[Journal] Quitting Games

This is going to be my journal in which I'll biefly describe what I did in order to avoid games. I've been addicted to video games for a long time, but since I'm already doing NoFap and I'm here, why not use this proper section to track my progress?
So, I've tried to stop before, but some weeks or months later I'd come back at full strength playing all day. I must be aware of games, because they steal my life away and I could literally spend the whole day feeling tired, getting even more tired by playing too much instead of resting, and barely getting food or using the bathroom.

Note about what I want to quit:
Not every single game will be forbidden to me here. Basically, all online games are forbidden. I have this list of to-do list which I tested two days in a row and then got demotivated and stopped, but it was really nice. I still got it, just didn't do anymore. In this list there are some useful stuff to do, such as reading, reading aloud, playing an instrument etc. That list also includes 5 minutes of gaming, in which I played an emulated game on my mobile, one that isn't addictive and is offline. There is another one too, but the rule is that if you play the game only once in the entire day you'll be satisfied, and you must only play for fun. The entire circuit of to-do list takes around 1 hour, so a good amount is spent on useful activities.

And that was the intro for the journal. To its core:

Day 0. Today I played a lot and basically wasted my day. Got into a new online game, plus other game I already played. I'm uninstalling the new game right after the post. The other one, along with other games from PC and mobile, I will uninstall later.

 

Days 1 and 2. Didn't play any game, and feeling great about it. I've spent a lot of time reading, studying, sleeping and just seeing things differently. I wanted to play these days, but held on and I don't regret it. My mind craved games so much, I almost played. But no, I've decided to do useful stuff with my mind, which is not only productive, but also will expand my horizons because I won't see life through video games as lens. As such, I feel like reality will become more and more pleasurable.
By the way, almost got into videos. Must be more careful, for that is one of the things I've used as a substitute for games many times in the past. But it's like dropping an addiction to put another one in the place. Good thing is I noticed it and went to do more useful stuff.
Also, didn't uninstall the games except for that new one. But at least I didn't play anything, as mentioned before. Perhaps I do it later.

 

Day 14. I've played games a few days after second day, even though on moderate amount. I've been doing useful things as well, but it should be used as a healthy substitute for games, not just a side project. I could, for example, be reading on my phone instead of playing, or searching for something to do on the computer. Not that I should be completely pleasure-free, but that I should focus more on improving and doing things I have to do than on having useless fun. And I know games are not totally useless. They just steal your time. So, I'll try to be game-free these working days, and only play a bit on weekend; since I'll have much more free time and might not even know where to use it into. Just not too much, but let's see how this goes.

 

Thanks, ThatMagneticMan.

Day 36. I re-stopped gaming yesterday, and I am allowing myself to only casually play for a few minutes around 2 times a day; some 10 minutes in the afternoon(didn't want to do it first thing in the morning) and 10 minutes at night. Have been good for now, I've had more social thoughts and I think it's being good for me. Really hope to keep it up.

 

Day 0. I've done a lot of useful stuff today, but played too. I've again realised that gaming is bad for social interactions and I actually use it as an escapism. Therefore, I will retake this challenge.

As a matter of note, I've stopped playing every online game for a while, then I couldn't resist and installed a game that is like those farming/grinding games based on wait time for basically everything. I'm glad it didn't last long, as I stopped it and went back to offline games only. But even offline games were harming me, since I would spend a lot of time in bed playing it instead of going to sleep, which lead to other problems.

More recently, I've come back to an online game which I already played before, but I found I can't really control myself in regards of time/matches played (ideally I would play one and only one match per day, but I allyays play more if I have the time to do so). Plus, I've found that all games are potentially harmful to me. And that is why I've decided to stop this habit that, to me, is harmful.

 

Day 1. I managed to go the entire day without playing anything. Let's see how it goes tomorrow.

 

Thank you, Eprst!

Day 2. I was in college the whole day, and studied a lot instead of gaming. Even in my smartphone, so that is also a success.

 

Day 3 (late). No games until now. Thankfully NoFap is also helping me stay away from games, as I want to be more productive. It is, however, not the only thing keeping me away from these, as I'm also with a different mentality and focusing mainly on my body and studies. Now in the weekend I haven't studied much, but I guess that's okay since I studied a lot in week days and organized college stuff yesterday.

Also, I'm not even with desire to play.

 

Days 4 and 5. Having other things to do, such as studying, reading and doing NoFap helps not to think about gaming. I even had the oportunity to play on my old cellphone but refused to because I want to be totally game-free and be able to enjoy reality more; and be able to acomplish more as well.

I used to not even study for college, partly because of gaming: I'd spend all of my free time, and non-free time, too, on games. That would eventually lead me to fail in every single course I was taking at the time, and it probably happened more than once. I'm glad to be studying more now (like every good student does) and I'm a bit anxious about what will happen at the end of the semester.

I'll certainly do better than last semester if I keep going this way. Also, I've been taking a lot more care about myself recently, so I'm pretty sure I'll be better than ever before, God willing.

 

Days 6 and 7. Still no games; I've been reading and studying, mainly, in my spare time.

 

Days from 8 to 19. No games whatsoever. It's been a struggle in the last few days, I even dreamed about games. But I'm glad to feel more in reality and to feel more inclined to do things in real life, as well as aim for real achievements.

In general, I'm way happier. However this desire to play is higher than before, especially some offline games and one specific online game. The time loss is too big of a deal, and the attention and focus loss is way worse(and leads to playing more and wasting even more time, then not doing what I'm supposed to do, too.); In short, I should keep going the way I am now because it'll be better for me.

I'm also feeling good about getting such a high streak done, because sometimes I try to stop and come back to games as short as in the next day or next week, but with different games or even with the same ones.

 

Thank you for the tips, M16! I'll definitely try that. I've been changing my habits for the better and it's a lot more useful than wasting time with games. Hope I get to this point of not even wanting to play, soon.

Days 20 and 21. I've felt a lot like playing today, on the way back home, but I've read instead. I felt so much better. Imagine a girl asking what you like to do in your free time. "I play games," or "I read a good book," which one feels better? I don't even want to imagine me having to answer that I play games in my free time, it's embarassing. I want to do useful things with my life!

(It's actually not about girls, only an example to see that games are just escapism and fun, but in the end they are empty, they are not something I want to my life anymore.)

So that book felt way better than my cellphone, and I must resist games and do other things instead. There is always something else to do if you are able to play games in a situation.

 

Thank you, StruggleR_8! Good luck to you as well! In my case, games seem to weaken my will to make everything else as wel, including not PMO'ing, which leads to relapses more easily.

Good luck, Theproudlion! Keep going on your journey, and remember to keep trying to better yourself always. I find it is better to keep track of your progress, even if it is simply on a calendar, because I can compare my streaks better and see better that I'm actually getting better.

Day 0. I'll reset my progress here because I played a bit on my cellphone today. After around day 21, which is the last post, I started to play again, but only offline games (so, around 9 days ago). However I, as usual, played more than I'd like to have. The biggest downfall was around 5 days ago, because I played an online game match and then regretted a lot. It wasn't that bad, I just felt bad for playing that game I want to avoid so much again. I played because I was feeling bad and wanted to make an excuse to play as playing not to PMO, but in that same day I PMO'ed as well, breaking a great streak of mine.

So I'm starting fresh, but with no offline games. I was using an excuse to myself that I wanted to get the strongest I could be in this game, which was true but also a big waste of time, energy and attention; but even this apparently inoffensive game is able to suck my attention and alienate me not to get worried with real life, real people, etc. (So I'll consider my last streak 21 days, since up to that time I didn't play even offline games.)

At least I dropped my play time considerably and did a lot of reading and writing, and going to church meetings instead of gaming. That means this thread is working, especially taking into account that after I played 1 online match 5 days ago I got almost disgusted by playing and was able to get out and not get hooked into the game.

Thank you for the support, everyone, and make good use of your lifes, don't waste them inside a virtual world that makes you addicted and not able to see the beauty of the world.

 

Thank you, it is a very good video. Hope to see it more times in the future.

Day 1. I even forgot that was doing this challenge and did not play anything. Maybe because I was home and was outside with my family or studying all day. I exercised a bit as well, and am planning to keep a good exercise routine.

 

Day 4 without games. Books might be a really good substitute for boring situations, and you actually learn something much more likely to be useful.