Nowadays, the video game world is filled with various interesting projects, and gamers can spend more than 100 hours completing a single game. But this leads to the fact that a person neglects other activities, can stay up late, and this affects their condition in the morning, adds a bunch of tasks that need to be managed, worsens health, and reduces efficiency in engaging in other important activities.Or there are cases when, because of the large number of different tasks a person doesn’t manage to complete on time, they simply can’t find an opportunity to play video games.
Of course, we do not want to say that one should give up video games because they affect you negatively. Here it is important to maintain a work – fun balance so that one complements the other rather than interferes. Therefore, we have gathered recommendations for you on effective time management that will allow you to enjoy video games and not fall out of real life.
Why is it important to manage time properly?
Nowadays, time is the most important resource in a person’s life. Sometimes it seems that 24 hours is not enough for one day. Especially in adulthood, when in addition to work there are household chores, it is necessary to devote time also to family, not to mention entertainment, rest, and video games.
Games, in turn, can take away a large amount of time from gamers, and they may not even notice it. That is why it is important to manage your time properly and to be able to balance the virtual and the real world.
Tips that will help you manage your time better
Set clear boundaries
It often happens that a gamer becomes so carried away with the game or with the need to complete a certain level that they lose track of time. Because of this, a person may leave the game after midnight and not have much time left for sleep.
Therefore, you need to analyze how much time you have that you can spend on games. Suppose on a certain day you can play for two hours, then you need to deal with other matters. To avoid situations where you get carried away by the game and postpone leaving it, or simply lose track of time, set an alarm or timer that will notify you that it is time to end the gaming session.
If you play online games, then set clear boundaries on how many matches you can play during this period. But remember, it is better to finish earlier and give your eyes and body a rest from sitting at the PC or console.
If you have the question, “how to manage gaming time,” in order to avoid promises of “just 10 more minutes” after the allotted time has ended, you can penalize yourself. For example, if you allocated 2 hours for a gaming session but stayed 30 minutes longer, then next time subtract 30 minutes from your available time, which will help develop discipline.
If you play with friends, then plan in advance what time you will gather so that you can correctly distribute time for other tasks. Also notify them that you can only play until a certain hour and no longer. It is important to maintain discipline and play only within the time allocated for it, and not longer, no matter how strongly your friends persuade you to join for one more match.
🗓️ Plan your day
When you know that the next day you have work/studies/household chores, it is worth planning your day either before going to bed or in the morning. Determine from what time to what time you will be at work/studies, then what household tasks you need to complete. After this, you will see when free time appears, which you can devote to games, and plan a gaming session for that period.
When planning tasks, it is important to set priorities. Sometimes players may give preference to a video game instead of homework or an important report for work. To prevent this, assign importance to your tasks; this will allow you to identify the most urgent ones.
To better plan your daily schedule, you can use various time-management methods. Here, we will briefly talk about two quite popular techniques: Eisenhower Matrix and Time Blocking.
Let’s start with Time Blocking. The essence of this technique is to divide your day into specific time blocks. These blocks should group similar tasks together. For example, 9:35–12:00 – work on Project X, 12:30–13:00 – checking email and replying to messages. This way, you can focus on certain tasks that are similar to each other and don’t require switching your brain between different types of activities, which improves efficiency.
The Eisenhower Matrix helps you prioritize the tasks you need to complete. The main goal of this time-management technique is to focus on the most important tasks without wasting time on secondary ones.
According to the Eisenhower Matrix, you need to draw a large square and divide it into four blocks:
- Important and urgent: write down what you must do immediately.
- Important but not urgent: this section is considered the most important because it contains tasks that matter but don’t have a critical deadline, allowing you to complete them at a calm pace. This block often includes medium- and long-term tasks, as well as day-to-day activities.
- Not important but urgent: these are tasks that you can delegate to someone else or postpone so they don’t distract you from more important matters.
- Not important and not urgent: these are activities that can “consume” your working time, so it’s best to avoid them during productive hours.
Of course, such methods may not suit everyone, and some people can plan their day effectively without them. So it is worth experimenting and exploring different techniques to choose the one that helps you distribute your time wisely, complete all your tasks on schedule, and still have time to rest.
📊 Track the time spent in games
When you have the question “how to control gaming hours”, special programs can help you, such as Microsoft Family Safety, RescueTime, Cold Turkey Blocker. They allow you to track how much time you devote to games, and can also remind you after a certain period of time that it is already necessary to exit the game. Some of them have a blocking function after the allotted time is over, which will not allow you to play longer than you planned.
🌱 Start small
When you want to begin managing your time in order to get everything done, you should not immediately change everything drastically and push yourself into restrictions. First, focus on small tasks, setting a short period of time for their completion, giving yourself the chance to get used to it. Then you can expand this to other tasks, systematizing your time.
Also, do not expect that you will immediately begin doing a certain task for a long period of time without distraction. Raise the bar gradually – for example, start with 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, and so on, until you reach an optimal value. Likewise, you should not suddenly give up everything at once; if you play a game for four hours a day, first reduce this time by 20–30 minutes, then reduce it further, and continue doing this until you reach, for example, two hours of gaming per day.
🌙 Do not postpone sleep because of a game
All of us have repeatedly stayed too long in a game, telling ourselves that this is the last mission and then we will go to sleep. Of course, this led to the fact that we went to bed long after midnight. But we do not think about the fact that the lack of healthy sleep prevents us from concentrating on tasks and worsens health.
Remember that poor sleep leads to memory impairment, the appearance of anxiety, loss of concentration, and many other negative consequences. Irritability and aggression may appear, which will affect not only your virtual but also your real life, and may lead to conflicts with relatives and friends. Therefore, set boundaries so that you know by what time you must go to bed in order to get 7–8 hours of healthy sleep.
If you are a passionate gamer, all this will also affect your performance in the game, so do not neglect sleep!
It is also often recommended that screens of various gadgets should not be used 1–2 hours before sleep. We understand that this is difficult, but at least reduce the brightness of the screen – this will already help ease the strain on your eyes.
⚖️ Keep a balance
Do not allow video games to take up all your time. Balance between gaming and life will allow you to get the most out of life. Take breaks between completing different games. Do not give up other hobbies, and do not forget to devote time to your family and to meet friends in real life, not only in the virtual one.
Maintaining a balance gaming and life will help avoid gaming burnout. You should enjoy games, and this is impossible when they have become routine or already cause stress due to difficult levels. So do not forget to take breaks, have other hobbies that you can devote time to instead of games, which will allow you to reset and return to gaming with new energy and inspiration.
🎯 Focus on the task
For the process of completing a task to be successful, it is worth focusing only on it and avoiding distracting factors. This will help you complete the task you set for yourself with quality and on time.
A separate working or gaming space can help with this. It should be equipped as much as possible according to your needs, without items that will distract you. It is also worth switching your phone to silent mode and warning others not to disturb you.
Of course, many different situations can occur in our lives, and it is not always possible to allocate space in the home for your needs. And if you do not live alone, then it is worth discussing all the points, explaining why during a certain period you should not be disturbed.
🔄 Do not forget about breaks
In games, especially when we talk about online projects, concentration and focus are important. But during long gaming sessions the brain gets tired, and we begin to lose focus, which leads to a decrease in reaction and productivity. This is followed by failures that can cause stress and a loss of enjoyment from the process.
That is why it is important to take breaks – this will allow the brain to switch. A short break for a quick workout, or simply walking around the house/apartment and talking with other people, will let you recharge. You can also do a small exercise to tone your muscles.
Therefore, do not forget to include breaks when planning a gaming session. Your brain will thank you for this.
The Pomodoro Technique ⏲️
To balance staying focused on a task and taking breaks, you can use the Pomodoro Technique, developed by Italian student Francesco Cirillo to spend less time completing his homework.
The idea behind the Pomodoro Technique was that he would set a timer for 10 minutes and divide his homework into segments that could each be completed within that time frame.
Today, of course, this technique has evolved and can be adapted to your needs. All you have to do is set a task you want to complete within, for example, 30 minutes, followed by a 5–10 minute break.
This technique helps you learn to concentrate on a specific task without getting distracted by other things. It allows you to complete work and household tasks more quickly, freeing up more time – which you can then spend playing video games.
🎮 Games should bring enjoyment
Video games are primarily created to bring enjoyment to players. But often gamers begin to take the game too seriously, especially in online play, and this leads to the fact that when something does not work out, a person begins to get angry and show aggression. Then they lose concentration and focus, which worsens the game result even more. All this causes stress and a decline in mood.
Therefore, you should not take games too seriously. You must understand that this is primarily recreation, and if you lose a match, nothing fundamental in your life will change.
Conclusions
As you can see, combining real life and virtual life is quite possible. You can manage to complete all the tasks at work and at home while leaving time for video games, but it is important to manage your schedule properly. The tips we have given are quite universal, and you can adapt them to your lifestyle, which will allow you to spend enough time in games without sacrificing studies/work, communication, household chores, and your well-being.
Thanks to effective time management, order and discipline will come into your life, teaching us to take care of our health and to choose priorities correctly. At the same time, video games will be a wonderful addition to this life, bringing new emotions and teaching certain skills. Remember that games should complement your life, not become it.
