Jump to content

NEW VIDEO: The EASIEST Way to Stop Gaming

Writing Future


WritingFuture

Recommended Posts

The last time I played a video game was two days ago, on Wednesday, so this is my second gaming-free day. But that's not the only thing I want to be free of. I have had many attempts at quitting gaming, and something that was common among all of these was an increased urge to spend time on the internet. This time, I am heavily focusing on also abstaining from internet entertainment.

This is beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, of course, the internet offers some of the same things that gaming offers, most importantly the temporary escape and (para)social community, and if I was only quitting gaming, I would not be solving these problems. Secondly, I have noticed that there is a feedback-loop between internet content and gaming, because there is so much gaming content on the internet. If I didn't quit extensive internet use as well, I would constantly be bombarded with gaming content, telling me about new expansions, exciting patches and early-access releases. In the past, this has often led me back to gaming. Thirdly, internet entertainment keeps me from pursuing the hobbies I actually want to do, which, as Cam says, are key to quitting gaming as they offer challenge and measurable growth.

And, well, it has been zero days since consuming internet entertainment. This is somewhat expected. Internet content is much harder to block and exterminate from the computer than video games. Still, I am unhappy with hours I spent on Youtube and Reddit today, and I noticed that I had difficulty reading afterwards. I also experienced some cravings after watching gaming content.

Besides that, though, I spent some lovely hours with my girlfriend, and went on a nice walk. But I didn't get as much work done as I wanted to, mostly because of the distractions described above.

 

The plan for this diary is to continue a bit like this. Some thoughts and reflections, and a brief overview of how I spent my day. I am also keeping a paper diary, which I expect to be more important to me in the future, which is why I will keep these posts relatively short.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love that you recognized the addiction to technology and the internet especially, I had a friend who called the internet (and screens in general) "a black hole", which has stuck with me throughout the years. I am also actively monitoring my screen time and looking at ways to structure my calendar and environment to reduce it as much as possible. Something I have been exploring is the concept of a digital sunset - where I don't use any screens after a certain time (currently set to 8 pm). 

I look forward to hearing about the hobbies you want to pursue. Going for walks with my wife is a favourite activity of ours, and something we haven't done in a few days, so thanks for the reminder!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today I tried to follow a plan for the day I wrote the night before. The morning was great, and I got all of the things done that I wanted to do. But the more the day progressed, the more it deviated from the plan I had set out, and I again got less work done than intended and instead procrastinated on the internet in the dumbest ways possible (the standart way to procrastinate I have all blocked, but there's always something on the internet that can grab your attention).

I don't exactly know how to get out of this, but I know that planning my day has worked in the past and did at least somewhat work today as well. So I will continue to do so and try to adhere to the plan for a longer time every day. Eventually, I will be following it pretty closely if I stick to that.

On the positive side, I have already noticed that I was better at concentrating and reading today than just yesterday. Let's try to keep that a trend, too!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I couldn't post yesterday because I went to a film and stayed there until late. While I still distracted myself on the internet for some parts of the day, I had a good time at the cinema and did some work at least.

Today was very focused and very productive, and I was able to almost completely adhere to the plan for the day I made the night before. That is not surprising, however: I spent most of my day today at the university, attending seminars and working in the library, forced to do so by my schedule. I find that these days when it is obligatory for me to leave my apartment and have no option but to study in the library are the easiest. Away from home, and feeling the judging stares of my fellow students if I opened a distracting website, I have no difficulty staying productive for extended amounts of time. I will try to keep the importance of setting in mind and focus on it more on my journey. This not only goes for work, but also entertainment. Re-contextualizing entertainment as something done outside of the home, like I did by going to the cinemas, could be a useful way to curb my constant urges to be entertained at home, and I will give it a shot.

However, I also want to be able to be reasonably productive even from home. This might be a stupid idea, and if it really doesn't work, I won't try and pursue it further. But I have several reasons to work from home on some days, and so I hope I will be able to manage. Given that I have usually not been able to work productively from home, and that I would be working in the same setting that has triggered doomscrolling and relapses in the past, some change is necessary. I am going to set up some habits and routines to re-frame the time I spend in front of my home computer as work, such as setting up a pomorodo timer.

Wish me luck success!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...