I cannot play Tetris on any even-numbered day

Why you ask? It is a rule I made up for myself because I play it too much. I don't get things done. I don't want to cut it out entirely, I've tried that and I don't think that's the solution. Also, if I limit it to every other day I think I can improve.

Has anyone else set restrictions on themselves?

 

I haven't... But I can't play at work. Does that count?

 

Then don't play Tetris on an even-numbered day. Play Lockjaw instead. Or play Dr. Mario. Or play a DDR game. Or play an Animal Crossing game.

But then I've set a restriction on my Animal Crossing: Wild World play: no cheats.

And I have a feeling this restriction will bite you in the behind if a major tournament in your area is scheduled for an even-numbered day.

 

I can't play when the GF's over. I cheat every once and a while, though.

 

but is there something about even-numbered days, something else you have to do on those days? i could understand only playing on a day off, or the night before a day off.

 

I think Edo would speak best on this topic?

I don't set restrictions on how much I play Tetris, but my life does and I allow it to. If I've got nothing better to do than play Tetris, I'll play. If I have something better to do, I'll do that.

 

When it became urgently necessary for me to both get a job, and study to pass an exam, I decided to cut out tetris altogether. With hindsight, it probably wasn't the best course of action: not only was it an unrealistic restriction (which I couldn't keep to, and frequently cheated on), but I also feel that it was unnecessary. Back when I first quit tetris, I think cyberguile got it right:

Maybe 20 minutes every day, maybe 40 minutes on alternate days, or maybe even half an hour, twice a week. No matter how busy your schedule, it should always be possible to squeeze in some entertainment. And for purposes of maintaining your skill, it's far better to play regularly, a little bit each time, than to abstain for weeks on end, and then binge for several hours on a single day.

Currently, I'm back to playing tetris, and I find the best way to limit the amount I play is to only allow myself a certain number of credits a week. Even when I feel I've got nothing better to do, if I've played all my credits, I go and do something else, like get ahead on my work schedule, catch up on sleep, go and socialise, or exercise, or anything else productive that I wouldn't normally do. I think this way, when I know I've only got a limited number of credits, every game counts. If I muck up, I must go on. There's no, "oh it doesn't matter, I can just restart"; my playing is more focused, more intense, and more enjoyable.

 

That's a really good idea, I may steal it.

 

Edo, I found your post very interesting. But how do you go about recording how many credits are used?

 

Wouldn't be hard to just write it down somewhere, either physically on paper or a .txt file, or just keep a mental log.