Ok - you sound a bit depressed. I get it.

There is a part of you that is shaming you for 'not being productive'. I have this as well.

You have to realize that there is another part of you that likes TV, movies, sex, games, hanging out with friends and video games.

All of these activities are a "waste of time" to the part of you that is torturing you.

But - there is another part of you that enjoys your cataloging. It is calming and relaxing. You get a sense of satisfaction putting things in order. It gives you some control in a world that is un-certain.

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Question: Have you ever gone to the gym or had a trainer? They will make you exercise parts of your body that you normally do not use. This is to prevent atrophy of these less used parts.

Your hobbies and "Data Hording" is similar. You are organizing, working with the computer, deciding how to solve problems and interacting with us here.

Like exercising strange muscles - you are working things that are not really 'productive' or useful. But like the gym - it helps to do these tasks to keep yourself whole.

The one trick - time box how much time you spend. An hour in front of the computer - then an hour cleaning the room, kitchen, grocery shopping, etc.

Be aware of your balance.

Try to forgive yourself. Look at "stamp collecting" - you never 'finish' or use the stamps to mail things. The researching, collecting, organizing, cataloging etc. are all important parts of the hobby.

I also rarely read/watch the things I collect. But I love fixing problems, writing scripts to rename things, coming up with a 'workflow', etc. My mind is always active, I seek out "...how do you guys solve this problem?" posts here.

It's not the destination that is important, it's the journey. And sharing problems and solutions.

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So let me ask: what was the last annoying problem you solved cataloging your collection? Is your solution more clever than mine?