 Yeah, 2 weeks of not gaming. Another 10 more weeks to go Today did a course on improving learning techniques, pretty interesting. Hopefully, I can put it to good use during my self-studies on programming and other topics I wish to learn.

Day 13 Back to programming, planning to finish a Youtube tutorial by end of the weekend. I think having goals to aim for really helps to keep my mind of playing video games, but still need to work on not getting distracted.

Day 11 My bad, forgot to post this update yesterday. Instead of programming started doing some pixel art. Seeing if I can balance out constant programming with something else: Started reading the book, very entertaining and enlighting. Day 12 After work went straight to the mall for dinner and groceries shopping with the Mrs. Got home and started doodling with my sprite character. It's hard to play around with shade of colors!

Day 10 Back to programming. Also, my Christmas gift from my sister arrived. Yes, Malaysian mail service is fast. Have something new to read: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Day 9 Work, dinner, read, sleep. That's it. Somehow felt really tired today, so slept pretty early.

Day 8 Went hiking with mom and brother. Normally we take a forest route, but today we took a pathed trail. Though fairly easy, amazed how unfit I am. I used to cycle all the time for school and with friends after school when in grade school. Ought to figure out if I can workout more during the weekdays... Today took a break from programming and picked up more reading.

Day 7 Ah, hitting the one week mark of not gaming. Feels great! Had an interesting conversion with my wife where she still thinks I'm gaming when I'm on my computer when I'm actually coding or drafting a post on my blog. I guess it might take a little more time for me to break this stigma she has of me.

Day 6 Same old stuff, programming stuff for some writing materials for the blog One interesting experience I had during my afternoon power nap is dreaming of gaming and somehow feeling guilty about it. Woke up feeling relieved! Might be signs of things to come though...

Day 5 Less programming and more on setting up a few things regarding programming though. I also discovered how to only see your subscribed subreddits on the reddit frontpage. Before when I visited reddit, I would see tonnes of subreddits that would distract me. Who could resist r/aww?! It wasn't possible to block all of reddit except for the few subreddit you were interested. So here is how to do it: Go to https://www.reddit.com/subreddits Unsubsrcibed all the subreddit you don't to appear in the frontpage. There are a few pages to go through Now when you visit reddit only your subcribed subreddits posts are shown.

Day 4 Decided to take the plunge and start a blog. Now thinking of topics to write that I can post every week. Pretty exciting, though I hope can keep the motivation going in the long run. Doing more programming stuff for writing materials for the blog. Also had a bad day at work. Management claims customers are important, but yet decide to remove fixes in our upcoming product release. Nice...

Day 3 Same old programming stuff, though I think I need to mix things. Started drafting how to blog what I'm learning. Some writing will be a good experience... Completed reading a pretty thick book: The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide. Been reading it bit by bit, but decided to push through the last few chapters. The book is a very good read for anyone new or already in Software Development field. If anyone is interested in picking it up, I recommend getting the ebook version as there are tonnes of links the author refers to. Next read will be another programming related book, but more technical. Hopefully, I won't fall asleep

Day 2 Didn't go to work today as I caught the flu bug. Was feeling under the weather during the weekend, so I knew it isn't a symptom of not gaming. The doctor also confirmed it... All the free time when not sleeping was a good test for my gaming detox which I'm happy to share that I went through without touching a game! Focusing my attention on either programming or reading programming message boards really helped. Though I noticed I would still mindlessly browse the web now and then. Installed a website blocker add-on in my internet browser: StayFocused to help with this. My reasons for quitting are numerous, but one is o give a better life to my wife. It's unfair for me to be engrossed in gaming while she is alone. This isn't how married life is supposed to be.

Day 1 Went through all the training materials and already seeing positive differences. I'm communicating more with my wife and I'm more aware of how I use my time. I've even started using Passion Planner which I bought years ago! Let's see how well I will do tomorrow after coming home from work...

Greetings! I'm Bernard and I've gamed since my early teens. Now I'm 35 and married who still play video games, but wish to quit. Recently I hit sort of mid-life crisis. For quite awhile I no longer enjoyed being a Software Engineer. I was recently promoted to Support Manager. I thought the new position would be interesting, however I continued to lack motivation and drive. After some thought, I realized I wanted to work for myself. I wanted the freedom to do what I want and not be working for someone else. Strangely this wasn't the first time I had this revelation. Numerous times before I was dead set in making it on my own. I would do lots of self-study and started my own projects. I would sign up to online courses to improve my technical skills. I would buy ebooks to gain more knowledge. Sadly every single time, after just a month or so, I would lose motivation with my lack of progress and end up giving up. I would reason to myself: "Why do I have to stress myself out with all these things during my free time when my 9-5 job was more than sufficient in all of my bills? My life is pretty good!" This time though, I felt disappointed with how little I have achieved for myself. Why couldn't I do what so many have done for themselves? What made them so different? Then it dawned on me: video games. My free times is mostly spent playing video games. Now I realized they served no real propose other than being a distraction to what I really wanted in life. If only I could swap my habit of playing videos with something more productive, then I can achieve what I ultimately want. Thus starting my new adventure in life... *burn-x joins "Game Quitters" party