So I've been playing an MMO a lot for the last month or so. Got really into it, learned a lot, got really good at it.
Realized yesterday that basically every other aspect of my life, from socializing to physical health to creative work to job performance to overall happiness, had taken a gradual nosedive since I started playing again
That game had so effectively hijacked my reward and motivation systems that it was hurting everything else. I'd have it running in the background even while I tried to do other things, because I felt like I was wasting time if I wasn't getting the steady rewarding feelings from it.
Uninstalled it and made it hard to reinstall yesterday evening and I already feel better. I've already made more progress on creative work this morning than in the last couple weeks combined.
MMOs can be fun. They can be engaging. There are certainly worse ways to spend your time.
But don't think that something that is "the thing you want to do the most right now" is also "the thing that will make you the happiest right now". They're often very different things
I know this sounds like obvious shit but I certainly need to re-learn it every once in a while, and I know people who do too.