Ok so I love playing League of Legends and World of Warcraft. As much as I like playing the game I hate the fact of how much time I use to play them. I want to get better at programming but when my 8 hour manual labor job is over with for the day and I am at home I just want to have "fun". Therefor I play these games rather than sharpen my mind. You guys might think "He just doesnt want it enough" etc ect... No it is just I am a slow learner so it is hard for me to stay focused when I get stuck while coding. I was doing good for a month but that is what always happens. I go try to programming then I shy away. It has been a endless cycle and I am getting nowhere because of it. It is almost like an addiction, however I can easily put those two games down but then I'd just go do some other mind numbing thing such as watch movies, anime, MTG. How do I get away from this endless cycle? I want to improve myself but I need a push, hell I am behind the curtian and need one hell of a shove to get up on stage and start acting the way I want to act.
These games are made to be addictive with new achievements used as incentives to keep you hooked. So, no surprise there & you are not alone in that. Just take a minute to think before you click the game icon or put your hand on the mouse if this is what you want to do & will it be best use of your time. Is there anything you want/need to do more than this. Be aware of your choice before you make it. After that it doesn't matter if you played the game or not. One thing i suggest is that while learning to program dont try to do random projects or tutorials, work on something you really need to build or just study some open source project/software that you really like, git clone it, fuck it up, try to add feature you want in it. If you get stuck go talk to original creator on github. I am sure you will be much more interested in learning this way. I hope this helps.
I'd suggest meditation. It really works for me. Some of the practical benefits are more control over your mind and mental focus. Like a LOT more control. It's also relaxing and can get really trippy at times (my imagination will sometimes take over, it's like dreaming but I'm awake, which can be pretty intense. And weird). Some people are unfairly skeptical of it cause some eastern religions put a lot of emphasis on it, but when you realize those eastern religions, especially Buddhism, are almost all about mastering control of your body/mind, it makes sense. Besides, there's plenty of academic studies you can check out. Basically, just ignore it's religious roots unless it appeals to you. The problem with meditation is that it CAN be hard to get in to for some people. It was for me. It's frustrating when you first start out, till you practice a little and start getting the hang of it. Actually, just getting the hang of it alone means your focus is already improving.
Yep, good ol' Skinner Box. I was going to suggest basically the second paragraph, myself. Get yourself a project*, then adopt hobbies that build towards that project. Spoiler: * I would really not advise a Let's Play series as a beginner project, that's simply one of the more easily-distributable examples of my early work. Making an LP that's any good is a fairly significant time investment. The Pokemon Insurgence series took 2-4 hours out of Karaias's week just to record an hour of footage, which I then spent an additional 15-20 hours editing and cutting into something vaguely watchable. And that's not even counting the weeks he wasn't able to make it, culminating in a month-long delay before I located a substitute. All of this for a project that I never expected to see a penny come back from. Write a book or make an AMV or something. Your first few projects will suck. They're supposed to. Sucking at something is the first step to being kind of good at something. Just STICK WITH IT! *grumbles something about not being able to trust anybody I know to work on things*
i have in the past years your same problem with videogames,i was in a really endgame hardcore guild on wow an i also play a lot games like dayz and cs. my solution to quit hardcore was : - Find another "night" hobbie like read book go out with friends,have a girlfriend.(i know the last part is pretty difficult but is somethings like an epic boss mode on wow).Just don't use pc more then 2h at night. -Make trip in the weekends in the nature, use all your senses in these trips , enjoying nature in all its splendor this is the best way to discover another time the real word. - Dont uninstall the games or you want them more. Just don't log in and don't patch.(when you don't need them more uninstall) -Don't loose contact with your online friends,they still your friends and they are also important to help you quit,thalk with them. - Always talk about your gaming dependencies with friends that dont play hardcore like you, and find how they live their life without hardcore gaming. -Quit social network.Join real life. -Don't watch too many movies,make your movie with your life, the best movie you can ever see. i hope this can help you, and remember a lot of people have this problem and many people have managed to solve it, it's your call. (sorry my bad english)
If you are doing some kind of self-led learning from a book or internet site and not feeling motivated to do the tasks, you may find it beneficial to enroll in a class through a local college or university. If you have paid for the class, you have a financial incentive to complete it. Also, guided instruction with clear expectations of deliverable (i.e. homework) can help.
Thank you for all the quick responses. They were great at that. Its funny because a lot of these topics do pop in my head however I allow them to leave just as quickly. Now that they are someone elses opinion it will be easier for me to act on them. Weird but true. I like the whole meditation thing however I'll probably do yoga instead since I already work out roughly 15-30 minutes every other day. Since gaming is a stress reliever escape for me. I'm sure the yoga can be a good replacement. I actually was surfing the web and looking at ways to get more enthusiastic about programming and found a article about not worrying about your first projects being crap and not use full. Seeing that was great. when it comes to computer things I like being good at it. I've always been top 15% when it came to gaming. However I just don't feel progress in programming. You guys are also great. I am glad to be part of the decred community and hope to do my part of contribution.
Reminds me of my gaming issue. For a while, playing games was a very good escape from some hard depression and anxiety. Though now I am a ton better than I was before, some old habits never die it seems.
I removed counter-strike from my computer years ago. Haven't played since. Cold turkey. Motivation for learning often is easier had when mandated by coursework. As readily-available as free education is for programming online, it may not motivate one to actually do it. Perhaps dropping a few hundred bucks to enroll in a course at a local community college may provide sufficient motivation to get busy. The resulting credential is practical too. Next step: locate college course catalog.
There are so many games that are very useful and interesting to play all over the world. But sometimes it is necessary to avoid any boring activities with the help and to play only when you like and want.