I just spent my entire day playing videogames inside when I have an exam in three days. How can I prevent days like this happening again?

abdada · 2015-09-06T15:38:03+00:00

Sell all your distractions.

[deleted] · 2015-09-06T15:41:12+00:00

Willpower, self-control, etc. You gotta want it or nothing is going to change.

inaddictaquate · 2015-09-06T16:02:07+00:00

Put the stuff you don't want to do first. It's first priority. Do not get comfortable. Immediately do the thing you're supposed to do. I used to be so-so about making my bed. I wanted to make my bed more, so, as soon as I got out of it, I made my bed. I used to be lazy about cooking dinner. Now, as soon as I walk through the door after work, I put a pan on the stove, and I start cooking. Eventually, you get used to doing that thing, and it won't seem as hard to do.

If you have problems with moderation when playing video games, quit them completely now.

throwaway_divorce_11 · 2015-09-06T17:19:53+00:00

I've endured a life-long struggle with laziness. Here is my four-point fix. It's not easy, but it works. If you're not willing to do these, you don't want it bad enough yet.

"Eat the frog first." Don't start your day, after toilet and breakfast, without beginning the hardest, most unpleasant task first.
Pomodoro technique. Get a timer. Set it for 25 minutes. Tell yourself "I will only work on this thing for 25 minutes!" Work. Ding! When 25 is up, take a 5-10 minute break. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Read the following three books as soon as you can: "The Flinch," "The War of Art," and "Miracle Morning." These are now your gospel. Do everything they say, to the letter.
Take only cold showers first thing in the morning. Just fucking do it. Every day. Never any exceptions. Only take a hot shower in the afternoon or evening if you're cleaning off excess grime.

Good luck!

[deleted] · 2015-09-06T16:00:43+00:00

Go to the library and study. Once you've begun, you're half-way done!

Dexontronox · 2015-09-06T15:43:54+00:00

A good term here is self-realisation. You need to periodically step back and look at what you're doing. Is it useful? Is it progression? Is it wasteful? Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

George_frasier · 2015-09-06T17:27:07+00:00

nothing happening here as well bro. i sleep for 14 hrs a day, am on facebook and feel insecure and disturbed all day long.

[deleted] · 2015-09-06T19:10:02+00:00

Take a caffeine pill, or cup of coffee. Then get some fast food and go to the library. You'll positively associate food and stimulants with studying.

jeezydasnowman · 2015-09-06T16:40:05+00:00

You could do like I did and cancel your internet and bring ur computer to your parents house. I didn't have the willpower after trying for over eight months

throwaway-aa2 · 2015-09-06T16:50:20+00:00

Get rid of it. I recently boxed up my Xbox and I'm probably going to sell it. There was something Jayz said way back in the day that still applies

I don't surf the net, no, I never been on MySpace Too busy letting my voice vibrate Carving out my space in this world of fly girls...

And it applies a lot of different places, and not just women...why play video games when there is so much more to life?

workdavework · 2015-09-06T17:13:27+00:00

[deleted]

What is this?

[deleted] · 2015-09-06T18:28:44+00:00

Lucky for me I'm one of those guys who can cram-study everything in in about an hour and be fine for an exam. However since I started getting more and more into trp frame, things like video games started to get really pointless and lost their fun for me. I still watch Netflix with a cup of coffee when I get home from work and school and will play a game of Dota every few days but thats mostly it. You have to ask yourself, what am I really gaining by doing this? Am I going to be a professional gamer and win a couple g's at some big tournament? Prolly not. But hey, I can go read this physics book and blast chill-trap and zone out and can get a good job out of it.

tautologicoxymoron · 2015-09-06T20:05:48+00:00

The hardest part of studying for me is to actually start. Convince yourself to just get all the materials ready. After you have done this, the next step is easier and you take it step by step from there.

The reason why PCs and other electronics suck away our time is because of what psychologists call availability heuristics: it's much easier to get your fix of dopamine by pressing the ON button on your PC instead of finding all the notebooks and materials you require to study etc. What I said before ties in to that. The moment you have your study material 100% ready on the table, it's much easier to actually start.

At the end of the day, it actually boils down to will power and discipline! There is no easy way. Cheating won't work.

-rubashov · 2015-09-06T21:11:50+00:00

ask the experts r/NonZeroDay

leftajar · 2015-09-06T22:26:18+00:00

You have a dopamine addiction. The feeling that is supposed to be generated through real achievements? It has been hijacked by a software company that is currently enjoying your $59.95.

Uninstall the crap stat. The sooner you wean your brain off fake achievement, the sooner you can pursue real achievement.

wont_tell_i_refuse · 2015-09-06T22:45:23+00:00

I've been there dude. What you have to do is make time to do something productive.

I literally started at 5 minutes of bicep curls a day and am now noticeably in shape.

After a while, believe me you lose the urge to play vidya.

Merwebb · 2015-09-07T00:27:43+00:00

Own the suck. Embrace it.

If you do sell all your crap as /u/abdada says, you will find yourself looking at clouds and finding shapes.

Get your shit together man, fill those goals

anarqy · 2015-09-07T02:55:26+00:00

All these comments are noise. You have a set amount of will power at the beginning of each day. Will power goes hand in hand with habits. You have a habit of playing video games, you don't have a habit of studying.

It requires a lot of will power to take actions that are not habitual and less will power to take actions that are habitual. With that being said, people expect to just flick a switch that will rid them of their bad habits and instantly take on a new, and more productive habit which inevitably fails.

An example of this would be an obese/overweight person that decides he wants to change his lifestyle and attempts to eat clean, exercise, and sleep well. He takes on too much from the start emptying all his will power throughout the day and eventually falls back into junk food and non activity.

I saw two good bits of information from other commenters above which were:

-Do the most tedious and uncomfortable task at the beginning of the day. (As mentioned above you have more will power in the morning)

-Do a 25 minute cram session where that is the only thing you will do. (This is one of the only ways that the obese person can start to develop sustainable habits in order to change his lifestyle)

To develop a habit you have to see it as a slow progress, a day in and day out grind. You didn't start playing 8 hours of video games from the get go. You developed this habit incrementally on a day to day progression.

I was the overweight guy. I would look at my lifestyle every 3-4 months, be upset and make the decision to have only healthy foods and exercise for 1 hour 5 days a week. I could maintain this for only 2 weeks before I would crash and go back to old habits.

I finally got success when I told myself: "1 healthy meal a day, and 30 minutes of exercise every second day." Habits are a process of PROGRESSION.

What you should do is to begin with a 30 minute study session every morning. Crank it up 5 minutes every 2 weeks. Whether you have an exam in 1 week or 1 month the progression principal still applies. You want to begin reviewing your studies way before the 1 week you decided to cram.

Long winded and unclear post probably send me a pm and I'll clarify.

krustytheclown2 · 2015-09-07T03:31:22+00:00

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DrDalenQuaice · 2015-09-06T17:02:30+00:00

Try aiming lower. School is obviously too difficult for you. Maybe a Wal-Mart greeter or janitor. Or just file for welfare now.

tenientj · 2015-09-06T17:25:47+00:00

You probably have ADHD or depression, and maybe low testosterone. I sold my graphics card in my PC so I couldn't play video games, and got the above 3 sorted out. Video games can be beneficial, but only in 20-60min durations a few times a week.

Tom_The_Human · 2015-09-06T17:28:34+00:00

Just fucking study, man. Remember, every minute you spend playing video games when you should be studying is a minute you're spending fucking up your life.

niczar · 2015-09-06T21:29:53+00:00

Remove video games. Get treatment for your ADHD.

Title	I just spent my entire day playing videogames inside when I have an exam in three days. How can I prevent days like this happening again?
Author	Chad_Thundercock69
Upvotes	10
Comments	41
Date	September 6, 2015 3:28 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	/r/askTRP
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/i-just-spent-my-entire-day-playing-videogames.153465 https://theredarchive.com/post/153465
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/3jv4kh/i_just_spent_my_entire_day_playing_videogames/