Ask HN: Advice on how to stop being briefly addicted to hobbies? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Advice on how to stop being briefly addicted to hobbies?

2 pointspolymathemagics2 comments

Hi! I find myself cycling between hobbies. I'll pick up guitar and get into it for a short while, then be totally bored. Then I'll pick up hobby electronics and watch youtube videos all night, then drop it two weeks later. And so on and so forth.

Any advice? I feel like it triggers an addiction part of my brain, like the other week where I hadn't played video games in two years, then picked up Factorio again and played all night - having to call in sick to work two days in a row due to the addiction.

Helpful resources on addiction are usually focused on the "bad" stuff - alcohol, gambling, porn. I suppose the same principles apply to "getting too into to things too fast and burning bright", but curious if anyone had practical insights here. Perhaps I should just embrace having many interests, even if I don't make progress in them? Although I also would like to make progress on things...

> "Hi! I find myself cycling between hobbies. I'll pick up guitar and get into it for a short while, then be totally bored. Then I'll pick up hobby electronics and watch youtube videos all night, then drop it two weeks later. And so on and so forth. Any advice? I feel like it triggers an addiction part of my brain, like the other week where I hadn't played video games in two years, then picked up Factorio again and played all night"

I thought this was how hobbies were normally supposed to work. This is how I do all my hobbies and I don't think it's bad.

> "having to call in sick to work two days in a row due to the addiction."

OK that's bad.

> "Helpful resources on addiction are usually focused on the "bad" stuff - alcohol, gambling, porn."

The reasons those things are bad isn't because they are immoral or because the bible says they are bad, it's bad when they have negative impacts on your life. Like missing two days of work from it. If you are having such bad effects from your addiction then I don't think it's helpful to think of it as 'not as bad' as those other things.

I'm not any professional so anything I said take with caution.

Seek professional help, set alarms, put timers on electronics, have a friend/sponsor to help, attend addiction meetings, self help books, etc.

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