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Author Topic: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?  (Read 3543 times)  Share 

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Future Engineer

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Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« on: January 02, 2020, 04:32:45 pm »
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Hello folks I am in year 12 now, but towards the end of year 11 my bad habits started to kick in quite quickly. I play all day everyday and non-stop. Is gaming this much normal everyday in year 11?

Aaron

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2020, 04:35:47 pm »
+9
If it's your only source of leisure, I don't see why you need to stop altogether. When I was in Year 11-12, I was quite similar where I used to game for hours on end.

Personally I used an incentive approach to my VCE. I made sure that priority was given to any work that I had, and the idea of gaming was the dangling carrot where I could play it only once I finished the work I needed to do.

On the weekends, I would personally dedicate one day to working and one day to work-free (so this is your going out day / gaming / other leisure activities, one where you do not work at all). That way, you have a balance.

For holidays, I'd choose a week out of the two that you will study and dedicate the other week to relaxation.

Pre-plan these days etc. so you know the rules and can try to stick to it.

So to put it simply, it's not about eliminating it... it's about priorities. You can do both.. in fact I think it would be counter-productive to deprive yourself of it, especially if it is a source of joy for you.... at a very stressful time of year.

As a teacher I still stick to this, I have my work days/free days planned out as I too can procrastinate extremely easily.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2020, 04:40:10 pm by Aaron »
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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2020, 04:51:30 pm »
+5
Hey,

Changing an ingrained habit is hard and will probably involve a fair bit of sliding back so do keep in mind that if you do at some stage revert back to gaming more than you "want" to that this doesn't mean you're failing - it's a normal part of the process that you've just got to work through.

There are a few different approaches that you can take to try change and maintain new patterns, here are some thoughts:
- use some way of tracking how much time you spend gaming. This might be a journal, a browser plug in, an agreement that you'll send your hours spent gaming that day to a friend, a productivity website or app...  lots of options here
- before you start gaming set an alarm for x time to remind you to stop. Depending on how you are with alarms you might want this to be alarms that automatically go off at set times. Even if you don't stop gaming then, being consciously aware of the choice you are making is a step
- make sure you do things and talk with your friends in ways that aren't game related. It's going to be a lot easier to get sucked into playing a game for hours on end if it's your main or only social activity or if you're always getting notifications from discord etc.
- try aiming for incremental progress and celebrate achievements even if you aren't perfectly sticking to your goals
- Iirc, it's easier to create a wanted habit than remove an unwanted one. The issue here likely isn't gaming - it's neglecting other areas of your life from disproportionate focus on gaming. Think about what those other things are and make an effort to focus on them.


Hope this helps & good luck :)

Future Engineer

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2020, 07:29:01 pm »
+1
I thank you for all your advices, but I really can't stop and keep playing all day. No matter what I do for some reason I don't care about getting work done anymore. It is already the start of year 12 class of 2020 and I have done nothing so far.

caffinatedloz

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2020, 07:35:23 pm »
+1
I thank you for all your advices, but I really can't stop and keep playing all day. No matter what I do for some reason I don't care about getting work done anymore. It is already the start of year 12 class of 2020 and I have done nothing so far.
Have you thoughts about completely barring yourself from doing video games, just until you finish your holiday homework? Often it just takes a little push (or a big one) to get back on track after switching into "relax mode". I really struggled to get any homework done the first couple of days I tried. Today was the first time I actually felt productive.

I made a to-do list (for today) and a timetable of when I was going to do things so that I could still go out for lunch and an afternoon bike ride with a friend. Like Aaron said, knowing the reward is waiting may work as an incentive.

Or else, you may be lacking motivation because you don't have a reason to care. If you can remind yourself why doing well in your last year of school is important, it might give you the kick start you need.

Feel free to add any follow-up questions or comments, would be more than happy to keep chatting about this if you feel you need clarification on anything!

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2020, 07:36:56 pm »
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I thank you for all your advices, but I really can't stop and keep playing all day. No matter what I do for some reason I don't care about getting work done anymore. It is already the start of year 12 class of 2020 and I have done nothing so far.
It seems to me like you have sunk really deep and have fallen down into a slump. Sorry buddy, but ya gotta force urself outta it somehow. If I you, remove all technology that distracts you. Trust me it will be worth it, you do not want to see your friends score 90's while you are getting wayyyy lower. Please work hard and it is also your final year of schooling for the rest of your life!!! I know it sounds daunting, but hey I am in year 11 this year and instead to make the most outta it. Obviously with that being said, how did your bad habit start in the first place? 5 hours a day throughout year 11 and potentially in year 12 everyday is NOT NORMAL.

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2020, 07:48:27 pm »
+5
It probably isn’t “normal” but I wouldn’t think it is a super rarity.

Firstly, it is great that you have identified this as something that may hinder your performance in year 12. Now you have the ability to try to control it.

There is definitely nothing wrong with playing a little bit during the week to relax but it would start to be a problem if you are putting it before your study/life around it whereas the other way around is much healthier. This way you will be able to modualte the number of hours you spend on it per week. E.g. if you are free you can have some fun and do things you enjoy but once you are in SWOTVAC or studying for SACs you know it probably isn’t the best idea to spend half a day playing games.

I think some students underestimate just how much free time is avaliable to VCE students. Whilst everyone is generally working hard and there are many difficult moments in the year there still is definitely enough time for students to have to themselves e.g. extracurricular activities and other hobbies . However, I do understand gaming probably has a bit more stigma attached to it than extracurriculars and other hobbies such as a sport or volunteering.

Personally, I haven’t played too much games though – mainly during the holidays and this holidays barely anything except with friends.

Also, out of curiosity, which games are you playing?


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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2020, 08:14:34 pm »
+1
I wouldn't recommend cutting games out of your life completely as it usually doesn't work (at least for most people). I personally played 3-5 hours of LoL or other games on Fridays and Saturdays (and sometimes an hour or two on weekdays) but made sure I had finished the work that needed to be done. In order to balance games and a high workload you need to set your priorities and reward yourself for putting the time and effort into your studies. This way you won't feel guilty after playing all day and having 0 work done. For example, during periods where there were no SACs coming up or I had just finished a SAC week, I would increase the time I'd give myself to play games and when it got busy, I would probably play either nothing or do around two to three hours of study to one to two 45 minute games (if that makes sense). Think about the end scores/ATAR you want to achieve and work for it. It is possible to balance games/gym/studies in year 12 and I would recommend doing it.

Throughout year 11 I personally stayed in the library to study most school days until around 5PM. When year 12 came along I studied more at home because I had learnt how to not be distracted and drawn into playing games like I did previously. Try staying in the school/local library if you really can't get into a rhythm.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2020, 08:20:44 pm by undefined »
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Jimmmy

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2020, 08:31:50 pm »
+1
I felt throughout the year that I was doing 'too many non-school things', whether it was extra-curricular stuff, scanning and posting on the forums, spending time with family, playing sport and many others. By the time it got to exams, and post-exams, I realised that stuff was a necessity to maintain my peace of mind in one of the stressful years of my life.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a recent graduate who didn't say Year 12 probably was that most stressful year, and I'm very happy I managed to put that 'fake guilt' to rest and do what I loved in addition to studying. I think once you finish the first few weeks of Year 12, you'll get a gist of how much time you want to spend gaming, and how much you want to study. As has been said above, your goals will very much equivocate that. If you need a high ATAR for your dream course, you'll inevitably spend less time gaming I think.

I think gaming that much before Year 12 is more usual than you'd expect, so just really observe your habits in the first few weeks and reconsider after that and on a consistent basis throughout the year!
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K888

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2020, 09:20:15 pm »
+6
You can also get professional help to stop :) You can go to your GP and get them to set up a mental health plan for you that gives you 10 Medicare subsidised sessions with a mental health professional. Mental health professionals have a wide scope of practice and don't just deal with your "typical" anxiety/depression/etc, they also deal with addictions and such. Seeing one before year 12 as well could be super helpful to teach you some strategies for managing stress and the like. If you're struggling making behaviour changes by yourself, I think it is definitely worth a go!

As an aside, you don't have to be rock bottom to seek help related to your mental health. I like to think of your mental health the same as you'd think of a car - you don't wait for the car to fully break down and not work at all before you get it serviced, right? Instead you get regular services to make sure things run smoothly and small issues don't turn into bigger ones.

Personally, I've found seeking assistance from a professional to make me a lot more successful at initiating and maintaining behaviour changes. I recommend giving it a go :)

Future Engineer

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2020, 04:42:29 pm »
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Personally I also had a 'gaming' problem in that my procrastination would be playing games and in all honesty I actually took no steps to overcoming it. What happened was in term 1 of year 12 was that I was faced with below to average results in my subjects and so my desire to get into my course overpowered my desire to procrastinate and play video games. Really all it took was a wake up call, you have to build up the desire in yourself to succeed and do well. There are many ways to do this such as taking it day by day - planning out what you need to do everyday and writing it down so it's in front of you physically which gives you an incentive to complete your goals and then play for like 2 hours after. The Pomodoro technique also works well and I encourage you to employ it when you study, it helps.

Another thing I did was watch motivational videos and this really helps a LOT, for me it helped with studying for English.
Your procrastination habit was not as bad as mine, I barely passed year 11. Also I did unit 3/4 Biology in year 11 and got a study score of 24. I will try the pomodoro technique and hope it works.

Future Engineer

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2020, 04:44:09 pm »
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You can also get professional help to stop :) You can go to your GP and get them to set up a mental health plan for you that gives you 10 Medicare subsidised sessions with a mental health professional. Mental health professionals have a wide scope of practice and don't just deal with your "typical" anxiety/depression/etc, they also deal with addictions and such. Seeing one before year 12 as well could be super helpful to teach you some strategies for managing stress and the like. If you're struggling making behaviour changes by yourself, I think it is definitely worth a go!

As an aside, you don't have to be rock bottom to seek help related to your mental health. I like to think of your mental health the same as you'd think of a car - you don't wait for the car to fully break down and not work at all before you get it serviced, right? Instead you get regular services to make sure things run smoothly and small issues don't turn into bigger ones.

Personally, I've found seeking assistance from a professional to make me a lot more successful at initiating and maintaining behaviour changes. I recommend giving it a go :)
Thanks for the idea, but a GP cannot do anything about my current situation. In my school I never heard of anyone play games for 5 hours a day in vce, at the same time I also never heard of anyone seeking help.

Stormbreaker-X

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2020, 06:59:44 pm »
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Looks to me like you do need to cut out some bad habits by that I mean stop playing completely. While some people argue that you should keep your habits even in year 12, you are clearly playing obsessively and not stopping. My tip and this is what I do too, start doing homework for a little bit (like 30 mins) then take a 10 min break. Repeat that again and again, you will find your game time much more productive as oppose to playing non-stop. Even if you are doing work for as little as 2 hours a day, that is still much better than playing games 5 hours a day. Also doesn't your parents/school try to stop you? I mean playing all day should cause quite a concern and hinders performance greatly. Allow me to share with you the upside, since you did a 3/4 in year 11 that means you get an extra 10% of that study score added to you atar. You did what some people did not and therefore are advantaged to an extent.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2020, 07:01:19 pm by Stormbreaker-X »

caffinatedloz

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2020, 10:17:49 pm »
+4
Thanks for the idea, but a GP cannot do anything about my current situation. In my school I never heard of anyone play games for 5 hours a day in vce, at the same time I also never heard of anyone seeking help.
A GP can definitely provide some support or advice! They are able to refer you to a mental health professional for some free appointments (10 a year), which could definitely help it! Don't completely knock the idea of having a professional offer you some advice or even just listen to you chat. ;D

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Re: Vce gaming for 5 hours a day? how do I stop?
« Reply #14 on: January 16, 2020, 01:07:15 am »
+2
I used to game a LOT back in year 8/9, the only way I got out of it was to pretty much just cut it out completely.

Whilst I would definitely recommend trying out all the really great suggestions above, for me personally I knew that I wouldn't really be able to control it so I literally just told my parents to get rid of the PS4 and gaming laptop for the couple years lol. I guess it's really up to you to decide on what action you decide to take, and it really depends on whether you trust yourself to keep it under control.

Obviously I still found plenty of other avenues to procrastinate, but I still think it would've been a lot worse if I gamed throughout VCE - and I'm quite glad I didn't - I was so busy with VCE, sport and leadership that I didn't even miss it over the 2 years, and I have plenty of free time to do it now (guilt free) since VCE's over.
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