Thursday, May 8th, 2025
It hasn’t even been hard this time to stop playing games on my phone.
I’m committed to abstaining from playing my favorite match 3 puzzle and other super-time-sucking games for at least ninety days, and actually aiming beyond that to the end of September. For almost five months versus “just” three. While 90 days/three months of freedom from compulsive game-play is significant, I’d love to steer clear of them all the way through the rest of spring and all of summer, and kick off the beautiful season of fall fully-focused on outdoor and/or bookworm pleasures, and other things I don’t want to miss out on.
I’m on the fence about whether I’ll allow myself to check in briefly with my alliances and coalitions to let them know I can’t contribute during these months, and to make a note of their names for after so I can try to rejoin them if/when I get kicked out for not being active. It actually *is* going to be really hard to let myself do that this weekend and NOT play just a little, especially in Magic: Puzzle Quest (I really look forward to the coalition event held mostly on Fridays and Saturdays, and the sweet virtual booster pack rewards that come with them, ESPECIALLY after finally finding an active filled-out group just last week; I’m definitely having some FOMO over that one, along with missing out on the end of the E&P Springvale seasonal event). It might be best if I put off this decision and possible mini-dip into phone games until *next* weekend, when I have more clarity and “sobriety”, if you want to call it that.
I started experiencing benefits from not playing games really quickly this time around, like just one or two days in. I have more energy, it’s easier for me to transition between tasks (and I’m doing so with almost zero habitual compulsive attempts to open my favorite games, or urges even to try to do so), and I’m really enjoying the time I’m doing other things instead: reading more and actually finishing a book, for example, and making progress on content creation and promotion. It probably helped a lot that I was in the middle of a rewarding, easy-to-read, and helpful book by a comedian at the time I entered this period of gaming-abstinence, and had also just started a fun well-paced work of fiction. Having two books I’m able to effortlessly switch to reading when I need a break or escape-snack is majorly helpful.
This time of year might be great timing for quitting games, at least temporarily, and a big factor in why it’s going smoothly for me right off the bat this time. With an increase in daylight hours, inviting sunny spring weather, and easy yard “work” chores beckoning outside, it’s easier to get out from under the covers and experience rewarding time in motion. I’m not great at gardening, but I really enjoy doing small projects outside. My wife can accomplish ten times as much as I do in an hour, but I really love immersing myself in mindfully pruning bushes and stuff. Even when I’m not very efficient, *I* can see the progress I’m making, and easily get into a therapeutic, focused, worry-free flow state if nobody is watching and judging me. This type of yard work delivers a lot of the same rewards gaming does, for me, with the added benefits of getting fresh air and exercise.
I’d like to write more about how and why “gardening” works for me as a substitute for gaming, and how it might work for other people too.