Ikar

21 Feb - 26 Feb: I managed to clear out many of my open browser tabs. I also had a call with my fellow CELTA colleague. Worked on my grandma's kitchen with my friend and it seems like we're really nearly done for our part. My girlfriend, her sister's boyfriend and I went to the mountains and I also went to the shooting range at the weekend. I also worked on updating my online table for my students and read up on some news on financial and English Reddit.

Oh yeah, I can normally trace it back to the origin, but I haven't this time. I felt sick for the next four or five days. I worked as usual, but limited exercise and also my stay outside. The temperature here hovers around 0 Celsius this time of the year, so a lot of people are sick. I feel good today though 🙂

18 Feb - 20 Feb: Nothing much has happened in the last few days, but I have the time to write a little, so I want to take advantage of it. I just started the lecturer training and went to the sauna with my girlfriend. I'm feeling a bit sick, but I have the rest of the evening free and just a few lessons tomorrow, so I hope to be OK before the weekend.

I'm using the template I used the last time. 7/1/25 - 18/2/25 "L" will stand for the (last) plan/notes for this term. "T" will stand for done this term. I added "Future goals/direction" to better reflect on the things I am trying to do and to add specificity. I will copy it and stick it somewhere where I can see it to remind myself whenever I feel aimless. I will also use different colors: blue for newly added goals/habits, green for completed/successful, orange for ongoing/some progress and red for ones I haven't worked on in that period. Books/Reading articles/Learning: L: Spent some time reading on Reddit again, scanning for any relevant information. I'm almost finished with "Outlive" by Attia. I can say it sparked more interest about health, exercise and fitness in general. T: I finished "Outlive" by Attia. Rather than using any particular tips or knowledge from it, I used it to push myself into more exercise. Started a new book by Dawkins called "The Selfish Gene". Read on Reddit about finance and English teaching again. Possible direction/goals: (Borrow) and read one book until the next monthly report. Family: L: I went to the theater with my mom and made some family visits as usual. My father and my brother took turns to work on the grandma's kitchen and it seems like we're really nearing the end. T: Had some family visits. Also went to watch hockey with my parents and a family friend. Made two kitchen-related trips to my grandma with my friend. I had a small incident with my grandma yesterday. We talked for about five minutes over phone. She was worried about... my brother envying me an 8€ banknote that she gave me at the weekend. In front of the whole family, as my girlfriend rightfully pointed out. She said she was afraid he wouldn't talk to her anymore, so she asked me to write him. He said that he might consider not talking to her indeed, after she thought he might envy me an 8€ note (which I frankly think he didn't even remember, as our grandma gives us stuff regularly) 🙂 In relation, my brother told me a similar story about her thinking that our mother is an alcoholic. I also just remembered the time my grandma was low-key saying that she probably won't live much longer. I think it's a mix of fear of abandonment, overthinking and creating doom and gloom scenarios and being paranoid. I guess insanity can take many forms. From now on, I'll try to be more receptive towards my mom and take grandma's opinions for what they are; opinions. NOT: I don't want to get alienated from my family. Possible direction/goals: Work on getting the new kitchen for my grandma. Continue work on maintaining the relationships with my family. Business/English: L: Worked on the new website again with the web-designer. Sent out the bi-yearly questionnaires to my students. After sending out the questionnaires, I went for a holiday to Balearic Islands with my girlfriend. After coming back, I felt very excited to work with my students again! I contacted some of my old students and I signed up for a course organized and run by a coach I cooperated with in the past at the university and that paid for by the government. I hope the application goes through 🙂 T: My application to the course was successful! I've already had the first two training days, one about methodology and one about presentation skills. I'm hoping to learn and use a lot of stuff. I've also been working on an improved English table for my students. I've also been flustered by modifying my pricing in a reasonable way. Long story short, I need to charge my pricing in regard to my afternoon (and maybe later morning) F2F students. I currently charge nothing for traveling and I could have another lesson or do something else in that time. I also had a call with my CELTA colleagues. NOT: I don't want to have a job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to have a job that is not well paid. Past projects: Copied to a Google Doc to keep this less cluttered. Current projects I'm working on: Website improvement project - since August 2024 English table update - since December 2024 lecturer trainings - ENG business February-May 2025 55 minutes F2F lessons (+ online reminder too); pricing updates Areas to work on continually: Keep classes at a stable 20-25 hours a week. Keep asking for reviews or recommendations from students. CELTA colleagues calls. Go through "lecturer academy" + CELTA materials + lecturer course. Exercise/Movement: L: These days, I normally manage 1-2x exercise sessions (or runs) and 1-2x stretching sessions a week. All that along with some hikes at the weekend and regular walks once or twice a day. The appointment went alright, though I am going for another test later this month. Went to donate blood plasma twice as well, so I assume my health is alright, as they need to do checks. T: These days, I normally manage 1-2x exercise sessions (or runs) and 1-2x stretching sessions a week. All that along with some hikes at the weekend and regular walks once or twice a day. I had the last cardiology check at the end of January. As for health, I also started flossing more regularly. NOT: I don't want to become fat. Possible direction/goals: Keep in shape by exercising at least twice a week for 30-60 minutes. --- My hobbies are: personal finance, graphs/projections/statistics, gunnery, reading/videos about (modern) history, English, working on my business, blogging/writing, geography. This month, I did these cool activities: having a board-game night with friends, visiting my friends, reading about finance, reading about English, attending a FIRE meeting, meeting with friends. Spent less time at the computer too. --- For thought: Maybe I should just learn to plan better, though just the thought of having some hours of my day scheduled makes me cringe. Oddly enough, I don't get this feeling while planning lessons of my students, normally in bigger blocks. Maybe I should rethink that belief to make me happier. I've had this recurring thought every now and then that I am often somehow prevented from what I want to do in my free time; basically whenever I am not with students or sleeping. No, I just need to stop reading and learning all the time and start doing things. Imperfect action yields results. Information alone is useless. --- Plans for 2025: Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20-25, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30-35 hours worked a week. Friends, community: I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students

6 Feb - 12 Feb: I spent some time writing about finance, did my monthly financial report and sorted out taxes and pricing. Worked on the updated table for students; it's more or less ready, but I need to update the existing ones too, so that will probably take a few more hours. Met up with a friend on Friday and talked about everything. I also went to a sauna, played table games and went to a seminar - all with my girlfriend. I skipped a social evening today to write and focus on myself a little today.

I used the word "lucky" in the way that it's indeed a lottery, insofar as what activity gets us hooked and gives us satisfaction. We couldn't "choose" whether gaming interested us or not. We just fell for it. And we worked hard on it too. That's why I used the hockey sport analogy afterwards; had we been "luckier", maybe we'd fall for an activity that would be more useful for us and the society as well. I actually don't think there's a "predisposition to gaming", but rather a "predisposition to activities like gaming". We probably encountered gaming as the first complex activity that could fulfill us by chance; hence all the talk about luck and bad luck. I agree there's no reason in crying over spilt milk; what's done is done. It's necessary to be forward-looking. You're also correct that I'm lucky that gaming made me re-evaluate my life, values and activities. Maybe quitting gaming was the biggest opportunity for me. I don't think many people get that in their lives.

24 Jan - 5 Feb: My friend and I drilled holes and installed the doors for the upper kitchen cupboards. I had a great meeting last weekend with a bunch of inspiring people. The topic was financial independence and everybody shared their journey. Some topics still resonate in my head and the meeting also spurred my activity in related topics. Went to the cardiologist. He said my heart/blood pressure is nothing to worry about, as long as I exercise and eat well. I think I've been doing a good job exercising and flossing as well. My parents and I also went to a hockey match with our family friend. It was nice to experience the atmosphere of a hockey match again, especially since "our" team won 😄 We also had a couple more game nights with my girlfriend's sister and her boyfriend and my friend. It's generally a good time, although my girlfriend and I think her sister and boyfriend can be sometimes needlessly toxic during game-time for a variety of reasons. Looked after the car by taking it to the mechanic. Just a few small issues, nothing serious. Had a pub meeting with my girlfriend's office colleagues from work. I already knew most of them at least a little. We had good fun. - I probably have mild ADHD. I sometimes jump from one activity to another and forget to finish the previous one. My calendar helps me with that, as I can keep track of the important stuff.

Even part-time work is good. I've been self-employed for a few years. I took up more work quite naturally as I grew more efficient with using my time and got into basic habits. Hope the meds situation gets better. Honestly, it's possible that there are people in your life who try to usurp your independence (and boundaries). Ironically, when I was quitting, I think the fact I didn't know a lot of people and had really just a few connections helped me in fact. I didn't have to renegotiate so many relationships. I had more conflicts with my father after I quit gaming, rather than before. Parents in particular will still see you as their child if they pay for any of your needs. I think it's always a good idea to break that "financial" parental umbilical cord using any means necessary, apart from crime 😄

I can share what works for me, but always remember you're the boss of you. I think the first thing of importance is to become independent. How is the job hunt for you looking?

It does matter whether you get lucky or unlucky. I don't regret the fact that I didn't become a famous streamer, but the truth is I just got unlucky with the game selection. The game was just too small and there was never any real potential to make a living off of it. If I had a passion/addiction to a sport, for example hockey, maybe I'd make it to the national team. If 1) I liked the hobby, 2) had a good team, 3) met the right people, 4) had no injuries, 5) had the parents' support... the list goes on and on. But even with a successful hockey career, there's no guarantee that my life wouldn't come crashing down after finishing my career as a player, because I'd be useless in other areas of life. Hard work and determination can lead you to both being a gaming addict and being a famous person. It's still a lottery. I feel the same about the part I put in bold. I also feel better about growing into my potential. For "bottom line", I wrote: "Hard work does pay overall for most people, but it's not enough to be famous and you have to be careful with using it in the right way." I don't know if that translates to "it's not worth going through all this hard work because you might not get anything in the end so might aswell not try to begin with". I think work gives people meaning and that it's intrinsically valuable. The issue is you can't choose the activities you are passionate about or addicted to and therefore "hard work" can get you into unexpected or bad places as well. It reminded me of the "Gaming Addiction Superpower". Our determination and hard work on our gaming got us in the wrong place. I don't think it's possible to argue that, but feel free, I'll be happy to read the argument 🙂 I think a part of my "calling" is writing as well, maybe that's why I am writing these responses (and I mean it; writing improves verbal skills too and I have a blog) 😄 By "nothing in particular" I do indeed mean an activity of some sort. For me at this time, it's watching a video about finance (my hobby), helping my girlfriend assemble her 4000-piece puzzle or just getting the clothes off of the dryer. All of these are important in their own way, but they are hardly anything I'd write about in great detail. I put the part in bold, because that's a solid argument to think about from a purely mathematical perspective. If it works for you, it's great. It's just that I don't think it's possible to plan your "gaming rebellion" like that or to guarantee that you ever come back from it. Good job, be watchful 🙂

The thing is, I already do have a schedule for my work and I organize my life mostly around work. Maybe it's not ideal, but it works well enough for me. Organizing my life around other priorities (e.g. exercise every day at 7, eat, take a shower and start work every day at 9) could work too, but they'd inevitably clash. It always eventually comes down to the fact which activity I prefer. I really like/love spending time with my students AND getting paid for it. All the other things I do are "only" hobbies or second-rank priorities at best, except a few emergencies. Maybe it will change with time in the future. I know "trusting my present self" can be lottery-like, but at the given time I already know whether or not I already have done the "basics" for the day. It takes the pressure off of me to do something "productive". I can just do a hobby or something else. There are cases where "doing nothing in particular" is the right thing to do. I think having this stuff planned paradoxically reduces the effectiveness of relaxing activities. You're not a machine "down for temporary maintenance" when you relax. The only problem with these people is that you know them because they succeeded. Textbook survivorship bias. If only determination was enough, I'd have been a successful Twitch streamer for some 10 years now. I was persistent. I streamed daily. Maybe it would have worked if I played a bigger game like LoL, WoW, Hearthstone or something else. But there just weren't enough people watching the game I mainly played. And there are even people with a good plan, who work hard and still fail. We all know the people you mentioned thanks 1) to their habits but also 2) extreme luck and circumstances. Hard work does pay overall for most people, but it's not enough to be famous and you have to be careful with using it in the right way.

After my roughly six years of no gaming, I sometimes reminisce the time, but I think I would do that even if I I hadn't gamed. I don't miss games anymore though. It was important for me to accept the past and move on, not to regret it.

I get that. I just finished a workout with my girlfriend that lasted about an hour. Another hour to relax a little, take a shower and eat. I hated to rush the workout time maybe it was a part of the reason why I quit working out completely a few years ago. These two hour blocks are hard for me to find, but I try to work out at least twice a week. I get up around 7 every day at too, also because my earliest work time is 8. I normally tend to wake up with the sun, so to speak, but everybody is different. There are morningness/eveningness questionnaires online to help out with determining the best circadian rhythm for you 🙂

To be honest, it's quite impressive to resist it so many times (and for such a long time too). I'm sure my will wouldn't be as strong. I can't tell you how I did it exactly (apart from living my life the way I do), but I just don't get cravings anymore, so I don't need to resist them. I'd agree with that statement. Four, maybe three years ago, I approached a girl at the university. I immediately lost all interest in her after she told me that she just sat and watched series all spring holiday. I asked her again and got the same response. I think some people just slob around, do nothing all day and then wonder why they are depressed. I think they are depressed because they know in the back of their mind that they're not doing enough to meet their potential. I used to be like that when I gamed, but not anymore. I'm now intrinsically motivated to do my best. In my case, writing relaxes me and it's an activity I like. I think stretching is becoming a relaxation activity for me too. I think people normally connect relaxation with their hobbies and free time. I find it rather interesting that what one person considers relaxation can be work for another. Dusting for an hour is literally more work for me than to have a lesson with my students 😄 Yeah, I've just worked for an hour an a half to improve my online tables for students. I didn't have it planned, but it's been in my head for a few weeks now. "Work" and "useful activities" are really my default whenever I find a bigger block of free time, like today. I think it's just about setting "correct" baseline activities of life. I'd really feel lazy if my baseline activity was watching series or films, for example.

18 Jan - 23 Jan: I had to buy a new shower head because I managed to step on the old one and break it 😄 There hasn't been that much happening otherwise. I came up with a few pricing improvements for my lessons. I spent time with my girlfriend and picked up a new book from the library.

Welcome back! It's great you're seeing progress already. It's much easier to abstain when the benefits are not vague and murky. I've never really had any gaming friends, perhaps except my brother, so my gaming was never connected with any "real" people. If the friends can talk about other stuff besides gaming, I guess it's OK though. Well done on 16 days!

Yes, that's definitely something to analyze. Maybe gaming didn't present itself as an escape in your head the first time or second time when you ground the project, but perhaps the tenth time. And maybe you resisted it for another five times, until you acted on the thought the sixth time. I only "book" time for lessons with my students (around 25-30 hours a week). The rest of my time is not usually scheduled, I just normally go to bed at 10-11 and get up between 6-8 as necessary. It's good to be bored sometimes, just for the experience. As I wrote, even when I am bored (or overworked, the other extreme), I don't think of gaming as an escape. When I'm overworked, I find an activity to relax like writing or I come up with a plan to tackle the problem. I usually find something to do even when I am bored too. It actually gives me space to focus on lesser priorities like chores around the house that are not as essential (e.g. dusting, putting boxes into the cellar etc.) These reactions are my second nature now and they're generally positive. I don't have to "plan" to relax, which really sounds like an oxymoron 😄 And it works for me. There are always a few areas I'd like to work on more often, but I don't think I need to start planning for it. In fact, I think pushing myself into planning my days in detail would make me rebel and would cause more damage down the road. I usually do plan some activities if I have entire parts of the day free though. Maybe it will change in the future, but so far I am happy with my approach.

I think I saw it somewhere more times, maybe the first time in GQ-related materials. No book/source in particular.

I hope he at least got a warning from the principal because of that. I don't see how he's a helpful role model/authority, if he's tolerated to yell at students. I think it's fair to slog it out at this high school until you finish it and pass the finals. Once you're 18/19, you're free to call your own shots. Looking back, I'd not get into the university, had I not had a particular reason to study (I wanted to be an army officer, so I had to go to the uni for that). I don't think it's helpful to go to the university for a completely random degree and I think working a few jobs to try out what fits is better (plus you'll get a stable income). I earned money since I was 19 (I also finished a university, but as a side project), but over the years (now I'm 27), I've built up a considerable reserve. It's really a big difference if you start work at 18/19, or after a degree at 22/25. There's data that uni people earn more, but I think it's just a correlation without causation and that the people would do well even without a degree. Plus, you can always do the degree later, if it's something you really want or need to advance your career. Feel free to ask more about my reasoning if you want 😄

Since I don't have an employer, even my work-hours are my responsibility and decision. I work with students 1-to-1, so I don't have total control over their time, but yes, if I said "My work hours are between 12 and 6.", nobody could stop me from doing that. My reasoning stems from the quote "The opposite of addiction is not sobriety (days without gaming), but connection (having a good life)." You're correct though that this is an "anti-gaming addiction" forum more than anything else. I stuck around over the years mostly because I just like to journal here. Thanks for the encouragement 🙂 Being 3 years without gaming is impressive! It's entirely possible there was something that you started lacking over time during your abstinence, maybe just in the last few weeks or months. Yeah, my point was to show that the identity of being "anti-something" can only take you so far. Knowing what you're against is OK (gaming in your life), but knowing what you're for is better. Because once you know what you're for, it also solves a lot of the things you're against too. If you're for exercise and a good diet, you're automatically against being fat and a bad diet. And you don't need to remind yourself you're against being fat and a bad diet, because it's already embedded into the positive variant. I hope it makes sense 😄 I'm also against the regulation of gaming in myself. I've tried that many times, before coming to the forum. It didn't work to take one hour here to do the chores and one hour there to do exercise. Now, even when I am bored, I don't think of games. My priorities are completely different than they were and I just don't have the time anyway.

I wouldn't worry about school. The whole concept of school is tedious. You're not supposed to enjoy it, unless there's something wrong with you, or unless you go to a very particular type of school that meets your expectations. Your teacher is in the wrong place. He should teach people who are passionate about math. The problem is, there would be far too many math teachers around for this real demand. He'd either have to be really good (and be self-employed or at a top institution), or he would work a different job. That's the issue with the education system in general; there's far too many teachers teaching far too many students, who are in turn given far too much useless information (at least for the students' benefit). Stacking up straight As is not how life works anyway. I know this, because I've been teaching 1-to-1 English for a few years now. I can say that for most people, only pulling out their wallet and paying the course themselves makes them focus and get involved with English. They might not even be passionate about English, but they know they need it at work or while traveling. That way, I at least know they want to put in some effort. I'll let somebody be the prison guard of 15 teenagers (even if 2-3 of them would at least show some interest in the subject). Being competitive is an interesting trait to have, but don't expect school to help you work with it. It might help you be a good manager or director one day, while the "straight A nerds" will be your rigorous employees. Who knows? 🙂 P.S. I nearly failed high school math and failed a university. I quit my gaming addiction 5 years ago, managed to finish another university without a serious problem and built myself a job I love. Literally nobody remembers (and cares) I nearly failed HS math 10 years ago and failed uni 8 years ago.

In the order that I do them, because my work hours are not regular and I mostly have free time around mid-day and late evening only, plus the weekends are up to me. I just think I could be more efficient/effective with the remainder of my time to get more things done. It's in my hands to change that though, if I feel like I'm getting too little done. Perhaps I misunderstood @Amphibian220 too. To add a little bit of my experience, I've never really used the "day counter" to measure progress, except the first 90 days. Then again, on my 90th day, I was in Iceland for the first (and so far last) time, working a full-time job. I really had no time to think about anything. I think it's OK to have a routine that helps you stay grounded. It's just that I don't think consciously reminding myself of not gaming every day for the rest of my life would work for me. It might work for you though. I don't need that "negative" motivational push from the horrors of my gaming past, because I've already changed just about everything since then. I have a job I love. I have a girlfriend I love. I have friends and some hobbies. My relationships with family are better. I didn't have any of that when I gamed and I identify with my gaming-self very little today, if at all. Yes, it's a good name for a YouTube video. Seeing 5364 days without games is impressive, especially if somebody is deep in the addiction. It might spark curiosity in the person and get them to click on the video. I quit gaming 2099 days ago. Does that mean Cam is 2,555x (5364/2099) more successful than me? No, it's just a random number that looks impressive. Cam is literally somebody who focuses his business around quitting compulsive gaming. It's his mission to help people who are in the same rabbit hole he was in. BUT the nature of his work requires him to keep on working with the topic of gaming addiction. He's not a "normal" person in this regard. Recovered addicts don't regularly remind themselves to not game/drink/watch porn/whatever. They're "over" it, either forever, or until they relapse. You are however correct in the fact that games are a hazard to be managed for the rest of our lives.

4 Jan - 17 Jan: I had a call with two of my CELTA course colleagues. Played billiard with one friend group and board games with another. Spent time with my girlfriend too. Stretched or worked out almost every day. Flossed the last two days as well. I'm feeling a bit under pressure due to the uptick of new or returning students. I'm +3 this week and all of them seem to want to cram themselves into my afternoon/evening slots. It's a good problem to have, but still stressful and I want to take care handling it. I already have a plan in my head that I want to implement.

Take a look at the areas of your life and decide your goals for each of them for the next year. Put those goals on the page—this is the first step towards realizing them. Plans for 2025: Family: I don't have any specific plans for my family, besides finishing my grandma's kitchen. I also don't have any plans of starting my own, although I've always said I'm ready after finishing the uni. The main thing for the success of that would be to manage time and money correctly. Career: The last year was successful business-wise. I got the confirmation for the new lecturer course running from February to May. The main goal is to get the website finished, so I want to actively cooperate with the other freelancers. I'm not going to set any arbitrary goals, except keeping my lesson work-hours around 20, and to managing the other admin stuff (preparation, mails, trainings) in another 10 hours. That makes the total of 30 hours worked a week. - Friends, community: As I wrote above, I am part of more friend groups and communities. I don't have any big plans in mind regarding this area of my life. I expect to naturally drift towards more libertarian, financially educated and entrepreneurial/self-employed communities. I find the most inspiring people there. Relaxation, hobbies, creativity: I intend on continuing the hobbies I currently do, including writing, working out or going to the shooting range. I also want to remain curious about things and keep on traveling to break out of the cycle to unwind completely sometimes. Maybe I'll get around to blogging again. I think the line between work and relaxation is blurry for me. Physical health, fitness: Again working out (and stretching) and flossing. I think my diet is OK. I might start tracking some indicators of body fitness, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Mental health, self-knowledge: Avoid overwork and burnout. Keep hours on roughly 20 lessons + 10 hours of ancillary work a week. Keep on doing things that feel right. Keep on planning/marking down things in my calendar. Habits that define you: family - keep in touch with my family at least once a month girlfriend - make time to talk every day and keep on working on strengthening our relationship via common activities career - work on my education continually, learning something new every week, even in unstructured ways; sources: CELTA, meeting other English lecturers/teachers, reading on their websites, lecturer course coming up in February, working on the business side of my work friends/community habits - meet with my best friend a few times a month, meet with my friend groups a few times a month too relaxation, hobbies, creativity habits - shooting range, writing, traveling, blogging, reading, being curious fitness habits - stretch every day, work out/run twice a week; floss daily mental health habits - keep my hobbies, work and other activities in balance, try new things every now and then a better tomorrow habits - provide great added value back for the money of my students

I share that "16 hours most/worst" experience, eating and sleeping relatively normally. I'm now actually in the process of writing down habits that I want to establish work on this year. I still seem to do a lot of things randomly and haphazardly, but I'm trying to work on it. I don't think I need too many habits either. Ultimately, there's no time to do everything either and I want to have some fun or do something different at times. I also eventually ditched the "day counter", as there was no need to track progress in this way anymore. I think labeling yourself as a "non-gamer" is helpful for the initial recovery phase (avoiding gaming), but it's not really an identity to have forever. I remember to this day I had the idea that I would present my then-students of English (back in 2019) what change came into my life by quitting games. In the end, I think the lesson got canceled, so I didn't have this presentation. I also remember having lessons with a former alcoholic and sharing our stories in early 2020. I can't imagine running lessons on that today in 2025 though 😄 I even played a TV-computer game with my friends in one room last year in autumn and I've just remembered it for the first time, even though at I was initially reluctant for obvious reasons. If anything, it's good to know how you work and how you can operate. If going strictly down the path you set out for yourself, day in and day out, it's great. I've had a similar experience to @wheatbiscuit 's; I could game all day long, stopping just to eat and sleep, but my sleep schedule has always been remarkably consistent. Good luck exploring new activities and habits to help you not game 🙂 Don't worry, I think you got a bit more coherent from the last time I checked 😄 I get the message about should need/do need, it's a good point to mention.