Love to see the Fuck written out - feel like it’s an act of rebellion against the entire boomer generation (or maybe just my mom) every time I see it in a woman’s writing. Fuck yes!
I have been through game phases when I felt unhappy - I assume the rewards were helping with the unhappiness. But all the games hit a plateau (very quickly, some of them) where they start demanding real money to progress. I chuck a few quid at them, but it's never enough - they want more and more, at which point I check out. Since my ADHD diagnosis in January, I've steered clear of those games entirely because I'm aware my brain could get hungry for them.
I found Solitaire on my phone and play that sometimes - it's free and there's no adverts! Hurrah!
I remember when my stepmum was trying to set up her own marketing business in the 90s. At one point, we'd come home from school and she'd still be in her PJ's playing a Tetris-rip-off on our Sega Megadrive. As you say, she probably was scared.
Yes, it's the secondary gains thing: an unwritten EFT course (in my case) is a perfect course. By having this hydra addiction to Chatgpt I get to avoid facing the fact that every day, in every way, I'm getting shitter and shitter ;-). The longer I persist starting each day with a bot session, rather than getting stuck in to work, the more using it can be justified. It's sly because the addiction is not always unhelpful - have done some creative stuff with the help of the crack bot. Maybe it's mentally sharpening pencils and throat clearing. Maybe that's AI colonising my mind.
I've loved games since I was in my teens, and I have an embarrassingly long list of games I played for different reasons in different seasons. However, I still find it fun and ended up with the solution of playing puzzle games that you can do only one a day like 'wordle' and a couple of puzzle games on Linkedin I play to wind down (also tell myself it's good for my brain 😊).
Oh Ros, distractions and procrastination are the bane of my existence. When it comes to writing my book, it's fear and insecurity. I'm glad you work through it and you wrote about it. I've been writing essay style for a very long time and it doesn't take long for me to write that way. But fiction is something I've always wanted to write - but it's a daunting task.
Have a confession — I avoided reading this as I knew it would resonate so hard that I’d have to take a long, hard look at myself. I don’t like what I see. And I knew I wouldn’t, because I peeked behind that curtain so many times. My addictions pop up like a game of Whack-A-Mole and I know they are mainly fear driven. I have thus short story, that in my mind started out as a novel, that I now think I should push into a novel, but I’m terrified. Every time I think about starting the process, I feel overwhelmed and jump straight into something that will soothe that. NYT games app. Instagram scrolling. Re-installing TikTok if I’m desperate (then deleting in disgust when I realise I’m 4 hours in). Online shopping racking up hundreds on buy-now-pay-later crap. I’m going to watch your tapping video again when I’m in the midst of this. Thank you for sharing the thing that I think so many people avoid facing.
Love to see the Fuck written out - feel like it’s an act of rebellion against the entire boomer generation (or maybe just my mom) every time I see it in a woman’s writing. Fuck yes!
Oh, dare I admit I've played that game as well? 🤣
I have been through game phases when I felt unhappy - I assume the rewards were helping with the unhappiness. But all the games hit a plateau (very quickly, some of them) where they start demanding real money to progress. I chuck a few quid at them, but it's never enough - they want more and more, at which point I check out. Since my ADHD diagnosis in January, I've steered clear of those games entirely because I'm aware my brain could get hungry for them.
I found Solitaire on my phone and play that sometimes - it's free and there's no adverts! Hurrah!
I remember when my stepmum was trying to set up her own marketing business in the 90s. At one point, we'd come home from school and she'd still be in her PJ's playing a Tetris-rip-off on our Sega Megadrive. As you say, she probably was scared.
Yes, it's the secondary gains thing: an unwritten EFT course (in my case) is a perfect course. By having this hydra addiction to Chatgpt I get to avoid facing the fact that every day, in every way, I'm getting shitter and shitter ;-). The longer I persist starting each day with a bot session, rather than getting stuck in to work, the more using it can be justified. It's sly because the addiction is not always unhelpful - have done some creative stuff with the help of the crack bot. Maybe it's mentally sharpening pencils and throat clearing. Maybe that's AI colonising my mind.
I've loved games since I was in my teens, and I have an embarrassingly long list of games I played for different reasons in different seasons. However, I still find it fun and ended up with the solution of playing puzzle games that you can do only one a day like 'wordle' and a couple of puzzle games on Linkedin I play to wind down (also tell myself it's good for my brain 😊).
Given the hours I spend reading Substack articles…
Staring at my lonely desk.
🫣
Oh Ros, distractions and procrastination are the bane of my existence. When it comes to writing my book, it's fear and insecurity. I'm glad you work through it and you wrote about it. I've been writing essay style for a very long time and it doesn't take long for me to write that way. But fiction is something I've always wanted to write - but it's a daunting task.
I wasn’t expecting this - but that’s why I won’t be unsubscribing.
Thank you, Anne. Even my husband of 25 years finds me occasionally unpredictable, and I personally think that’s a good thing!
Absolutely!
Aha! I KNEW this post would have a happy ending. Glad I stuck around for it.
Have a confession — I avoided reading this as I knew it would resonate so hard that I’d have to take a long, hard look at myself. I don’t like what I see. And I knew I wouldn’t, because I peeked behind that curtain so many times. My addictions pop up like a game of Whack-A-Mole and I know they are mainly fear driven. I have thus short story, that in my mind started out as a novel, that I now think I should push into a novel, but I’m terrified. Every time I think about starting the process, I feel overwhelmed and jump straight into something that will soothe that. NYT games app. Instagram scrolling. Re-installing TikTok if I’m desperate (then deleting in disgust when I realise I’m 4 hours in). Online shopping racking up hundreds on buy-now-pay-later crap. I’m going to watch your tapping video again when I’m in the midst of this. Thank you for sharing the thing that I think so many people avoid facing.