It has been a long-standing passion of mine to enjoy the thrill of gaming. I’ve spent countless hours competing in online tournaments, playing story-driven games, and exploring the boundaries of my favourite titles. I still remember receiving a Sega Mega Drive with Sonic the Hedgehog on Christmas Day in 1992. These days, I enjoy the time I have on the Forza Horizon series and a collection of Apple Arcade titles. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realise that gaming is taking up too much of my time and energy. It’s become a major distraction, preventing me from pursuing other activities and responsibilities.
As much as I’ve enjoyed gaming, it’s time for me to take a step back from it. I want to pursue other hobbies like writing, coding, and exercise. I want to finally catch up on that long list of books I’ve been meaning to read (my Read Later list is too long to admit). I want to take the time to nurture my relationships with friends and family and to invest more in my career.
Why now?
Gaining control of my time has become essential to reaching my goals in life. Gaming can be a great way to unwind, but it can also be a major source of stress. Reading articles on Game Quitters helped me evaluate my current situation. I don’t want to be tied to my gaming platform anymore, spending hours of my day losing track of time. Ever since the downfall of Google Stadia, I have had time to reflect on how I spend my money and time. I’m shocked to think I had spent over £300 on Stadia games. The reimbursement by Google was much appreciated. I used that money to take my family out and invest in online training. The final straw was loading up my Xbox One S to install Flight Simulator through Xbox Game Pass to find out I needed a new Xbox Series X|S to run it. I really do not want to be spending more money right now.
Moving forward
Quitting gaming is a difficult decision, but it is an important step to creating a better and more balanced lifestyle. From here on out, I will no longer let gaming control my life and my schedule. I have removed all games from my mobile devices, laptop and desktop PC. The Xbox is staying because my son will use that for gaming with his friends. I genuinely don’t feel I will be tempted. To reinforce my new habit, I will be tracking it using TickTick. My time and energy will be channelled into activities that propel me forward and push me to reach my goals. It’s time to start making new memories and beginning new adventures.