I’m not the type of man that finds himself addicted. I’m way too much of a control freak to let something become an addiction, as witnessed by my regular purges of caffeine.

One my deep, dark addictions that few people know about is my addiction to Spider Solitaire. I’ve played somewhere in the region of 2000 games in the last couple of years, and it has become my productivity filler. If I’m waiting for a program to load or a file to download, up comes the game to prevent me just sitting and waiting. If I’m watching a video or (gasp!) talking on the phone, a game gets started to help keep my brain engaged while I wait for the inefficient flow of information from someone’s mouth. Rarely do I play just to play, it’s almost always a filler.

However, it unfortunately is addictive for me. Complex enough to make winning every game a challenge, yet constrained enough to limit the ultimate number of choices so I don’t get too frustrated and can finish most games in under five minutes.

The problem is those games that take longer than five minutes. They turn into a time suck instead of a time filler, and since I can’t simply quit the game without winning (damn that competitive spirit), I end up burning way too much time playing.

I’ve tried everything so far. Rationing. “Only one game” promises. “Not until the work is done” ultimatums. And all have failed. So as of today, I have deleted it from my computer in an attempt to regain a modicum of self-control. Pray for me….