For the past three years, I have been playing a game called Farmville on Facebook. It started as a silly virtual game, that I didn’t really understand. You “plot”, “plant”, and “harvest” crops and trees, you “purchase”, or “birth” animals, and you buy “equipment”. Awesome right? It sounds dull, and probably is… but to me it became an addiction. For three years, I created a gigantic farm with the most up-to-the-minute virtual equipment possible. I got lots of animals (some that don’t even belong on farms), and I decorated with vigor. Finally, I got really into the actual crops themselves. I sold off all of my trees and started getting REALLY into completing crops (you have to plant so many to get a mastery of each). I finished page after page of crops, gaining a sense of accomplishment from each. Then, I even put some financial backing into it. Not a lot, but enough that it was more than I should have chosen. Recently I was talking to a good friend when I realized that the whole thing was ridiculous. I was taking time away from my house, my family, and my blogging to stress over and “play” this game! No more. Today, I said goodbye-ish to my farm. I was second out of all of my friends in the “points” race, had the biggest farm available, and lots of goodies. I sold all of my virtual purchases, plots, and buildings before I could change my mind. Now, I am going to leave an empty farm in cyberspace. In the event I ever return, I have not lost my points or my finances, but I do not have any of the equipment, crops, or animals that I used to. It would take me a long time to rebuild my “empire”. The problem with this game is that it is still evolving. You can’t win it. They keep moving the endline, adding crops, and changing the adventure! From a business standpoint, good for them! From a personal standpoint, this became stressful and not worth doing.
This morning, when I checked Facebook and my other blogs, my time was cut in half because I wasn’t having to trade out a crop. SO – I’m moving onto bigger projects, like balancing TWO kids instead of one! I am not going to play anymore. My other Facebook game was MafiaWars. I am just going to drop that one. I wasn’t emotionally involved, but again I can never win… Thank you to everyone who played with me on these games. I wish you all the best of luck. But for now, I’m giving up the farm :).
I listed this entry under “technology and gadgets” and “getting organized’ because I consider it a way of getting rid of lifestyle clutter. Sometimes it isn’t just the knickknacks and paper that piles up. Sometimes organizing includes eliminating processes that are unnecessary to living successful and happy lives. Like virtual farms. (Now that I’m on this side of the fence, I feel super silly saying that, but before it made perfect sense to me…)
