Ditching the PC

[dwalk77]

I know this may sound a little extreme, but I'm considering ditching my personal computer because I'm so damned attached to the thing. 
Does anyone else have experience with this or have any thoughts on it?

It's sort of tricky b/c I use it for things other than entertainment too, but I've been thinking about it and....I don't use it for work, I'm not in school, and I'd say at least 90% of my time on it is used for entertainment.  I'm thinking for those "computer things" I could either use my phone or go to a library.  

I know that getting rid of my computer isn't going to solve my problems, but I also feel like it's a step in the right direction, and it could make change easier.  I fully expect it to be a pain in the butt and inconvenient, especially at first, but if it helps me to change to a better person I think it'd be worth it.

[QWymer]

Hey dude! I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but I've had an experience with selling off my gaming PC because I felt like it gave off too much temptation. I completely understand what you mean by the tricky part, because I always justified keeping the PC for "video editing", even though I only spent about 2% of my time video editing and the other 98% of the time doing unproductive things like YouTube or gaming. So last summer, I sold off my gaming PC and I can honestly say that it's quite liberating not to have that much power at your disposal.

I agree with you when you mention that getting rid of your computer isn't going to solve your problems, but if you believe that the computer's negative impacts outweigh it's positive impacts, you should definitely let it go. However, if you want another option, I would highly recommend the software "Cold Turkey". They claim to be the "Toughest Website (and application) Blocker" so you could basically filter out all the entertainment to turn your PC into a productivity machine. 

 

[ceponatia]

It could be a good move because it's really easy in the age of cloud storage to just reinstall your games. I've quit gaming a few times in the past and was able to cave and get a game installed in under an hour. If you still need a computer for school stuff, you could sell your PC and get a low price laptop that can't run games very well. It's tempting for me but I'm an IT major so I kinda need to have a PC. lol

[creationlist]

I sold all my computer stuff when starting my evening schools. I even did not own a mobile phone back in the mid-late 2000s.

It was an awesome experience.

At first it was really uggly, since I did not knew what to do with myselve at the beginning, (ok I had an 18 hour day or so, so not much more to do in your free time anyway) but after a while I got the enjoyment of little things. Like going for a walk and even having conversations with people. It felt so different. I started doing sports and got to know a bunch of cool people.

I would always anytime recommend this 10/10 to everyone.

Life is too short to not to try everything.

I did it becouse I completely had enough of computers and media. I wanted to try something different.
The world will open up so much, when you learn what megatons of jobs there are who can earn you good money that do not involve computers.
That said, check the direction your willing to go and decide how much time you have at your disposal to dump everything.
Heck you even get to know real computer artists without typing one single word into a computer.
Every major supermarked has black boards for example, or allows to clip notes somewhere.
I once got to know cool people within a coffee shop. Just by visiting each day. People recognized me after a while.

No, you really do not need a PC on your own, if you work in the IT. If you have standby times and such your company usually buys you one. If thats not the case, you sell yourselve wrongly.

Using your corporate computer for private stuff is a major security risk btw. Videogames are the most insecure programms anyway.

Edited January 15, 2020 by creationlist

[Netzwerker]

On 1/13/2020 at 10:24 PM, dwalk77 said:

'm considering ditching my personal computer because I'm so damned attached to the thing

ditching your pc is a good thing but focusing on your priorities is much more important , as a kid i used to be the best children in the class despite my gaming addict because studying was my priority . I recommend removing the Power cable of your pc and sending them to your none gamer friend . after your recovery u can tell him to send them back but be careful ! it would be very frustrating the first couple days especially if u do not have any good replacements that makes you happy like doing sport , reading books etc .

[dwalk77]

Thanks for the input guys.  Still debating on what I'm going to do, but there's some good ideas in here.

[creationlist]

Every minute you debate, your not taking action.

Debating is an excuse to waste time.

Or the Yoda way: Do it or do it not, don't try. That is why you fail.

Edited January 18, 2020 by creationlist

[Amphibian220]

Yoda way? Who was yoda?

I got so angry at my gaming addiction, I picked up the big monitor (they were not flat screens like you guys have now, they were proper big boxes back in early 2000), carried it to a local yard and then looked for a stone. Next that stone blew out the screen of the monitor.

[dwalk77]

On 1/18/2020 at 8:07 AM, creationlist said:

Every minute you debate, your not taking action.

Debating is an excuse to waste time.

Or the Yoda way: Do it or do it not, don't try. That is why you fail.

I understand your point, but I felt better taking a few days to think it over, especially what life would be like without a computer and what challenges I might take on.  I'd argue that weighing pros and cons is not a waste of time.  

I'm glad to say I followed through with it.  I had a session with my counselor that same night, and that definitely helped nudge me in that direction.  So I don't have a TV and the computer is gone.   Let the experiment begin.  I've already seen some improvements in my habits, but I've also switched a lot of those old habits to my phone.  

[creationlist]

Awesome, I am excited to hear about your experiences in some weeks.

Glad your still here with us throught the phone.

I still dont own a tv thou. Biggest waste of time when you do have access to the internet.

Edited January 31, 2020 by creationlist

[Silent3d]

I'm thinking of doing the same.

However, you could try locking away your keyboard & mouse so you cannot operate the computer. That would be a less drastic way.
Once you finished detox, in theory you then can go on and use it for work only.

Sadly for me this didn't work out, but it might for you.

[willardorwud]

I know I'm posting a bit late,

but I know what you mean and my top tip would be get an old Mac, 

because you can still do your pc stuff like word processing, video editing, etc,

but it sucks at gaming and YouTube and all the useless sites like instagram etc.

I would recommend a 2006 Mac Pro if your a PC guy.

It's a lot like a pc you can upgrade it if that's your thing,

 and for older Pro apps it's a very powerful machine 

And run MacOS X 10.6 snow leopard on it because that is a rock solid OS 

 

[goodvibes]

This topic really calls out to me right now, thank you for the thread necro-bumb Tex.  Yes, no computer servicing needs sounds pretty darn amazing.  Tried this before and failed but that is definitely because I didn't get rid of the PC.  Will have to extract contacts / important documents / etc and commence.  I really want this experience.