Do you ever find yourself wanting to do something, but also wanting to do something else? Do you ever find yourself torn between the two decisions? Does everything seem like a good idea, even though you know you can’t possibly do it all? Are you slightly annoyed by your inability to DO ALL THE THINGS? Well,, I do believe you’re familiar with what I’ve just dubbed the Buffet Conundrum.

Why do I call it this? Because I have this problem when I go to buffets: everything looks good, and I really want to get my money’s worth, but I know I’m not a big eater and there’s only so much space in my stomach. This often ends one of two ways: either I end up getting small samples of everything and leaving unfulfilled, or (more likely) I fill up plates with a bunch of stuff that looks good and then find myself too full to really enjoy myself. And I still can’t seem to get my money’s worth!

I’ve recently faced the Buffet Conundrum when it comes to gaming. I know, I know, I’ll be the first to admit that this is the pinnacle of First World Problems, but it’s an inevitable result of me getting a proper job like an almost-respectable adult and not having as much free time as I used to.

See, I have a lot of video games, most of which I haven’t even played. But for the most part, I picked them up because they sounded like something I wanted to play. So what if I haven’t gotten around to them yet? So what if I’ve bought games that my computer can’t run? I’ve got enough of a backlog to keep me occupied for years!

But I digress. Right now, I find myself wanting to play a game in my collection, but also wanting to finish the current game I’m playing. What do I do? Do I try to play both, thus impeding overall progress and dragging the stories along? Or do I suck it up and finish the game I’ve become less excited about but have sunk a lot of time into, before moving on to something new and exciting? Or do I play this little flash game that I just came across, pushing off both of the others?

In the past, I’ve found myself in this conundrum in regards to books. In those cases, I try to be reading only one book at a time, and line up my queue accordingly. But my free time is so limited now (seriously, I have one night to myself during the work week) that I don’t even have time to really read!

Part of this is the fact that I now have a job where I actually have to do work. I know that sounds bad, but when I worked in computer labs I had a lot of downtime where I could putter around on my laptop, and working early mornings at Costco left my afternoons wide open. I’ve also apparently become busy, with some activity or another filling up my evenings. Oh, and a girlfriend who wants to spend time with me for some reason.

I don’t really have a conclusion to this, just a gentle rant about having too many options and not enough time. Add to this the annoyingly-ingrained background thought that video games are a “waste of time,” and you can probably see where I’m coming from. Not to mention all the other interests, hobbies, and interpersonal relationships that vie for my attention. Oh well, I guess all that I can do is keep plugging away at things, and reminding myself that “time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”