Nate B

Hey guys, So I just filled out my last survey for the 90 day detox, and I am so happy that I did it. Before the detox, I spent a lot of time on gaming, so much so that it really cut into my studies and my social life, stunting my growth as a person. When I decided I needed to quit, I looked online for help and found Cam's TED talk, and then this community. I've come a long way from my daily gaming habits between LoL, Hearthstone, and Steam games, but I believe it has been for the best. I do not regret doing the detox one bit, and I have learned a lot about myself now that I haven't spent so much time on games and the like. I really appreciate all this community and especially Cam has done for me over the past few months, and I'm glad that I found you guys. I'll try to return here every now and again, but my main detox is done and I have really begun to see the value of my time outside of gaming. I hope that anyone working on their detox can be encouraged by my story, and knows that this community can help them work through their issues. Thanks a million Game Quitters!

6/11/16 Day Ninety. As of today, I have successfully completed my 90 day gaming detox! It's been a journey, but I am thankful for the way my lifestyle has changed by staying away from games for so long. I'm hoping that I can stay away from the games from now on, and I'm planning on selling my PC at the end of the summer when I return home. I think that camp is going to teach me a lot between now and then, and I've already grown to appreciate the time I haven't spent gaming. I'm giving a big shout out to the game quitters community, I couldn't have done it without you guys! I hope that you guys stay strong in living your own, gaming-free lives!

5/25/16 Day Seventy-Five. It's been a while since I posted. I got to camp a few days ago, so life has been really crazy, and I haven't been able to post 'til now. From now on, I'm just going to post on weekends when we have off, so communication is really going to slow down, but I'll try to have somewhat longer updates to compensate. Otherwise, staying away from games shouldn't be a big issue while I'm at Camp. I'll try to keep you guys posted!

5/17/16 - Day Sixty-Seven. Today went alright, with a fairly simple day at home. I got to relax a bit between spending some time online, talking a bit with my parents, and reading through a book, among other things. Today was difficult with staying away from gaming stuff on youtube while I was watching other channels, but that's what happens when my "recommended" channels were predominantly video games for a long time. Otherwise, things have been going pretty normally.

5/16/16 - Day Sixty-Six. It has been a while since I've posted, as moving back home and getting settled for a bit has been a mix of craziness and a bit of laziness haha. I haven't been posting as regularly as I should, and my room is still a mess from all my college stuff (plus, it wasn't as clean as I would have liked it to have been anyway), so I've still got some stuff to take care of. Lately, dealing with the gaming stuff has been fairly hard, but its easier because I've made sure nothing is readily available. The next big decision I have is whether or not I should sell my desktop. It is basically an upgraded office pc that I mainly used for web browsing and gaming. I do have a smaller laptop that I bought specifically for school, and so I have gotten used to working with it, and it can't run anything that's "heavy duty," whether that's games, movies, etc. I'm going to worry about that a little more late this summer, however, as I don't have the time to sell it before I head off to my summer job. At any rate, going without gaming should be smooth sailing once I make it to camp for the summer!

5/8/16 - Day Fifty-Eight. Today was a good day, celebrating Mother's day with the family, and enjoying my first full day home from school. The next few weeks are going to be kinda tough in terms of staying away from games, but it should be smooth sailing once I head to camp on the 23rd. Tonight, I've been reflecting on the past year of school and what was done well and what needs improving. From the look of things, my main goals that I mentioned early on in the detox are staying somewhat consistent, but the sub-goals will certainly change up. I am still looking to improve my academic performance and my overall physical fitness as two key points for next year, while music, reading, and other things take a backseat until I have my main priorities down. I'll probably write more on this in the next few days as I map out sub-goals, but I do need to remember that there are still three months between now and then. P.S. To Jeremias and Piotr, I did feel much better about exam week this semester as compared to other semesters, where I was usually not prepared. And it is tough to step back from games, but it is a life skill of self-discipline, and I have been feeling good about the progress I've been making. Thanks for contributing to the thread, guys!

5/5/16 - Day Fifty-Five. Today was a little crazy, with the last finals of my semester being finished. Final grades aren't in yet, so we'll see how a did a little later. Other than that, things have been going alright. I'm going to be spending most of tomorrow getting ready for the transition from school back to home, and then will spend Saturday watching graduation with some friends, and then heading home. I'm looking forward to working at camp this summer, but I'll be glad to have a little relaxation time between now and then. P.S. Thanks guys! Just to post some responses, I have mentioned the detox to him before, but I don't think he realizes just how long 90 days is haha. And thanks for all the congratulations, it feels good to be improving!

5/2/16 - Day Fifty-One. Today went fairly well. It was one of the last days for classes on campus as we've hit finals week at my school. Tonight I was able to successfully make it to the next belt level in my martial arts training, which was pretty exciting, and I'm really enjoying how that has been going. I also had a close call with gaming today, as I had a friend invite me over to play Smash Bros, which I almost took him up on. He kept talking it up and getting me excited and reminiscing. It was hard to stay away, and I almost stopped in to watch a bit before I realized how easy it would be for me to jump in. I decided to stay away from it altogether, and it was tough to make that choice, but I was more committed to not ruining my detox, which I am already so far along on.

5/1/16 - Day Fifty. It's been way too long since I've posted, so sorry about that guys. Life has been crazy crazy lately, between getting things ready for the summer and next semester. I've been busy with finishing up this semester with a lot of final projects and studying for final exams, but otherwise, life has been going alright. As for my original goals, I haven't gotten to do as much personal stuff as I would like. I haven't done many proper workouts, but I've been trying to compensate for it with bodyweight workouts and martial arts practice. My personal reading and writing goals also haven't been as productive as I'd like, but school has kept me sharp on that front. I'm also getting better at reading sheet music, but I'm back and forth on how much time I should spend learning piano. Regardless of all that, my detox has been going fairly well, and while I've stayed away from games and the gaming culture for the most part, its still tough on occasion when some of my friends try and strike up gaming conversation with me. Still, things have been going well, but I have been thinking of whether its best to stay away from games entirely after the detox, or try to keep them to moderation. Personally, I feel like it would be for the best to stay away from games, but I know it won't be easy. P.S. Glad to hear from fellow members of the community! Thanks for speaking up MGWN, and howdy to you, SundayMiharu!

4/22/16 - Day Forty-One. Today went alright with classes and the like. This weekend is going to be very busy with schoolwork, so I'll be happy when that is all said and done. Otherwise, life has been pretty normal, and gaming stuff hasn't been a big problem lately, which I'm thankful for.

4/21/16 - Day Forty. Today went well. There was a work day on campus, so people did outdoor work projects instead of classes, which was a nice change of pace. It was a tiring day, but a good one. The end of the semester is coming quick, but there is still plenty of work to be done. P.S. I think the one I'm going to try right away is "Put first things first," which I feel is fitting. Priorities have always been a bit of a rough spot for me, and I'm getting better, but the principles pointed out to support that section are going to help out quite a bit.

4/19/16 - Day Thirty-Eight. Today and yesterday went pretty well, with today being a very focused day in terms of work. With the end of the semester coming up, I have a lot of final projects or papers to finish, as well as a few exams to study for, so life has been busy. P.S. I'm enjoying it so far, the principles are simple, but tested and make a lot of sense. The biggest thing to remember is to implement these habits, and not just read over them.

4/17/16 - Day Thirty-Six. Yesterday went pretty well, and today went alright. Today, I slept in and enjoyed some time in the sun this afternoon. This evening was mainly spent trying to get some homework done for the week, but overall was a fairly normal day. P.S. I'm reading "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" right now, trying to use a daily reading goal of 25 pages, which has been working out so far.

4/15/16 - Day Thirty-Four. Been a while since I posted, but this week has been good overall. Still getting some stuff sorted for scheduling and work next year, but otherwise life has been fairly normal. Today went really well, with starting a new reading habit, getting out for a bit with some friends, and getting a good amount of work done for the end of the semester. (It's coming up soon!) Overall, this last month or so has felt pretty good. I'm looking forward to the summer!

4/11/16 - Day Thirty. One month through! This weekend went pretty well, with a bit of traveling going on. As for today, I was fairly productive with my schoolwork, and classes weren't too demanding. I've also spent more of today looking into fitness stuff, especially as it might look this summer, as having a camp job means working out should get interesting. I'm hoping to get more of that sorted as I get closer, but for now I'm mainly going to be focused on academics. There are only three formal weeks of classes and then finals week. It feels strange to be so close to the end of the semester, but I'm about ready to be done for a bit. P.S. Hey W.I.P.! As for goals, right now I'm really focused on improving my fitness and my diet, as well as doing some personal reading, which often falls behind due to required reading for classes. To relax, I've mainly been turning to books (the personal reading I just mentioned), podcasts, and some comedy stuff on youtube (I cleaned out my gaming subs when I started the detox). The latter two are usually reserved for night, when my campus cafe is closed, otherwise I'm typically there when I want to relax.

4/8/16 - Day Twenty-Seven. Posting on here slipped my mind a bit the past few nights, but I'm still here! Today went alright, with classes going well, and more investigation into how things are looking for next semester. From the look of things, the core curriculum is being reworked a bit at our school, and so scheduling stuff is being worked through. Overall, the past few days have been a little difficult regarding gaming stuff. Last night, the guy next door was playing gta, and it was kinda tough to just watch for a bit and not jump in. Tonight, I almost pulled myself into watching some gaming stuff tonight when watching some movie reviews. It's been tough, but I do want to stay strong to my commitments.

4/5/16 - Day Twenty-Four. Today was fairly productive, with classes going well, my first 5x5 workout done, and the evening being spent on homework and the like. As for the 5x5 workouts, I have finally settled into a good schedule, and now I just need to stick to it. It also means that I'm trying to clean up my diet a bit, which should be interesting. I enjoyed getting back into my old routine, and I have felt pretty good today because of it. I'm looking forward to my next workout!

4/4/16 - Day Twenty-Three. Today went well, with most of my focus going towards classes and classwork. I also did my scheduling for next semester, which looks like it should be busy, but I like most of the stuff I'll be taking. There is also the potential that I will be moving to a different dorm next year for a change of pace but that's still in the works. Overall, it was kind of a long day, but it was good.

4/3/16 - Day Twenty-Two. Today was tiring, but good. I was gone for most of the day on a trip, and then I had a good amount of work to get through tonight. The rest of the week looks like it's going to be fairly busy with final projects and the like, so I'm going to have to stay pretty focused this week. P.S. Thanks for the vid Cam! It is good to acknowledge my history with gaming, even with moving on from it.

4/2/16 - Day Twenty-One. Today was alright, and yesterday was pretty good. Classes were normal yesterday, and last night involved a campus talent show, which was a lot of fun to go to, followed by a movie night with some friends, which is why I missed yesterday's post. Things are looking pretty good for the last stretch of the semester, with about a month left for classes. Right now I'm working through a lot of possibilities for next year, so there are plenty of meetings and decisions to make in the next week or so. So far I've been a little nostalgic for gaming, but overall I think it's better for me to really move on from them, just so that I don't get wrapped up in them again once my detox is over. I'm working through the idea of selling all of my systems this summer, but I'll talk more on that later.

3/31/16 - Day Nineteen. Today went really well, with several good steps toward sorting out what next year is going to look like, and accepting a position this summer as a camp counselor! I also made up for my missed workout from yesterday by doing a session of rock climbing with some friends, and I realized just how much I need to jump back into working out, because man, it was rough. Fun, but rough. Overall, a really great day and one of the first pretty nice days of Spring so far (wore shorts for the first time since winter!)

3/30/16 - Day Eighteen. Today was a good day, with schoolwork being productive and scheduling some meetings for how my campus life is going to look next year. I also missed my workout today because I wanted to get some late work done, and it was a tough decision, but I felt like the work was more pressing. I can hopefully still work out through April, but I do think that the four or five weeks left will be promising for still having time to get back into it for a little bit. P.S. Thanks Cam, it's nice to know you guys are supporting me through all of this. It's still tough to remember to not be too much of a perfectionist right off the bat, but I am enjoying the stuff I'm working towards, and that's what matters.

3/29/16 - Day Seventeen. Missed my first post yesterday, as I forgot to post anything after I got back in and settled at school, but yesterday was fairly uneventful anyway. Today went well, with a really productive day in terms of schoolwork, and looking more into how the summer and the next year of school after that is going to look. As for my writing goal, I haven't been able to write as much as I would have like because my studies have taken up so much time, and so I'm going to postpone the writing stuff until I can re-evaluate it this summer. I should be starting my first day back into the workouts tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that. Still staying strong with my commitment to stay away from games, so things have been going well on that front.

3/27/16 - Day Fifteen. Today went well, it was a good Easter Sunday with the family, and I'm about ready to jump into the final stretch of school. As for my goals, I've read one book this weekend, and plan on reading another tomorrow, and still need to work on my reading stuff. I have also been learning a lot of introductory stuff on piano, and so I might invest into a keyboard to have at home this summer, but I'll make a decision on that as I get closer. The last month or so seems like it's going to be pretty busy with final projects and the like, and so I'm not setting any goals that are too lofty between now and then, I just need to remember to stick to the stuff that I've started so far. P.S. Thanks for the podcast recommendations, Cam! I'll check into those!

3/26/16 - Day Fourteen. Two weeks! So far, the detox has gone well and I'm more confident for it, and while I do miss some stuff about gaming, I've been really enjoying some of my new habits and interests. I know I'm going to have to be careful during summer so that I can avoid boredom, but that's still over a month away, so I have plenty of time to prepare. Thanks for all the support so far and for helping to motivate me! P.S. I used to listen to This American Life a lot, and so I've recently jumped back into that, and I used to listen to the Rooster Teeth podcast, but I think I'll stay away from that due to gaming content. I'm still shopping around for some new ones to listen to on Sticher, any personal recommendations?