Mohammad

Day 27th without gaming. I came home today feeling unwell, possibly because of the flu shot I received last night. I am also feeling exhausted and drained today so I need to take it slow at this point and give myself time to recover.

Wow, your mission statement is beautifully written, meaningful, and deeply human. I understand the significance of having a mission statement in one's life! I have to find one for myself.

could you please share the findings of your research regarding a phone that supports a stylus? 😄 I am pretty much into these things too

Day 26th without gaming. (it is 45 days since I started journaling and had a few games there in between). I am keeping a very active and healthy lifestyle. I have been eating healthy (low calories, high fibre/protein), and my fitness is at its peak. It's been almost a year since I started calorie counting, but because of gaming, I was interrupting my workout and eating routine, and I was not getting enough sleep, which is essential for building muscle. However, since September 9th, when I started journaling again, I have been steady with my diet and exercise. I can see my body has changed so much in only 45 days of rigorous workouts, consistent high-protein meals, and a good night's sleep. It's amazing! My energy level is also very high. I wake up at 6:30 a.m. and (almost) don't sit down until 8:30 p.m. when I am ready for bed. I have been building my resistance to standing over the past year, and I do most of my work while standing. I am standing even when watching Netflix at night! Besides physical health, I have been reading books for at least one to two hours a day. In addition, I am working on my focus to engage myself in deeper work. I then take walking breaks to burn more calories. I have also been walking between work and home for an hour every day for the past year. I have to make every effort to avoid gaming. I know that if I can continue this lifestyle, I will be much happier and more fulfilled.

your journal is always very insighful. keep up the good work 🙂

Day 25 without gaming. I have been doing great these days. I am very happy and on track. I don't have any urges to play video games. I am very active, eating healthy and working very hard.

I am wondering how you make time to write such a detailed and thoughtful journal every day. I usually spend 5-10 minutes on journaling and anything more, I feel that I can use that time to do more important things. I understand that self-improvement is critical and I also spend a lot of time every day to think through them while walking from home to work. May I ask how much time you allocate to this website every day? Could you also elaborate on why it is so important to you?

Day 23 without gaming. I did crave pumpkins with my son. He enjoyed it so much, and we had a great time together. Thanks, @D_Cozy, for your suggestion 🙂 I had a very productive weekend. I went to the gym and had a great workout. I spent a couple of hours reading papers/books. I watched a bit of Netflix too. I am now getting ready to go to bed 🙂

I am glad that you were able to say "no" to your dad. I don't know if I can say "no" to my family in a similar situation.

Day 22 without gaming. I came home from work exhausted, but I didn't feel tempted to play games. At this stage, it seems to be a thing of the past, and I am happy about it. However, I have been like this in the past, and even though I feel very distant from gaming, a trigger like chatting with a friend or a memory can create the impulse to play, so I should still be careful and avoid being overconfident.

Thanks. Yes, that's right. I am more purposeful and also more experineced at this 🙂

Day 21 with no gaming. I arrived home and spent one hour with my son. After he went to bed, I started watching Netflix. I intentionally avoided studying/reading as I always do before bedtime. It turned out very well. I watched for two hours and went to bed in time and I am not feeling burnout today.

very interesting! 🙂 I will try to be more proactive too. Is this 7 habits related to the book "7 habits of highly effective people"?

Day 20 with no gaming. I just arrived home from work feeling exhausted and drained. I know from experience that this could lead to bad results. I don't have any temptation for gaming but still, I need to be mindful of my burnout. I need to do something fun tonight and stay away from work and study.

Why are you depressed? Are you feeling any better now?

Day 18 with no video games. I am very happy about it. I have been very focused and productive. Now that I have come this far, I need to make sure that I do not break the cycle.

Thanks, a lot. That is a great idea. My son was asking me to do it but I am usually kinda lazy for such things. I will try it next weekend; it would be a great quality time with my son. Thanks.

Thanks for sharing it. I like that you have put some time aside for everything in your life. well balanced 🙂

so yeah it's 14 days without video games. 😃 I am feeling very good about it. The long weekend is on the corner so I need to anticipate the urge to arrive starting tomorrow. I should try to be more active in the couple of days to pass the long weekend 🙂 any recommendation? please let me know

Yeah, I think you are right. I enjoy working and do my best at it but when I am exhausted, I am drawn to video games. I have started watching reality shows and it has been providing me with some fun outside of work to balance my life. It has been working in the past couple of weeks. I may note that watching reality shows is very well aligned with my career goals because I want to learn about human interactions, body language and communication skills including improving my English, which would help me advance in my career. Thanks a lot for pointing this out to me. I am hard on myself and often don't allow myself to enjoy life. For example, I went to Mexico Beach in December 2023 and I was reading articles while lying on the beach. That is how obsessed I am with my work! but, yeah I understand that it doesn't necessarily work and may backfire on me.

I didn't play on the weekends 🙂 It seems I am on track with my detox program. I have not felt any urge to play video games in the past 10 days or so. I am going to count from today and reflect on my progress. So today is my day 11 not playing any games 🙂 I am very well-focused on my career and I am using my time effectively.

I haven't played for over a week now which is positive. It didn't take any effort; I was not even drawn to it. I think I need to focus on my goals and put all my energy into work that I also enjoy. This is the best technique for me to get away from the gaming. I had a few relapses since I started this detox but I think it is fine. I keep journaling and watch out for possible triggers.

That's exactly what I have been trying to do and it has been working. There are relapses along the way but I am improving. Thanks for the advice. 🙂

yeah, struggling again. I played two hours last night and one hour the night before. hopefully, I can still let that go and continue to stay away from it. I'll get there. I am not playing tonight - that's positive 🙂

Wow, you have such an amazing memory. Right on, I am doing geotech and yeah I know remember you are a civil engineer. Yea, I am still struggling! right now, I don't play for two weeks and then one game and the next day two games etc. My work-life balance isn't too bad as my addiction isn't that bad but still, it affects my sleep and more importantly, motivation. Congrats on your baby boy 🙂 I am so happy for you