5/90

THIS BOOK IS AWESOME

Uninstalled GamePigeon from my phone. (Someone sent me one)

Phone is slowly becoming less and less of a pull :)

I've listened to his book "Deep Work" in 2021 apparently and "Slow productivity" in 2024.
Don't remember what it was about since I often prooflisten when it's an audiobook. But books are great nonetheless indeed :)

7/90

Feeling calmer.

Got "Cold Turkey" and decided to put a limit on social media. I decided to have it blocked until the evenings, every day.

Added an all-day block for gaming websites and other sites that have 0 benefit.

I'm pretty confident now that I will last for 90 days without gaming.

On 6/19/2026 at 9:42 PM, RealityOptimizer said:

Got "Cold Turkey" and decided to put a limit on social media.

Yeah I did the same this January, dropped social media first then gaming a week later. Though I have to admit the social media part wasn't planned, it just happened. But gaming was a conscious decision, and once I did it I realised staying dumbscrolling free made sense too.

On cold turkey: some people say you shouldn't. I say there's no other way. Cold turkey is the only method that works, the key is just to keep trying even when you fail. Relapses don't mean it's over. Speaking from 5 years of trying to quit gaming myself. Take care.

10/90

Passed another college CLEP exam!!

@reader Cold Turkey is the name of a software I installed. Sorry for the confusion :)

Limiting social media was one of the best decisions. I deactivated my Instagram. Deleted Facebook. Unfriended everyone on Discord (that was the hardest)

11 hours ago, RealityOptimizer said:

10/90

Passed another college CLEP exam!!

@reader Cold Turkey is the name of a software I installed. Sorry for the confusion :)

Limiting social media was one of the best decisions. I deactivated my Instagram. Deleted Facebook. Unfriended everyone on Discord (that was the hardest)

haha all good. guess the name is still not random
Gratz on the exam! Good day

15/90 no gaming

Tomorrow will start a new habit: Be out of the house for 4 hours each day. Could be outside, library, gym, etc.

16/90

4 hours out of house habit: Didn't reach 4 hours today, but got close! Tomorrow for sure I will hit this.

-- VENTING --

I recently turned 21 years old. I cannot remain in this habit of being a homebody. If I don't act quick, soon enough 10 years will pass and I will remain there, scared of the world.

My deep work gets done best at the library. Life cannot be lived stuck at a desk in a bedroom.

Got really emotional today, because I realized how much I've missed out on life simply by being comfortable. Gaming, staying inside, even reading sometimes -- is not what I want.

I want to become a powerhouse. I want to attack this college work stuff with full force. I want to give it my all. I don't want to just float around.

I want financial stability -- specifically independence. Even if my parents can afford to pay for some of my life, I want to hold my own pocket power. Even if it's fine at my age, I hate the feeling of constant dependence AND not trying to resolve it.

What I need to remember is to reflect constantly. Think things through. Ignore advice. Read less. Google less. Consult AI less. Nobody can understand my exact life's nuances as much as me.

20/90

Still going strong :)

On 6/29/2026 at 4:30 AM, RealityOptimizer said:

What I need to remember is to reflect constantly. Think things through. Ignore advice. Read less. Google less. Consult AI less. Nobody can understand my exact life's nuances as much as me

And also not superstitious at all, but I learnt after many years of listening of other ppl advice ( not often but it happened and then I did regret) that follow your instinct as much as possible . Even if you cannot logically explain some decision but your instinct tells you to do something - just do it . I live happy life just bc I believed in myself and followed my inner self , my instinct . Also don't listen AI , it will agree on anything . Use AI to build up on your ideas, but don't do the opposite

And sorry for throwing advice , it's not I want to put myself as expert as seeing you are young, but I don't know maybe use it. If you don't agree feel free to disregard . Cheers

On 6/29/2026 at 4:30 AM, RealityOptimizer said:

16/90

4 hours out of house habit: Didn't reach 4 hours today, but got close! Tomorrow for sure I will hit this.

-- VENTING --

I recently turned 21 years old. I cannot remain in this habit of being a homebody. If I don't act quick, soon enough 10 years will pass and I will remain there, scared of the world.

My deep work gets done best at the library. Life cannot be lived stuck at a desk in a bedroom.

Got really emotional today, because I realized how much I've missed out on life simply by being comfortable. Gaming, staying inside, even reading sometimes -- is not what I want.

I want to become a powerhouse. I want to attack this college work stuff with full force. I want to give it my all. I don't want to just float around.

I want financial stability -- specifically independence. Even if my parents can afford to pay for some of my life, I want to hold my own pocket power. Even if it's fine at my age, I hate the feeling of constant dependence AND not trying to resolve it.

What I need to remember is to reflect constantly. Think things through. Ignore advice. Read less. Google less. Consult AI less. Nobody can understand my exact life's nuances as much as me.

I quit games when I was 21. It was a good decision, looking back on it :)

Anyway, there's no point in regretting the past. Hindsight is 20/20. The important thing is that you've learnt 1) what needs gaming helped you with and 2) how to fulfill these needs elsewhere. It might take some time to manage that, but it gets better over time.

It seems to me you have a good attitude to deal with this. Good luck!

On 7/4/2026 at 10:41 PM, reader said:

And sorry for throwing advice , it's not I want to put myself as expert as seeing you are young, but I don't know maybe use it. If you don't agree feel free to disregard . Cheers

Thanks for giving your opinion and being humble enough to say it is just your opinion. Saying sorry however is probably a little bit of overdoing already :))

On 7/4/2026 at 10:39 PM, reader said:

And also not superstitious at all, but I learnt after many years of listening of other ppl advice ( not often but it happened and then I did regret) that follow your instinct as much as possible

One more thing is to write out for one to five minutes a day "Shall I _________?"
Pro
-Bullet
-Bullet
Con
-Bullet
-Bullet
This helps process decisions somewhat.

On top of just journaling here or even in text documents around the computer or in a notebook.

26/90 - Still going strong. I almost forgot about this challenge; it's getting a lot easier now.

@reader Don't feel sorry! You gave the advice of "don't take advice" -- a very sensible and thoughtful approach, I would argue

@Ikar You are absolutely right. It was a vent for sure -- but it's likely best to keep moving without forcing explanations. Congrats on quitting them at 21!

@Yan Great suggestion

Taking a break from the forum, for now. Still going strong, and I still plan on completing a full 90 days.

I think the best part of this challenge for me is that it's given myself more time to actually think. It's not avoiding games that's great; it's opening up space in my brain to allow new thoughts and creative insights that I love. We can only hold so much at a time.

On 7/13/2026 at 11:00 PM, RealityOptimizer said:

Taking a break from the forum, for now. Still going strong, and I still plan on completing a full 90 days.

Keep it up my man. See you some day maybe. Cheers to your progress. Keep some sort of reflecting routine will ya'?

I think the journaling here helps keep one accountable, and has worked for me for quite a while, so for me the saying "don't fix what is already working" goes.

But if you found a better or equally worth replacement I'm all for it.

Just keep sure that those are not "laziness excuses" that keep you away, because these 5 minutes daily or so may indeed make the difference.