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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast topic: Your priority list
by Amanda Dean 
May 14th 2009 at 8:00AM
We got an email from a reader concerned with the amount of time he spends playing WoW. It seems to be negatively impacting his school and social lives. Most of us manage to balance out WoW time with our real life obligations, but there is a strong possibility that addiction can set in. I cannot stress enough the importance of balance.I think that one of the keys to keeping both your WoW life and your real life balanced is by identifying your priority list. Every once in a while do a reality check and make sure you're keeping it in line. For me WoW sits somewhere between work and sleep (then again, I've never slept much). My guildies know that I will not be on on Friday nights, that's "sister time." I do play WoW when I'm on work trips, but I never go anywhere particularly exciting.
If you find that you're having trouble with focus on the real world, or your seriously considering making your own WoWPod, you may need to make some adjustments. You can try keeping a calendar to schedule your play time around your outside obligations. You may find that you need to drastically decrease your play time, you may even have to give up the game all together.
If you find you're seriously slipping, you can and should seek professional help. Ask your doctor or school counselor for a referral. Remember: don't replace WoW with another another unhealthy addiction. Keep in mind that there are some things that are more important than WoW.
Where does WoW fit on your priority list?
Filed under: Tips, Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
dawnseven May 14th 2009 11:43AM
It's important to remember that not everyone with a problem is aware that they have one. A lot of crazy people don't think they're crazy. And a lot of addicted people don't think they're addicted. If you have the perspective to be able to realize that, then you're not too far gone down the road. But to say that everyone should realize it and "just is no" is very unrealistic. I think the OP was a good one.
dawnseven May 14th 2009 11:44AM
Err ... "just say no".
Damn Edit button.
jfofla May 14th 2009 12:12PM
Sleep?
That is when you close your eyes and think of WOW.
Marvelous May 14th 2009 1:43PM
I am in the middle of a hiatus, taking April - August off. For me, although I played a lot, ironically it was _thinking_ about it when not playing that was becoming the problem. I wanted to do other things and felt that WoW was becoming the salient feature of my life. A bit of self-honesty simply required I stop playing for a while to get my priorities back in line.
I'm currently reading a book by David Kessler, "The end of overeating: taking control of the insatiable American appetite" and while not exactly about WoW (it's about overeating) it does in fact cover a lot of the same psychological ground in habituation and addiction. Insightful, and I think a lot of the same intentionality present in the food industry and how they manufacture highly palatable and addictive food is present in game developers such as Blizzard. Much like the tobacco companies, they know they have an addictive product and in fact it is precisely their intention to get you hooked on it.
Heinrick May 14th 2009 2:09PM
my wow priority is right ahead of breathing and eating
eric_barbaric May 14th 2009 2:14PM
If that is truly the case, then you my friend, may have a problem.
eric_barbaric May 14th 2009 2:12PM
My priorities are as follows and listed in order from most improtant to least.
Spending time with and raising my son. I don't play until he's asleep for the night.
Spending time with my wife (she works nights and I work days, so the rare days we have off together, WoW isn't even a concideration that day.
Work...*sigh*...until I hit the mega millions lottery anyway...lol
Eating, and showering I get out of the way before I log on, and I try not to stay on too long, so as not to cut into my sleep time.
Finally there is WoW for 2-4 hours 3-5 nights a week. There was a day and time before my son was born that my priorities were very different. I'd play for 6-10 hours for 5-7 days a week. Those days are gone now though, and I couldn't be happier. I'm not saying I didn't really like all the free time to play, but the love of my son pales all else in comparison.
Sedna May 14th 2009 2:27PM
For me, WoW fits under the category of "time with friends". Family comes first (I'm single, no kids, but with lots of family in the area), then work and professional goals within reason, then time with friends- whether it's online with friends from college, meeting people in the area, or with my WoW buddies. I'm pretty happy with the balance right now, perhaps because my guild has a supportive, "RL first" mentality, and a regular raiding schedule that we stick to (3x/week, 3-4 hours, nothing later than midnight on work nights). Things may change (for example, I'd like to go to graduate school, and then I'll probably have less time to dedicate to WoW), but it all seems to be working right now.
I think it's very worthwhile to keep an eye on your balance. For example, I know I have a tendency to retreat into TV/WoW/solitary activities when things are tough. So for me, playing an unusual amount of WoW, or watching TV all weekend, or spending every bit of my time online are red flags to me; I need to step back and reassess what's got me feeling freaked.
Nick May 14th 2009 2:28PM
There is no such thing as a "priority list." Only one thing can be a priority; everything else is just stuff you haven't done yet.
Food for thought:
http://www.43folders.com/2009/04/28/priorities
Eisengel May 14th 2009 3:15PM
Lucky... I wish I could raid often often that I thought it was a problem. The best I've seen yet is about 3 months of raiding once to twice a week.
Darias.Perenolde May 14th 2009 3:51PM
Sleeper Cartel has a very long tradition of having a "secondary" motto of "RL > WoW". Could be someone just working lots of hours at the office, could be finals at school, or even that sick relative you have to attend to.
I've had several friends have to quit over family issues too, and I've never had a problem with it. Some have just taken and put too much into the game, and others just found they wanted to do more with their families. It hurts to see them go, but as a husband and father myself, I can totally understand it.
I keep the lines of communication with my wife VERY open as a result. That's especially true when one of my friends leaves because WoW got to be "too much". I check and double check to make sure it's not taking me too much away from the family (which is easy to do as guild leader for a guild our size). She makes it known when I'm going to far, but says I'm doing "OK" with balancing it most of time.
The tough part is maintaining that balance.
Terazeal May 14th 2009 7:51PM
I don't really have a list of priorities. I just do what seems good at the time. It's worked great for me for my whole life. Something that I don't get is that people seem to think that WoW being a high priority is bad. I'm not sure why. Is it just because it's not a widely held view, unlike something like a non-WoW social life?