How to Quit Xbox in 5 Days
Quitting your Xbox? That’s a tall order! If you spend every spare second with your feet up on the Xbox One, wide-eyed at the graphical spectacle of your new Xbox Series X or stuck in a lovelorn space-time lose to yester-slabs like an Xbox 360, it can feel like giving up a best buddy (and sometimes a cuddly partner) to step aside. If you really want to do it here is how, step by step.
Day 1: Admit You Have a Problem
The first step is the toughest: Realising you might be spending a little (or a lot) too much time on Xbox. This step is for you if you have said one more game and then looked at your watch to find that it was 3 AM.
Put down your reasons for quitting. You might be wanting more time for work, family, or the endless pile of laundry that has taken up permanent residence in your entryway.
Whether that’s simple, or more complex reasonings, have it in front of you — literally. Plaster it on the screen of your Xbox Series S or monitor. To look into the console of your own guilt and boot up — much harder.
Day 2: Uninstall Your Favorites
This one’s going to sting. Remove your most played games Yes, you Xbox Game Pass library hoarders, I’m looking at you. When your absolute favorites are not staring at you from the home screen, the motivation to “just check something” plummets.
Uninstalling that 300-hour-RPG feels like betrayal, sure, but you can always download it again if you need to. (Not this Xbox app will make that part easy.)
Day 3: Distract Yourself With Something Else
Gaming is addictive because it occupies your time with fun and excitement. So, do something that is at least as fun.
- You can attempt a new hobby — Cooking, Drawing, running (yes people do that as well for fun)
- Watch TV without the need to use your controller.
- Take a break with a book — perhaps one in gaming history to ease the transition.
The trick is to discover something that helps you forget about your Xbox Series X sitting there, silently staring at you with scorn.
Day 4: Power Down Completely
Now the tough bit: Switch off the Xbox and unplug it. Seriously. You give up on the idea of integrating it into your entertainment room. Out of sight, out of mind → If you don’t see it, you don’t remember about Kevin!
Hide it away in a cupboard somewhere, or better yet, lend it to a mate (I mean one who you know won’t ask you round to play on it). You’ll miss it, but hey your TV stand looks a lot less cluttered now!
Day 5: Go Cold Turkey (or Not)
It has been four days now during which time you have not gamed, or at least gamed a whole lot less. All right, if you’ve managed to get this far — nice one! Take this day as a reflection of how you spent your time and sold it to accomplish what you needed.
However, the good thing is that you do not have to give up forever. Or, perhaps you just wanted to take some time off and now are looking to wager more responsibly. Or perhaps you required an outright cessation. Whichever it may be, rejoice in your empowerment.
Final Thoughts
There are no two ways about it: the Quit Your Xbox In 5 Days series is one of the hardest things to do, especially if you plan on gaming on a Xbox One, or an Xbox Series X too; why not even going old-school and revisiting your favourite memories over on that trusty old Xbox 360?
However with a bit of determination (and humour) you can achieve it. And look, if you slip up and download a game via the Xbox app, or sample Xbox Game Pass again, don’t freak out. It’s all about balance, not taking things away from you. Excuse me, I now have an entirely unrelated to topic at hand urge to peek at the old Game Pass library.
