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Bugg

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Day 7. Day 7 already?! Awesome :) 

So I didn't manage to play any guitar yesterday, which sucks, I wholly underestimated how long it would take to input my schedule into google calendar, but at least it's done now, and it's safe to say I don't know how I've gone this long without having it! I've been keeping a paper diary for years now, if I didn't I wouldn't have been able to function - but I feel like google calendar is going to revolutionize my life! :P You can even set goals on it .. ie: play guitar for one hour each day in the afternoon, and google will find the time in your schedule and pencil it in!

I got in from work this morning and thus begins my week off, the first holiday from anything where I haven't been looking forward all the time I'd have to play games. I got in, tidied up my space, had a shower and I've already practiced my German for the day! I love the Duolingo app, it kinda feels like I'm playing a game, except I'm actually learning something! I weirdly feel similarly with google calendar - I loved games with elements of time management and I'd spend ages planning for the game, but with google calendar I can get the same level of satisfaction, except I'm actually planning my life. Win win. 

I'm gonna prep myself a nice healthy lunch and then sit down to some guitar, followed by some non-fiction reading and then off to an appointment. I've decided daytime reading is for non-fiction whereas my evening reading time can be for the lighter stuff. Got some time to fill before dinnertime so if I get the other things done I'll watch a little bit of Netflix, then this evening I'm going to a yoga class I found on meetups.com. I'm really nervous, but I hope it'll be ok. It's really close to where I live which is really convenient too :) 

One week already... can't quite believe it. I do feel like I've accomplished a lot so far though :) 
I'm set on selling my ps4 now, I just have to actually do it. But I'm still very much undecided about my 3DS.

Goal 1: Drink a pint of water each morning. [so far so good], additionally; maintain good hydration throughout the day.
New Goals: Meditate each morning, practice German daily, practice guitar daily.
 

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@Chaos_Boy Yeah I doubt I'll be able to achieve my daily goals all of the time, but even just having them there is acting as a reminder at least :) I think I'll end up meeting my goals more often than if I didn't have that constant reminder. 

Thank you :) 

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Urg, feeling crappy. I'm supposed to be reading right about now but I can't concentrate, and I'm supposed to be going to yoga after dinner but I'm getting so anxious about it. All I want to do is get lost in a game. :s

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54 minutes ago, Bugg said:

Urg, feeling crappy. I'm supposed to be reading right about now but I can't concentrate, and I'm supposed to be going to yoga after dinner but I'm getting so anxious about it. All I want to do is get lost in a game. :s

If you are stuck in a feeling, get up and move. Like, literally. Any movement will help you use up that energy that anxiety creates and at the same time, movement creates more energy that is not connected to anxiety. Try to dance, simple jump up and down or do anything else.

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1 hour ago, Bugg said:

Urg, feeling crappy. I'm supposed to be reading right about now but I can't concentrate, and I'm supposed to be going to yoga after dinner but I'm getting so anxious about it. All I want to do is get lost in a game. :s

The longer you go the easier it gets. I’ve done 90 days before, doing another now (day 11). 

 

Consider playing board games. Its a ‘safer’ alternative as it works for me. 

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Thanks guys. 

@Regular Robert I tried that, but it didn't really help tbh. I'm not sure it's just anxiety. 

@Octsober Yah I'm hoping so. Congats on having done it yourself, and good luck this time too. I like board games, but I'm not so keen on the social bit, especially not when I get into this kinda weird headspace.

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Update. 

This evening isn't going well. I didn't go to yoga in the end, and I think I've realised why I don't tend to commit to things generally; when I end up not going for whatever reason I feel stupidly bad about it. I feel like I'd have been better off not trying in the first place, and then I wouldn't be feeling so useless. Bah. 
Instead of yoga I ended up watching south park/netflix and eating a whole packet of biscuits, which I of course now regret, and so feel even worse. Each time I go to turn the laptop off I feel lonely, but there is literally no-one I feel like spending time with, so the internet has become a comfort blanket this evening. 

On the plus, at least I haven't played any games. And I did at least manage some guitar and German today. But also, no matter whether it's guitar, German, or working out, I get to around 30 mins and get bored. I dunno if this is just an adhd thing, but it's also a little disheartening. 

I've also noticed something else this last week; overall my focus has improved. I used to walk around in a sort of fog; when I'd finished playing a game I'd log off but it would be like my brain was jet lagged, it would take at least a couple of hours for me to readjust to reality. I've noticed it particularly at work, when I get there I can actually concentrate in our hand over meeting, whereas before everything was a blur. 

I'm also spending more time prepping healthy food and doing dishes and other chores rather than just letting them build up.

Goal 1: Drink a pint of water each morning and maintain good hydration throughout the day. 
Goal 2: Meditate each morning.
Goal 3: Practice German daily.
Goal 4: Practice guitar daily.

New Goals: Update blog once per week.
Stop comfort eating, especially sugar or crisps.

No more than 1 hour of netflix/youtube [except for education] or 1 movie per day.
Work out at least 3x per week.

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On 3/9/2018 at 6:45 PM, Bugg said:

Day 4. AM

Gonna do a workout this morning, feeling positive about the detox. I keep thinking of my Playstation in the box on my wardrobe and wondering why I haven't sold it yet. 
If anyone reading had consoles to sell, at one point did you finally do it? 
Also constantly thinking about what to do with my 3DS and Pokémon games, I know I should just get rid, or get rid of my DS at least and maybe hang on to my GBA and the older games, bah, I dunno. Circular thoughts.


Goal: drink 1 pint of water each morning.

 

I had an Xbox, collectors edition of Halo I think it was. I initially didn't sell it and just had it sitting around like you, but then I realised that it was essentially like having $200 odd (I can't remember how much I got for it) just sitting around. I think I initially didn't want to get rid of it because it was a collector's edition and part because I thought I might play it in the future. But, after thinking about how much it is worth and it was just sitting there and gathering dust (I don't watch netflix or DVDs as other uses for it) I felt annoyed by not selling it. The Minimalists have had a strong influence on me as well, and it was not bringing value to my life, but the $200 could, and in the end I put the money I got from it into Acorns. I've made about 4.5%, rather than the value of the Xbox constantly going down. Better than nothing.

 

As for drinking water - it's a good plan! The Productivity Show mentioned a while ago that when you wake up your brain is really dehydrated from being asleep for so long, and the first thing we do is drink coffee that makes us more dehydrated. I always misinterpreted being dehydrated with caffeine withdrawals. I tried for a long time to put a glass of water next to my bed to drink as soon as I wake up, maybe with a squeeze of lemon, but I never got that reliably in my routine. You've inspired/reminded me to try to get it into my routine again!

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@giblets I love The Minimalists! But yeah, I already plan to trade my ps4 into the same place I sold my games, and with the money I'm gonna buy an ipad [not for gaming!]. I did used to use it a lot for netflix and youtube, but when I have the laptop I don't really need to. Still debating whether to sell my tv or not. And the 3DS mind-battle is ever present. 
I haven't heard of The Productivity Show, I'll have to check it out.

I fill up the cup and sip it while I wait for my porridge to cook. Or if it's a cold day I have a small cup of water and a cup of tea after eating. I'm definitely enjoying that healthy habit. I also like to stew chopped ginger in my teapot and drink that either hot or fridge-cold. Yum. 

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Well I'm up past my desired bedtime, did no reading tonight or today, at all, comfort ate my way through a giant bowl of popcorn alongside a whipped [vegan] cream hot chocolate, feeling thoroughly unproductive. Been sat at the laptop for the last 4 hours or so, just browsing or Netflix. I did at least finally start gathering interior design images to help me decide what colours to paint my furniture, so that's something. Still feeling crappy for not going to yoga. Feeling crappy in general. I doubt I'll sleep well tonight. Here's hoping tomorrow will be better. I know I should use positive language and say ''Tomorrow will be better.'' but I don't have the energy to pretend rn.

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1 hour ago, Bugg said:

Well I'm up past my desired bedtime, did no reading tonight or today, at all, comfort ate my way through a giant bowl of popcorn alongside a whipped [vegan] cream hot chocolate, feeling thoroughly unproductive. Been sat at the laptop for the last 4 hours or so, just browsing or Netflix. I did at least finally start gathering interior design images to help me decide what colours to paint my furniture, so that's something. Still feeling crappy for not going to yoga. Feeling crappy in general. I doubt I'll sleep well tonight. Here's hoping tomorrow will be better. I know I should use positive language and say ''Tomorrow will be better.'' but I don't have the energy to pretend rn.

As you're only about a week in, try and break it down level by level. Consider it like an RPG. You're not going to be fighting high level bosses at level 6. Shoot for 21 days. within that time your brain will have started to reconfigure itself outside the habit you had while playing games. I'd suggest meditation, but you're already doing yoga which is good. 

I mention board games because it's still more or less gaming, but it comes down to a time and place. Try playing single player board / card games like solitaire to give yourself some more breathing room. Right now its about removing habits that have been bad and trying to replace them with something good. Not to say that playing video games is bad, but in the way we go about playing them isn't good. 

Give yourself some room to breathe. I promise you it gets better the longer you don't play.   

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@Octsober

Yeah, I was just thinking I'm probably trying to do too much at once. I'm gonna put the social stuff on the backburner for now as that's pretty much what's triggered my low mood today. I forget I've still achieved something so far, and sticking to the goals i already have is enough for the time being. I'm gonna make an effort to attend the things my existing friends invite me to, but I'm gonna put a little less effort into worrying about meetups and new faces, for now. 

I am trying to meditate more as it happens. I'm good at doing it as part of a schedule it would seem, but not as good at doing it 'in the moment' when required. I kinda do yoga, but probably not enough, it's something else I'm working on :) 

I'm just not sure board games captivate me in the same way if I'm honest, but I do have other interests I should be remembering to do. I guess it's just snapping myself out of that weird place so I can actually get up and do those things. Tonight was a lesson, and I'll learn from it. 

Oh, and thank you for your kind words and advice, as always :)

End of week one.
Goals moving forwards: 

Goal 1: Drink a pint of water each morning and maintain good hydration throughout the day. 
Goal 2: Meditate each morning.
Goal 3: Practice German daily.
Goal 4: Practice guitar daily.

Goal 5: Update blog once per week. 
Goal 6: Stop comfort eating, eat healthy foods.
Goal 7: Limit netflix/youtube time to 1 hour or 1 movie per day [excluding educational content].
Goal 8: Work out at least 3x per week.
 

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@Bugg

Glad I can help! 

Your goal list looks great!

As long you have a plan and stick with it, you'll get there. Cheating* somedays is OK. We're only human.  (*by cheating I mean not doing everything on the list everyday. NOT playing games.)

You're right about how board games work. It does it for me because I make them haha. You're focusing on your guitar and deutsch sprechen so keep at it! :D

 

 

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Day 8. AM. The beginning of my second week. 

Today I awoke feeling happy. The sun is shining and I'm looking forward to my workout today. This is the first time I've woken up at 6.30am without an alarm, a good sign my body clock is getting used to the new routine. I think I'll make the most of the weather today and go sell my ps4 in town, who knows, if the store have the Ipad I want I may pick that up today too - that's kinda exiting. I've had my pint of water this morning and meditated. Off to a good start. 

I've decided not to go to the board game meetup tomorrow, but then I was invited to go see my friend in a performance of Beauty and The Beast, so I'm really looking forward to that instead. I love theater; something I'm always keeping my eyes and ears open for is a local beginners group I can join. 

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It's 3pm and I just got in from town. I sold my ps4. As I was walking to town all I could think was ''I can't believe I'm doing this''.

This morning was difficult, I had to unbox and plug my ps4 back in to remove all my details ready to sell, and setting it back up produced that same excitement you get when plugging in a console for the first time, but this time I didn't game. I did look over my library though and mentally I said goodbye to all those characters, and that was it. It took 2 hours to reformat, and then it was gone. 

As I walked into town I started listening to the Game Quitters podcast (after spending a good portion of the morning on the phone to apple tech support as I'd never set up on Itunes account before now and I couldn't get the bloody thing to work..). @Cam Adair I'm really enjoying it! I'm on episode 2 though and whilst the first episode worked fine the second keeps stopping every minute or so from 14 mins onward, it just stops and my iPod skips to episode 3. Don't know if that's a common problem; I've very little experience with podcasts atm. I'm trying to listen to it on my laptop now that I'm home and that seems to be working better. Also noticed how similar my gaming history is to @JP_Dub My first console was also a Mastersystem (when I was about 7); I loved Alex the kid, and sonic of course. Like Jason I also used to have LAN parties playing Halo with my mates; multiple TV's and consoles in one room with plenty of shouting and excitement, and those memories are also very dear to me. After that part of my life I also moved into solo RPG's which is where I was spending most of my time before starting this detox around a week ago. Skyrim was my cryptonite. It's refreshing to hear another gaming story with less focus on the social aspects, I found that very relatable and also weirdly comforting. 

In the shop selling my Playstation; I felt embarrassed. Not embarrassed to have developed an addiction, but embarrassed to be selling my console, embarrassed to be leaving the gaming community. Lol, it's silly I know. Anyway, I've made more than enough to buy the Ipad I've been wanting, so I'm gonna order that after this post. 

Whilst I waited for my console to be tested I made the most of the wonderfully sunny day we're having here on the south coast UK and I sat on the beach listening to the podcast with a decaf soy vanilla latte (Possibly the most pretentious coffee one can order, but needs must, haha!). Then on my way to collect my 'earnings' I stopped to get a homeless man some lunch. I share that not to seem like some super good person or anything, but I believe that when we talk about our good deeds, it can inspire others to do the same. His day is hopefully a little brighter thanks to a loaf of fancy bread, a bunch of bananas and some orange juice. (All things that hopefully bypass any allergies or poor/painful dental health, but contain lots of nutrients). 

Oh, I bought myself a mango too, possibly the highlight of my day :D
I also did a workout this morning, an hour long workout - which is really good by my standards - so naturally I feel great!

Still have my German and Guitar targets to meet for the day, but for now I am taking a well deserved mango and Netflix break, once I finish episode 2 of the podcast that is :D

Update: Eating the mango was the  highlight of my day :P

 

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omg congratulations on getting rid of the ps4 :D and that's so nice i'm sure he appreciated that :)

I sold the tv in my room long ago but my ps4 is still sitting in its box.. i havent used it since then but I really do need to list it up for sale on amazon or something during break.

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Something else at the end of podcast ep2 really resonated with me, when @JP_Dub mentions how he used to worry about not having time to game when he eventually has a family. I've had similar thoughts in the past, and more recently I'd been thinking of how much I wanted to rescue a dog but then how much time that would take from gaming. But in reality, rescuing an animal is waaay more rewarding. I vividly remember years ago I told myself ''I pity your future self if you ever stop playing games, I hope you never become boring''.. whereas now I really can see how closed-minded I was ... what's boring is sitting in front of a screen all day, what's exciting is getting out there and living life. 

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Hi there :)

I just finished reading your journal and it looks to me you’re doing great! I was impressed by the part in which you wrote that you looked at your Sims’ abilities leveling up instead of improving your own skills, THE SAME SKILLS that your Sim was learning. That helped me figure out something important. I knew that games give us a sense of accomplishment, but I didn’t understand how they are actually trying to emulate life. I thought about the hours I spent leveling Cooking, Fishing, Tailoring etc in WoW and felt so stupid.

Also, reading the description of your dream was very enjoyable. It looked like a page from a good novel.

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Thanks! I'm so glad my observations helped you, it does seem pretty silly when you think about it, haha. I guess we just get so caught up in the virtual world we forget about our own. Or rather, we used to :P

I've actually thought about writing short stories of some of my dreams, maybe I will one day. 

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Day 9

Up early, healthy breakfast, meditated, went for a jog and practiced some German, and it's not even 9am. Onto a roll. 

I plan to shower, work on some Respawn, write a blog post, play guitar, do chores like; laundry; cleaning out my hamsters cage; packing for the weekend etc. Then spend some time reading (I struggle to commit to this before 9pm for some reason), before going see my friends in a performance of Beauty and the Beast. Bed early tonight as I'm up early to travel up the country, to spend the weekend with my mum for her 50th birthday. I can't wait to see her!
Usually my DS always comes on trips with me, but instead I'll be taking podcasts :) I may download a few Netflix episodes to watch on the coach too tho. But even though I'm travelling for most of he day I can still practice my German and meditate. Guitar will have to wait until I return home. 

Busy day ahead.

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Random note: I completely forgot, when I was in the store selling my ps4 'I miss you' by Blink 182 was playing. Twas a surreal moment. I don't think I'll listen to that song the same again :P But then all was well again when it was followed by 'Cemetery Gates' by Pantera.

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Day 10

Quick update. I'm on a coach today for 12 hours so just gonna sit back to some podcasts, music, movies, meditation and chillin. I'll do some German tho xD Dunno how much I'll post this weekend since I'm visiting family and my phone doesnt like the forum too much. 

Yesterdays gratidute: 

1.Good health 2. Little pip 3. Access to clean water 4. Good, healthy food 5. The internet 6. Music/guitar 7. My family 8. Patience 9. Empathy 10. Nature

(Pip is my hamster ^.^)

Todays gratitude;

1. The dawn chorus 2. Busses on time 3. Perfectly timed mornings 4. Open minds 5. Coach travel 6. Sage tea 7. A loving family 8. Clear skies 9. Fresh air 10. Patience

 

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On 3/14/2018 at 2:30 AM, Bugg said:

As I walked into town I started listening to the Game Quitters podcast (after spending a good portion of the morning on the phone to apple tech support as I'd never set up on Itunes account before now and I couldn't get the bloody thing to work..). @Cam Adair I'm really enjoying it! I'm on episode 2 though and whilst the first episode worked fine the second keeps stopping every minute or so from 14 mins onward, it just stops and my iPod skips to episode 3. Don't know if that's a common problem; I've very little experience with podcasts atm.@JP_Dub

Whilst I waited for my console to be tested I made the most of the wonderfully sunny day we're having here on the south coast UK and I sat on the beach listening to the podcast with a decaf soy vanilla latte (Possibly the most pretentious coffee one can order, but needs must, haha!).

 

 

The GameQuitters podcast is great, I think I have listened to all of the episodes about 3 times. I do thoroughly recommend episode 14, where two very attractive intelligent individuals have a chat about some useful tips that I still use almost a year on. Did I mention they are attractive and intelligent? :10_wink: I am sure @Cam Adair would agree!

As for the skipping/stopping - that must be unique to your device/app. I haven't had any concerns with the GQ podcasts, and I listen to them at fast speed without any dramas. Have you tried a different app or different set of headphones (if you are using bluetooth)? I have experienced static with some podcasts on fast speed, I can only assume the stop/starting might because you're streaming it and your connection is dropping out. Try downloading the episode first and then listening to it from local storage.

I like that you're getting into podcasts instead of gaming. I'm huge into podcasts now and can give you recommendations on personal development and current affairs. It's my main source of the news and I listen to podcasts rather than watch tv or other time wasting activity. Great to run to as well, though be careful which ones you listen to because it can make you emotional which makes running difficult!

 

And the most pretentious coffee one can order is a soy tumeric latte with a twist of lemon in a ceramic cup that can be reused washed only with mineral water :6_smile: I'd really like to try one to see what all the craze is about but I can't bring myself to order it! Haha

Edited by giblets
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