[swendoog]

I've played video games my entire life. I'm really good at them, and as a result, I enjoy them. Video games have always been my outlet, my "TV", my go-to when I just need to detach and relax. I play ~17 hours a week +/- 3 hours.

I'm not as productive as I'd like to be in my side projects. So I'm trying something new that I started 2 days ago: Quitting video games ENTIRELY.

Here's my theory:

Video games are really fun. The instant gratification of landing a head shot. The skill, investment, and reward of becoming better, and better. The social atmosphere of team based coordination... These things have become my expectation for what is "fun" and "interesting". Years of gaming has reset my subconscious view of the world. How can reading compete with the excitement you get from a round of CS:GO? How can my mind be pulled to work on a long running side project, when I get stimulation and excitement from a game? I need to give my willpower a break, and reset my expectations of what "fun" is.

I'm going on a 30 -> 60 -> 90 day video game "detox" to assess whether or not my productivity (and other mental health factors) benefit.

In the first day (Saturday) I was far more productive around the house, because I was bored. I would not allow myself to play video games, so I took care of shit that I'd been putting off for months. So far, so good. I'll continue to monitor and see if this has been a net positive, or net negative decision (or neutral).