Getting Rid of Candy Crush Changed My Life

In the age of the iPhone, we all have our time-suck apps. For some, it’s Facebook. For others, Instagram. For me– and I realize I’m far from alone here– it was Candy Crush.

In retrospect, one of  the biggest problems with Candy Crush was that Candy Crush never seemed like much of a problem. I played the game for only 5 to 15 minutes at a time– before bed or after completing an arduous household task or writing assignment. I didn’t neglect my kids or my duties to play Candy Crush. I never reached that rock-bottom moment of asking my Facebook friends to play Candy Crush. There were no Candy Crush interventions staged by well-meaning family members, nor heartrending letters from longtime friends detailing the many ways Candy Crush had stolen my once sweet and endearing personality.

And yet…

When I stopped to add up how much time Candy Crush was actually taking from me each day, suddenly it seemed like kind of a big deal. I started wondering what I would accomplish in that time if Candy Crush didn’t have a claim on it. And one day, I finally got the courage to delete Candy Crush (at level 787, y’all. This was BIG.) and find out.

I worried I’d miss the game– that I’d go through some kind of Candy Crush withdrawal– but the truth of the matter was that it immediately felt very freeing. I now had one less reason to stare at my iPhone, and that alone was cause for celebration.  The next time I had a few minutes to spare, I did something I’ve done less and less of in the last few years– I opened a book and began reading.

Spending my downtime playing Candy Crush feels a little embarrassing, but spending my downtime reading a book feels noble and smart. I’ve been Candy Crush free now for a month and a half — and I’ve read seven books.  This is twice what I’d normally have read in that time.

And there’s more. So much more. In the absence of Candy Crush, I became more productive. I started using my spare moments to take care of all the little deep cleaning and organizational tasks around the house that I had too often put off. I got every single stain out of our carpets. Reorganized the den closet. And the bathroom closet. And my bathroom cabinet. Put down new shelf paper in the kitchen. Spruced up the playroom and master bedroom. Found new recipes to try at dinnertime. Went through the stack of magazines I haven’t had time to look at in months.

Deleting Candy Crush also gave my brain more freedom to dream and plan and develop ideas. It wasn’t until I got rid of Candy Crush that realized I’d been playing it any time things around me threatened to get ‘boring.’ I played it while working out at the gym. I played it while sitting in waiting rooms. I played it when I thought I was too tired to do much of anything else. Without Candy Crush, I was forced to actually think creatively during my downtime. This thinking led to lots of ideas, which I started writing down. That list gave me things to mull over and expand upon in my mind while working out or doing housework or sitting in a carpool line. It also gave me more to write about- I’ve written far more, both on and off my blog, since I deleted Candy Crush, mainly because I no longer sit down at my computer wondering what on earth I’m going to write about- Now, I have 25 different topics at my fingertips, and I can work on whichever of those ideas takes my fancy in that moment.

Finally, without Candy Crush, I no longer have much reason to stare at my phone at night– which means I sleep far better than I used to. And, as we all know, getting enough sleep changes everything. Everything!

I knew I’d probably read more without Candy Crush, and get more housework done– but I had no idea that getting rid of a game would change my life in so many ways. I decided to write about it because I’m pretty sure that most of you have a guilty pleasure that adds no real value to your lives, whether it’s a game, a social media app, an obsession with celebrity gossip, or something else. I hope you’ll think very seriously about identifying those things in your life and eliminating them. The very best thing for me about saying goodbye to Candy Crush is that it has given me the courage to hit that delete button again, relentlessly, every single time I see that something– anything– is taking up my time and giving me nothing in return.

So. What’s your Candy Crush? Do yourself a favor and get rid of it.

 

Header image via CandyCrush.com.