As adults, we become busy with life: careers, growing children, families, and many more. But, since we only have 24 hours a day, I have difficulty finding the time and playing video games. I often feel this whenever I want to set aside a few hours playing: The feeling of guilt for thinking I am wasting my time and should spend on getting closer to my goals or sleep instead.
Do you feel this too? Don’t be ashamed. Others might say gaming wastes time, but I sincerely beg to disagree. Playing video games has many benefits, like relaxation, and helps us enjoy life.
By the way, this article will be more of a self-help article! Mastering your productivity, time management, and prioritization helps you free up time to do the things that you love, and that includes, but is not limited to, playing your favorite video games.
Here are the 9 effective, time-saving hacks to play more games:
Work from Home
Let's admit it: As adults, one of the life activities that drains so much of our time is our work. Approximately 1/3 of our daily lives are spent here, which is essential in order for us to live and feed our family. The commute time to go to work and back home is 2-3 hours on average. Imagine if you are working from home; you will be able to save that time and dedicate it to playing!
If we are to compute this:
- 2 hours per day x 5 days = 10 hours per week.
- 10 hours per week x 4 weeks = 40 hours per month
- 40 hours per month x 12 months = 480 hours per year!
- 480 hours is 20 days! Imagine how many games you can play in that time. That would be great, isn't it?
Play at least an hour per day and set a timer.
If it is essential to you, you will find time regardless of how busy your schedule is. Setting aside an hour is a good number, and don’t forget to set the alarm to be reminded to take a break or call it a day.
Our kids want to play games all the time, and if they're left unchecked, they usually play for hours, which is not good. Setting a timer and alarm forces them to stop. And if this approach works for them, it will definitely work for you.
Play more on weekends and your off days.
Make it a point to enjoy your rest day by playing video games. Two hours is a good number to play.
How many holidays are there in a year here in the Philippines?
As per Google, we have 18 national holidays every year. These are already a given and automatic 18 days. We should also include the unplanned vacations like typhoons, minor volcanic eruptions, and other events. The government prioritizes the safety of its people; that's why they suspend classes and work in situations that will harm the people.
Like, for example, if there's a typhoon coming, they will suspend a day or two in anticipation that it will hit our place. These things are hidden doors for opportunities that free up our time and allow us to extend our gaming time.
For sure, there are holidays in your country too! You can take advantage of that by planning in advance what you will do on those days.
Increase your Focus to Finish Other Tasks
This approach is an obvious one but often disregarded. In today's world, distraction is a common thing for everyone. From the simple cry of a baby to a notification from our favorite social media app, an email pop, an instant message, someone knocking on the door, etc.! The list is limitless!
How do you increase your focus?
- Do not multitask. Some say multitasking is good. However, studies show that multitasking keeps our focus and actions preoccupied and has been proven unproductive. I highly recommend putting your focus on one task at a time.
- Wear a headset. Even if it's a normal headset or something like a noise-cancelling headset, it's fine! Other people that will see you wearing a headset give the impression that you're doing something important, and they will minimize interacting with you.
- Set your phone to DND or do not disturb mode and put it in a locker or another room. Our phone is one of the ultimate distractions, so get rid of it temporarily and only pick it up when you're done with your task.
- Work in a separate room. If you have a spare room, bring your workstation or laptop and work there.
- Clean your table or workstation. Sometimes, our tables are cluttered, and there's so much fluff. It increases focus if you keep it clean and organized. It will also help you find things faster if everything is in place.
- Minimize your browser tabs or close any unused apps. Closing any unused apps or tabs will free up memory consumption on your workstation, which results in more resources and can help speed up your process.
- Change your working schedule. Picking a time when the kids are asleep or they're at school will reduce the chances that they distract you.
If you can complete the job faster, you will free up more time and feel good about accomplishing many tasks. Even if you save up a few minutes, this could compound, and you'll notice you freed up hours. You will not only have more free time to play video games, but you will also feel great for being productive!
Eliminate distractions, and you will be rewarded with more playtime.
Spend less time or replace other hobbies on your ‘Me-Time’ with playing video games.
Do you watch Netflix, read the news, spend a few hours on YouTube, or do other activities during your free time? Why not fork a portion in it and dedicate it to playing games?
What are these me time?
- Binge-watching movies, series, or KDrama
- Spending more time on showers
- Sleeping longer
- Book reading
- Drinking wine or beer
- Walking
- And many more
Take note that you don't need to entirely replace an activity that will improve your well-being. These are just options and suggestions, okay? You enjoying life is far more important here, so do what work best for you!
Delegate tasks to free up more time
Maybe you are doing too many low-priority and time-consuming activities at work or home? Try delegating minor tasks to your subordinates or peers if you’re at work. House chores are also time-consuming, like washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, raising kids, etc. Hiring a helper or a nanny may cost you a few dollars, but the time it frees up is vast, and you can do more productive things and play games.
Hiring a VA
A few decades ago, only the upper class and the wealthy could hire butlers and their personal secretaries. However, times have changed, and even little tasks can be delegated to others nowadays. There are many VA's that will take care of your day-to-day activities for a very good rate per hour! If you have a coin to spare, then this is a great way to delegate your time-consuming activities, thus saving more time.
A good website to hire freelancers is UpWork and OnlineJobs PH. Make sure to check them out!
Utilizing AI
Not many people are ready for this and are not receptive to change. However, the use of AI is really a game-changer! I treat AI as my untiring on-the-job trainee that takes on everything, I command them. There are plenty of AI functions that do things efficiently. From researching to editing images and videos, and many more!
My personal favorites are Microsoft's CoPilot! Heck, they even pay you rewards for using their search engine daily! Next is Meta AI on the phone for general prompts because I use Facebook Messenger every day, which is very accessible, and UpScayl for enhancing low-resolution images.
Say 'no' more often to avoid getting more commitments.
In our society, saying no is being branded as wrong and not friendly. But in some cases, saying no or declining on something helps you take control of your time. My suggestion is to politely and humbly decline to avoid miscommunication with others.
Saying 'no' to myself
Unfortunately, the vast majority of us are not good at prioritizing tasks, which leads to doing a lot of lesser-value things and less time doing higher-value tasks. Saying no to ourselves will help us identify the more important things, focus on working on those things, and eliminate wasting time. Again, more free time means more chances to play your favorite video game!
Saying 'no' to others
This is a pretty tricky process—what I am trying to say in this statement is 'to say no politely to others that will lead to being unproductive.' For example, a co-worker wants to chat with you on some not-so-important stuff. You can politely decline and tell him or her, 'Sorry, I'm a bit busy. Can I get back to you later? '
However, if your boss or manager is giving you orders, if it is reasonable and within your scope of work, then accept it happily and work on it without any interruptions. That way you helped him, the whole company, and they're happy with your performance. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?
Prioritize the video games you are currently playing.
Sometimes we punish ourselves by buying too many games, then our game backlogs pile up. I suggest buying only the games you want to play the most, so you won’t feel burdened.
Why prioritizing your games is helpful
- You can focus on playing your backlogs. Hell, yeah! Like getting a platinum trophy for a game, reducing your backlogs significantly is a great achievement!
- You won't get distracted with the upcoming games. Believe me, the gamer who always looks and buys for the next hype will have a huge library and collection of games but will always feel burdened for not being able to play it all.
- You will save money. And by the time you complete most of your backlogs, you will notice that the game you wanted to play next has dropped its value! Isn't that a great deal? A few months of waiting and delayed gratification lets you save money and enjoy the same experience!
This happened to me when I bought God of War, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth! I was so focused with my backlogs, and when I am ready to buy another game, these great titles have dropped their price, unlike during their hyped days.
How do I prioritize my current library?
- Avoid watching upcoming games on YouTube. Less exposure from the hype will allow you to prioritize and enjoying your current game.
- Find time to explore your current game more. You will find more gems in it, I promise! If you're up for the task, getting the platinum trophy and playing NG+ will enable you to make the most of your game. This takes time for sure, but at least it helps you enjoy the game you're playing fully!
Go portable
If you are always on the go, buying a portable console like Nintendo Switch, old-school gadgets like PlayStation portable, or the Steam Deck and other portable gaming devices is a good move. Or, if you prefer playing with your console, you can buy a portable monitor, console bag, and accessories for mobility. Watch this video to view an example of going portable:
Source: Austin Evans
Gaming handhelds are now on the rise!
As of writing and updating this article, the gaming handheld devices are now widely adapted by gamers. The main players are Valve's Steam Deck, ASUS Rog Ally X, and the Lenovo Legion Go. Other brands are also launching their own handhelds, but these are the brands dominating the market share.
Video source: Valve
Video source: Lenovo Legion
Video source: ROG Global
The only catch with gaming handhelds
The only limitation as of today is the reduced quality for AAA and graphics-intensive games. The hardware of the gaming handhelds is significantly weaker compared to the console and desktop GPUs. This limitation will force you to adjust the graphics settings to low or mid in order for the game to run faster and smoother.
I personally think that's okay. The low or mid settings are not that visible if playing on smaller screen sizes. I prefer the performance first (playing the game on 60FPS or more) and the graphics second.
Watch on YouTube
And the most convenient so far is to watch the gaming videos of your favorite content creator on YouTube. From 2012 – to 2015, I built my business and had no time to spare for playing games, so my solution was to watch and finish games by watching on YouTube. So, I watched the videos of TheRadBrad and Boss Fight Database.
Conclusion
By now, you should gain effective, time-saving hacks to play more games. I strongly suggest you try at least 1-2 tips here because many gamers in the adulting stage have very little time and too many backlogs of video games.
I hope you get value from reading this post! Let us know in the comments if I missed anything. Enjoy gaming!
