Over the last several years, probably since about 2011-2012, I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of my time on Twitch.TV, either streaming myself or watching other people do so. Indeed, I’m watching/listening to a stream as I type this.
I recently realized that this has to change.
I don’t know what the exact trigger for this was, though the Humble Win At Work Book Bundle was a contributor (I bought the $8 tier, if you’re curious, because that contained the one book I’d actually heard of, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. Also, this link will be broken in about a week’s time [It is October 26, 2017 as I write this]). Being given additional responsibilities and deadlines at my primary job was also a factor. I don’t want to say that it’s make-or-break time for me, but changes are coming that I think will represent an opportunity for me.
I’m also 34 years old now (Note to self: Update the roughly 10 year old picture on the “About Emptyeye” page), and have been streaming in some capacity for over five years now, starting way back with the “point-a-webcam-at-a-TV” method. I don’t mean to say that I’m too old for this or that streaming is only for “kids”, but it is something of a young man’s game, and I’ve tried to “make it big” for that time without success. Call it giving up if you want.
I also recently had a doctor’s appointment, where I was told basically “lose weight and stop drinking so much soda”. This was another factor in my having an “a-ha” moment. I’m working on cutting my soda consumption from 2 cans a day (Which was what I told my doctor, and was truthfully probably an underestimate) to a couple a week. I’ve also started going to a gym 3-4 times a week, which is making me feel better and more productive combined with the reduction in soda. I’ve begun drinking black coffee (One cup in the morning, and sometimes some decaf in the afternoon) to get my caffeine fix, but coffee has other benefits besides the caffeine kick.
But mainly, I’ve realized that I have a bunch of other things I just want to do. I want to create things–music, games, etc. I want to read more, both in the self-improvement realm (Honestly, “Humble Self-Improvement Bundle” is probably a better term for the book bundle I bought than “Humble Win At Work Bundle”) and in terms of fields I want to explore, particularly personal finance. I’d like to write about these things more here. And I can’t do that if I’m whiling away hours on end watching Twitch streams.
I won’t lie. I’ve had a lot of fun watching Twitch over the years. I’ve even had a lot of fun streaming over the years, and playing games “for other people” got my to sit down and play games I never would have done otherwise. I’ve met a bunch of cool people on Twitch too. But at this point, for my quality of life, I need to cut back on the Twitch much like I’m cutting back on the soda.
I just hope I can pull it off.
-EE
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