Hey and welcome to DadGamingIQ, on this site we’re going to cover a lot of different topics but I thought for the first ever blog post we would cover something that seems to affect everyone nowadays. Lack of time or at least the feeling of a lack of time to play games (or do any other hobby). Yes this does affect everyone in different ways and some people definitely have less time then others. But I’ve noticed that a lot of people – young, old, single, married, do and don’t have kids all feel like this.
The reason for the feeling of a lack of time from what I’ve seen tends to come more from work tiredness more then anything. After a long day at work your brain feels fried and then you might have more things to do once home like tidy, cook, clean, shower, exercise and spend time with family. It just feels like its never ending and overwhelming.
As important as it is to make time and a routine for the important responsibilities in life. I think its just as important to make time and a routine for our hobbies. As a life with no enjoyment isn’t a life at all.
So what can be done, well the first thing is to look at is what you do in a day and make of a list of everything that is a priority and can’t be left undone, everyone’s priorities will be different based on life circumstances. So everyone’s list will look different. Then add to the list your hobbies like gaming, exercise, writing (or anything else) and now it’s time to shape your day with a routine. Once you have all your responsibilities planned out then you can decide where you can put in your gaming time (or any other hobby).
You could get up 1 hour early or go to bed 1 hour later, you might realise you waste to much time on your phone so you need to cut down on that, you might decided you will have 1 day where you can game all day and that is the only day you do game or you might want to find the time everyday where you can game for 30-60 minutes, whatever works for you. you might also realise that if you just decide to fight through the work tiredness and play a game you actually start to wake up and enjoy your gaming session. Remember being tired after work sometimes isn’t real tiredness it can come from doing a job that is so boring or mind-numbing that you start to feel tired but you aren’t actually tired.
There are some rules that you should follow. Don’t lose sleep just to game cause the more tired you become the less you enjoy life and your hobbies. Try and aim to get 8-7 hours of sleep (easier said than done). Don’t force a routine you just can’t follow. Don’t be afraid to keep on changing it to find what works for you and Get some exercise even if it is just walking. We can game and take care of ourselves it doesn’t have to be one or the other. But remember you can’t be perfect and you will slip up and random things will just pop up that you will need to do. So if you end up messing up your after 3 perfect days, don’t worry about it, things like this will happen. Just jump straight back in to your routine the best you can.
Also don’t forget if your a dad get your kids involved in gaming with you. The best thing about gaming with your kids is to show them all the games you grew up with. Then looking at the their little face and seeing the look of shock and disgust when they see how bad graphics used to be (still find it hard to believe I was scared of resident evil on ps1).
Well thanks for your time and enjoy your day. Good Luck Gaming.