Topic: How do you find time for gaming?

Ah, the classic question that each and every gamer has on occasion. Seriously, which of us hasn't wondered this at some point?

I hold down a full-time job, own/maintain my own house, have commitments to a few different organizations/groups (though one is more of a "seasonal job"). While I'm single, I still do things every weekend or so with some of my family back at their home place. There are some days/weeks where my gaming time is almost nil, and sometimes my other hobbies (self-programming and reading) subvert my gaming a little.

I typically only have time to play video games for 1-2 hours on most weekday evenings. I tend to game more on the weekends, but the number of hours that I get in fluctuates with my schedule, chores/house stuff, and desire to game. I probably average 10-15 hours a week, though since it's winter there may be some weeks where that number is a little higher.

@JohnBlackstar Appreciate it but all is well. I'm in remission and only have 1 treatment left.

@Octane no i am not drving while gaming besides thats crazy,but i do walk and game at the same time

though i will say sometimes it's hard to go back to gaming when you get stuck in multible games you own

Finding the time has never been a problem - I usually manage to squeeze 30 minutes to a couple hours before sleeping. Somewhere I read that the european average TV viewing time per day is 3-4 hours a day - I don't watch the telly (I never bothered to install the antenna when I moved into this flat) so that probably explains why I have some spare time for gaming.

Well, my girlfriend actually works quite a bit further from home than I do, so when I get home I usually have about an hour and a half before she does. So I'll often spend about an hour gaming before cooking dinner. After dinner it's often off to the gym, hanging about on the sofa watching Netflix for a little bit or whatever else we gotta do in the evening. Afterwards around 9 pm we either game together for a bit (Rocket League, Mario, Rayman, whatever. Anything co-op flies), or she'll watch/read/whatever on her own for a bit and I might spend another hour or two gaming before tucking in for the night.

In the weekends I'll find whatever time I got in between groceries, housework, going out, etc. I'll usually get a couple decent hours in every weekend though.

The fact that I've got no kids nor plans to make 'm in the near future helps out quite a bit, too.

I tend to get home from work an hour before my gf does on weekdays and on Saturday's she's free, so I try to wash of my Friday's hangover with some leisure gaming Furthermore, my gf likes certain tv shows that I don't like, so when she watches those I play handheld and we're still acting semi-social.

Besides that, I try to find games my gf or friends like to play local co-op and add a social aspect to it (FIFA, Mario Kart, NSMB, etc.) or I even bring my console to work for some after-work fun with my collegues. Today for instance we're probably spending some hours playing Mario Kart during the after work drinks.

Yeah, I count my blessings...

@Tyranexx I'm in a very similar situation as you. I have a lot of people from this site on my friends list and I've seen their play times for some games and hot dang, they sure game a lot, most of them are adults too.

lol I have this question from time to time and then realise I don't fit the stereotype so usually get asked the question instead...

I've got a wife, three kids, job, I cook, and am a guitar player. Got my mortgage, school for the kids, sports and all that - I still have "loads" of time for gaming. Maybe not 8 hours a day, but all the tv time I don't have etc. adds up. Seriously, once you actively choose to put your time in certain things and cut the crud out, gaming comes quite easily. It really helps that the switch is such a take anywhere system too. After dinner dip? Gaming. Stuck in a creative rut? Gaming. Wife getting ready? Finishing xenoblade.

Stuff like that.

@SonOfVon: I have been trying to get better about partitioning off my free time so that I can accomplish everything I want to. I originally accomplished this by taking a step back and analyzing how I really spent my time most days; I watch little TV these days (and in fact don't have a proper television provider other than what I can find on YouTube and so on), but found I was spending an insane amount of time just browsing online, so I've cut back on that in the evenings. I was doing a fairly decent job after learning that fact until, for health/wellness reasons (My blood pressure was just under the pre-hypertensive line for a little while) I recently started exercising five days a week. Now I try doing a little programming and food prep on the days I don't exercise, reserve about an hour of time for reading before bed (to help wind down), and whatever time is left over is dedicated to gaming. Usually that leaves an hour or two, but sometimes there are evenings when I go without it or just want a break from screens since I stare at them at work as well.

My method is by no means perfect, but I've found that the added structure helps out a little. I just need to work on setting a slightly earlier bedtime....I'm considering setting an actual timer to help me stop gaming. XD The time still gets away from me sometimes.

I'm currently unemployed, so I spend my days emailing CV's to employers. It's nice having the extra time afterwards to play video games. Unfortunately I have very little money coming from the dole office, so I have to prioritize paying for things I need rather than what I want.
When I do have some spare cash, I don't mind paying for second hand games, or downloading games when they're on special offer. I vary rarely get games day one anyway.
The ideal situation would be making money as a competitive gamer or streaming on Twitch and Youtube, but I just can't be bothered with all the hastle.

@SonOfVon

As a married man with two young children I know how you feel. I have a 300 hour plus working month so findomf time isn't easy one of the big helps I found was moving the consoles to the bedroom. Once I've gotten cleaned up after work we spend a few hours a day as a family playing with toys talking having a meal together etc and once there both in bed we relocate to our room and I have my hour of gaming while my other half will Facebook read a book Skype family overseas. We can still talk and relax together. I found that talking about what I'm doing helps her feel involved and a good story doesn't hurt either. What's been great about the Switch is we can play together MK8D Arms Splatoon 2 are all very accessible and we've had some very late nights with the Switch!! Once the hour is up it is up. On Sundays I have a longer 3 hour or so session in the afternoon after we've enjoyed a Sunday out as a family. I found this really worked for us as it means we've both got some me time everyday without going to far. It is important to stick to those times at the end of the day it'll still be there tomorrow and knowing you have the routine means your not tempted to play for longer as you no longer 'don't know when I'll next have the chance' . Also don't be afraid to involve the missus my other half was a very casual gamer who could make a platformer like Yoshis Woolly World last months but she's getting really into the Switch. Also keep talking gaming is great but it's even better when your wife is happy because your not ignoring her.

Sorry bit long and rambly been a long day!!

so to honestly answer this question that is pondered across the internet...
i make time to play games once a week and things still get in the way. ive never cared for coming home from work and attempting to play a game. i play them to beat them, and my attention has to be 100% on the game at hand. thank god i dont have kids or a wife because that would mean less game time.
thank god i dont have kids or a wife because i dont feel like sharing my money with anyone either. i have my life designed the way i want it. im always busy, so all week i look forward to the game im going to play that weekend. i tried the relationship thing while having a game room. when yer the one who sits home all weekend while she goes out to clubs every friday and saturday it gets old and silly. the last thing i want to do after being around people all week long at work is be off work and surround myself around more people all weekend long. some people think its not good to stay home a lot. i say its not good to be out a lot. i enjoy my time inside and use the electronics i bought. thats my entertainment. i dont care for busybodies and i dont have to surround myself around others 24-7 to make me feel good about myself. gaming is a hobby, clubbing and talking to everyone person with a pulse is not. life is short, so i make time to play games by avoiding stupid people that stay away from where they pay their rent as often as they can...how ironic.

I mostly play on my lunch breaks at work.

@SonOfVon It is super challenging finding time and it's something I struggle with. I too am married, have 3 extremely active teenagers, and work full time as a marketing director. In addition to this I'm an avid cyclist, and I big chunk of my time has to go to this. There are times during the year, especially the warm months that I might get in 1-2 hours tops a week if I am extremely lucky. During the winter months I tend to get 2-4 hours in over the course of a weekend. I have loved having my Wii U so that during the week on the occasions when we are all watching shows together in the evening, I can just pick up the game pad and screw around on a game. I will tell you I treasure those few hours on the weekend though and try my best to get those in.

But, it also leads to taking forever to finish games, a game like Skyward Sword took me two years to complete. I try to mix up the games I play each weekend and I might go months in between coming back to a game. Too often I have to waste a bunch of time to figure out where I left off.

Well, I am single (thank god!) so no wife or kids to worry about. I work full time, but that is about 40 hours a week, 5 day work weeks. Ever since the Switch game out and returned my gaming hobby interests from casual back to outright obsession, I have phased out much of my other hobbies. I don't spend nearly as much time building model kits or watching anime anymore. About the only hobby I haven't slashed is reading (you know, books?) I play after work for 1-3 hours a day now and a lot on weekends if I don't have plans with friends. But even if I do have plans with friends, since I live in Japan, I play games on the train a lot. lol

Basically I simply choose to spend most of my free time gaming, with the rest of the time spent between books and friends. I outright don't watch TV anymore, if I watch anything it's on Netflix(other similar sites) or Twitch or YouTube. And often in the morning while I have my morning coffee.

@RickD Or just don't bother getting married because marriage is overrated. Most of my family ends up divorced eventually anyway so I figured I'd save the money!

@RancidVomit86 Oh man, God bless. I watched my father go through that, terrible thing. I hope things work out for you.

@ogo79 I hear ya brother. I used to live that kind of life, going out all the time, spending time and money on people that don't give a crap about you. now I'm more of a shut in, I keep to myself most of the time and I'm fine with that.

@bluemage1989 @dcstud maybe I miscommunicated because englsih is not my native language, I'm not married nor do I have kids, I'm a single guy who barely finds time for gaming so it amazes me that people who have their own families manage to squeeze in some gaming in their lives.

@SonOfVon
glad to hear that really.
that lifestyle will stress you out. lol