There are so many great computing environments, so many great programming tools, so many great forums and online web sites, and so many great projects that you could be working on at any one time… where do you find the time to do them all? I love learning new programming languages and environments, and I’m always thinking of something else that would be fun to write…

With only so many hours in the day and so many varied interests (I swear I’m ADD but I’ve never had it officially diagnosed), how can you possibly get it all done? Or, more specifically, how can you get any of it done? Seems like I’m always starting something new, and everything I start requires more time and energy than I had originally thought it would.

It’s no wonder that games like City of Heroes can so completely monopolize free time. These games provide a false sense of accomplishment, striving to achieve that next level. When real accomplishment seems to come in such small doses, this “fake” accomplishment seems to fill the gap.

This creates a vicious cycle. Real life accomplishments are missing, so we turn to the game for a sense of accomplishment. Time spent in the game steals hours from real life endeavors, leading to less real life accomplishment, which sends you back to the game for another fix of the fake stuff.

Not that I intend to stop playing City of Heroes any time soon… I’ve just been noticing this disconcerting trend. Several factors over recent months have put my self discipline in the toilet… I guess this is just another manifestation of that.