i do too much in life to get good :(

[crankyrayhanky]

If you look at the way you spend your time and you're sad, well I think that is telling you something. No one is forcing you to play video games and drink beer.

 

[gunch]

If I wasn’t depressed about my situation in life I’m sure af am now

 

[budda]

Itt: time management.

 

[StevenC]

To be honest I'd have a lot of sympathy for OP if the problem wasn't "I like beer and video games more than guitar"

 

[soul_lip_mike]

Focused practice helps. Every time you sit down to play even if its 30 minutes you should have a goal in mind.

 

[mongey]

Let’s face it , kids ruin everything.

 

[budda]

Let’s face it , kids ruin everything.

My guitar collection since having one is the wildest it’s ever been, I dunno

 

[bigswifty]

To be honest I'd have a lot of sympathy for OP if the problem wasn't "I like beer and video games more than guitar"

Yeah. Cut the video games. All of a sudden, a lot of time opens up.

 

[Emperoff]

Let’s face it , kids ruin everything.

Nah. Even without kids life always gets in the way of playing guitar unless you make a living out of it.

I'm getting back to metronome woodshedding lately. It's crazy how focused practice pays off. If I had 1h of practice, I used to noodle during 1h. Now I'm like 45min pure practice and 15 min jamming. The jamming feels so good afterwards (kinda like a reward).

I can't play every day, but if I can pull off 3 practice sessions a week plus a rehearsal on sundays then I'm more than happy.

 

[mongey]

My guitar collection since having one is the wildest it’s ever been, I dunno

Yeah but do you get to play them ?

 

[TheBolivianSniper]

Yeah. Cut the video games. All of a sudden, a lot of time opens up.

I stopped playing video games when I got a new PC and didn't feel like installing all the stuff on my computer. Now it's just filled with plugins and samples instead of game files and character sheets.

Do I feel cooler? No

Am I better at guitar? yes

am I happier? eh? more fulfilled I guess

 

[bigswifty]

I stopped playing video games when I got a new PC and didn't feel like installing all the stuff on my computer. Now it's just filled with plugins and samples instead of game files and character sheets.

Do I feel cooler? No

Am I better at guitar? yes

am I happier? eh? more fulfilled I guess

Exactly.
I look at this action as more of a positive reduction than "adding more time" or something.
Cutting video games doesn't necessarily mean you'll use all of that "video game time" on playing guitar or making music.
But for me, playing video games became kind of a slog, and I never, EVER, felt fulfilled after playing a game/investing time into a game (except for Hollow Knight.. that game fucking rules). So, I just said fuck it and stopped playing, and now I don't get that feeling towards games. And I probably play guitar about 25% more

 

[budda]

Yeah but do you get to play them ?

Yep.

 

[Dooky]

i like my video games. i like my beers. i like my movies. i work. i also do some things for what we will call "personal growth". i also play guitar. im 42. when i was 13, guitar was my life. id watch cartoons and try to play with the music and stuff.... i learned real quick. then i lost interest, and when i picked it up again, i was caught in ruts of jamming the same riffs and blues scale licks.

You're 42 and the first two interests you mention are video games and beer. What a waste of time and money.

 

[pahulkster]

Eh make the time. If you truly can't do half an hour a day then you don't need to. Consistency and focus is everything. You have to practice practicing which sounds stupid but is a thing.

 

[Emperoff]

You're 42 and the first two interests you mention are video games and beer. What a waste of time and money.

Hey! What's wrong with beer and videogames?

 

[ArtDecade]

Hey! What's wrong with beer and videogames?

At 42, you should at least be cultured enough to embrace Scotch and first print editions of Dungeons & Dragons manuals.

 

[Brocephus]

How about combining beers and guitar for eh... multitasking purposes, let's say

 

[mongey]

I have to say that I’m 48 and have 2 young kids , 7 and 3 , and I had to cut video games. Beer is still necessary. Guitar time is getting better as they get a bit more self sufficient.

Play more at the moment that I have for 7 years.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I too have cut video games from my life almost completely. Once I started seriously facing my alcoholism, I started to recognize other areas where my addictive behavior would crop up as well. Video games and social media soon revealed themselves to be incredibly problematic, places I would use as an escapist hole, smashing that dopamine button like a slot machine.

I still indulge every once in a while, but now my awareness of my own behavior is to the point where I won't even allow myself to play for more than a couple hours a month, and I don't play super addictive games anymore, mostly old childhood RPGs that predate the World of Warcrack model.

It's amazing what I've learned about myself once I started thinking this way. I use lots of things this way when I'm not feeling great; cannabis, socialization, food, sex, even reading. At a certain point it's less about cutting stuff out than it is about addressing the underlying behavior, but it's also important to recognize what things are legitimately inhibiting growth.

Socialization, food and sex are also things I have a biological imperative to find so I can't very well cut those out, but intentionally addictive video games and substances that make it too easy not to care are a clear net negative in my life (and, I reckon, most people's lives if they're honest).

"Are you doing this thing instead of things you wish you were doing/(feel like) you should be doing?" for me was one of the questions that really made it clear I had a problem, and that it reached further than just alcohol.