Three more days and NaBloPoMo will be complete! I've successfully managed to post once per day throughout January, if you allow me the fact that I had to post one update at 4am due to traveling. There were no guarantees that I would make it this far, and it's safe to say that I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. Here's to the hope that I've formed a habit that will continue.
Yesterday I mentioned that I would discuss how 'option paralysis' affects my game playing habits. While thinking about the issue and its affect on me, I came to a conclusion that this is something that plagues me throughout my life, and not just part of my gaming hobby.
The best way I can describe it is to use an example from work. One of the projects I'm working on involves receiving lots of feedback on the work product from a lot of different sources. There are currently three different documents, from three different companies, that have provided feedback and comments on my work. In attempting to go through and resolve all of these issues, it feels as if my head is going to explode. There are so many small things that need attention, but I can't seem to zero in on each one individually and address them in that manner. My mind continually attempts to absorb them in one big mass and it's not equipped to handle that volume of work. So I get bogged down, discouraged and inevitably distracted by something else. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on how long I have to address the comments and move on. It's not like I want to fail, but I can't get my brain to lock on to small, manageable chunks of work, it's always looking at the task in a macro scale, which is neither productive nor conducive to creating the feeling of accomplishment, which I can harness to get more work completed, and so on.
There's a work example, but the title of this post indicates I would be equating this issue to my gaming. Well, in the microcosm of my gaming habit, it's very similar. I really enjoy playing games, and I'd like to think I have the time to at least sample some of the most current games, to keep me 'up' on the current trends in the industry, as well as keeping my perspective relevant to all of the video gaming media I consume. Since I am forced to game on a budget, most of the games I pick up are either on sale or demos of the latest games. The problem with me trying to stay current is that there are a lot of games coming out in any particular month, and I don't always have time to play every day. If I happen to 'get behind' in my game playing (the only measure of getting behind is in my own head, so this whole thing is a self-defeating prophecy), it's a struggle for me to stop and play just one game, when I know there's a list of games that I also want to sample waiting in the wings. The feeling of devoting time to one game, and deriving pleasure and enjoyment from the experience, also feels like neglecting all of the other options available to me. More often than not, I look at all of the games I want to play, get discouraged and surf the Internet for an hour instead of playing any of the games.
In both cases, my 'option paralysis' is clearly detrimental to the goals that I want to achieve. Is there something I can do to alleviate or eliminate this issue? Is there some medication I can take, some mind exercises to work on? At this point, I'm willing to try just about anything, if it would improve my productivity and enjoyment of the free time I allow myself. In the long run, it would probably improve my general mood and outlook on my career and personal life. Clearly this is an issue that won't solve itself overnight and I need to do some research and determine a course of action. If anyone reading this has any advice or places to look, I'm all ears.
Considering the overall negative vibe around this post, I don't want anyone to mistake the fact that I'm not happy, because I am. This is just taking one frustrating and annoying trait that I seem to exhibit and putting it under a microscope. I've lived with the issue this long, clearly it's not something that I can't cope with, but I just think there's a better way to go about things, and I want to find it.
This introspective post is now over. You can go back to enjoying your day. :)
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