Balancing work and gaming.

I've been an avid gamer since I could get my hands on an Atari 2600 controller about 20 or so years ago. I've been a crazy gamer since and I've lapped up as many games as I humanly could over the years. All was fun and games and low grades and backlogs until, by some twisted freak of fate, I landed a job in a pretty good IT company (thanks to my technical skills). Now, the jobs a gruelin' and I am finding it harder to complete the games that I've started and struggling to find a balance between my gaming hobby and working/other things.

Are there any among you who are employed as well as gamers? How do you guys do it?

PS: Posting this from work, look at the time.

u're on night shift or working day night nonstop lol ?do u get time on weekends ?

may be its time for a change if its really non stop work .....

Just think what will happen if a woman comes into your life ?

:razz:

I always find balance. But I play only BF3 and few others when new ones are released. The trick is to restrict yourself based on time. I play only from 10 PM - 2 AM , about 4-5 rounds. previously I even on weekends used play only 3-4 hrs. Unless you have strict office timing or you are putting in Overtime on your job you should be fine. Just dedicate limited time for gaming and you will enjoy.

RCuber said:
I always find balance. But I play only BF3 and few others when new ones are released. The trick is to restrict yourself based on time. I play only from 10 PM - 2 AM , about 4-5 rounds. previously I even on weekends used play only 3-4 hrs. Unless you have strict office timing or you are putting in Overtime on your job you should be fine. Just dedicate limited time for gaming and you will enjoy.

sounds good, then it comes to this: :-D

axes2t2 said:
Just think what will happen if a woman comes into your life ?

^^ Well the experience will be cut shot by 2 hrs either way ..

EDIT: TBH.. I didn't really think about that.. may be rajesh.s can help.. he has kids too

and he play for about 2 hrs or 4 rounds.

R

I am married + working in an IT company (highly reputed

) and yet I play my games.

my office timings - 11AM - 8PM
Play hours - 7AM - 9AM, 8:30PM - 9PM, 10PM - 11:30PM
Personal/Family hrs - 9AM-10AM, 9PM - 10PM, 11:30PM and beyond.

Now its all about balancing this act and having a very supportive wife.

Find a job for "Game testing"!

Answer to all those who are not able to balance games and work!

Vyom said:
Find a job for "Game testing"!
Answer to all those who are not able to balance games and work!

Not everyone is landing in their dream jobs....

BTW, I am a married guy working in IT company, and for me, there is no specific timings.

If a new game comes, i will buy and play for few minutes, if i find it more compelling/addictive(like FC3,GTA IV), then i will play from 9PM-1AM.

At Saturdays, from 2PM-8PM and rest of the time, i will spend with my wife. Sunday, strictly for family and outing.

I must be lucky to have such an understanding wife, who never complains about my gaming habit. So i bought her a new mobile, no she is slicing fruits and driving some cars in that mobile.... (Goal achieved

)

BTW, my office timing is 10am-6pm...

I don't game aggressively. Say, on weekdays i hardly play for 1-1.5 hr a day.
But on weekends, depending on the mood + home-works, i game on morning, see movie on noon, game on eve and ends my gaming desire (with breaks in between) by 11-11.30 at maximum.

Am not yet married + i work in a corporate. Often my mom scold that i spend the weekends on computers, but not with real irritation.

i have to work from 9:15 to 7:15, but i game after ~10pm *l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/37.gif. and week ends too.

Since I have to handle prod support, I have to come in shifts and theres almost random shifts everyday with a few general shifts put in between. So, everyday, I have to work either of the following : 7-4, 2-11 or 11-7; general shift is 9-6. I've not been lucky so far to land morning or general shifts for the last couple of days. So, I mainly get to go at night and sleep during the day.

furious_gamer said:
So i bought her a new mobile, no she is slicing fruits and driving some cars in that mobile.... (Goal achieved )

Lolz

You can play games in the office .

axes2t2 said:
Just think what will happen if a woman comes into your life ?

This.->

Originally Posted by furious_gamer
So i bought her a new mobile, now she is slicing fruits and driving some cars in that mobile.... (Goal achieved )

What can be a better place than office for gaming ?? Those 8 hours daily.!!! Alongwith an additional benefit of free ultra high speed Internet connectivity.
Drag in your collegues , and run a Tournament.

WoW!!!!

If it worked for him,doesn't mean that it will work for you.

Rishi. said:
Lolz

You can play games in the office .

Seriously! Even if open Solitaire accidentally, my manager will come to me and look at me like i played for last few hours. This is not practically possible, unless you are working for big MNC as Jr Engineer or in some support/maintenance.

Rishi. said:
This.->

What can be a better place than office for gaming ?? Those 8 hours daily.!!! Alongwith an additional benefit of free ultra high speed Internet connectivity.
Drag in your collegues , and run a Tournament. WoW!!!!

Happened with one of my friends in Wipro, where he was sitting idle for some time and he almost played everyday.

axes2t2 said:
If it worked for him,doesn't mean that it will work for you.

Exactly, that's why i said,

furious_gamer said:
I must be lucky to have such an understanding wife, who never complains about my gaming habit.

Depends a lot on your shift timing and working hours

Mine is 8AM-5PM
so I always play 6pm-8pm any racing/RPGs games

But I request you not to cut your sleeping hrs for gaming atleast get 7.5/8 hrs sleep everyday it will affect your other day schedules

gaye bhai ab woo din...

Ive seen him posting @ 2-3 am,and now 4 am.didnt knew u had night shift.

axes2t2 said:
Just think what will happen if a woman comes into your life ?

he gets a co-op player

^^ How about you, your wife and kid play in co-op and you are a team.

First you would become a casual gamer from a 'gamer'.

I was never an avid gamer but I played major titles and played till very late of night.

After getting job the gaming hours are restricted to only 1 to 1.5 hrs daily i.e from 7PM to 8.30PM or 9. But, I've found that now-a-days I can't continue playing 3-4 hours at a stretch. I get nauseated, dunno why.

Well, my advice would be continue gaming but decrease the gaming time. At least you would be still playing on a regular basis

I don't play any kind of games at office, even on mobiles. but I see that 3 of my colleagues play. one is always on mobile, playing something only he knows, another guy plays solitaire, the last guy plays somekind of Farm game. (dono if its farmvile as I have never played it)

furious_gamer said:
^^ How about you, your wife and kid play in co-op and you are a team.

Never married,in search of a gamer girl :))

Nanducob said:
Never married,in search of a gamer girl

Best of luck with that. Girls hate gamers in my experience.

There has to be someone,somewhere.
What are your 'job hours'(night shift)?

Best time would be around 9pm - 2am(excluding cooking time i.e. if you help your wife in cooking. BTW if she's also working you ~~should~~ must help her ) ..dinner - 2am
If you are only two(husband & wife) then after having a child forget about any gaming time for yourself, in this case get a helping hand if you want to game .

BTW don't end up like this :-D

*i.imgur.com/ODhnF.jpg

Nanducob said:
Never married,in search of a gamer girl

Good luck with that

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
Best of luck with that. Girls hate gamers in my experience.

Really?

*img.hsmagazine.net/2012/02/Girls1.jpg

Gearbox said:
Really?

*img.hsmagazine.net/2012/02/Girls1.jpg

Does that girl look Indian?

Cats > girls.

Cats will let you enjoy the video games.

axes2t2 said:
Cats > girls.

Cats will let you enjoy the video games.

Co-Op too..

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
Does that girl look Indian?

So what?
Are we differentiating Indian gamers from others?

I mean, gaming and girls in India do not mix. I have heard girls say tell me how they don't want to marry an IT professional or a gamer. As if they are mocking me on my face.

On topic : My gaming doctrine so far is : Go work on time, return at 6, game whole night (about 1 hr for dinner or other activities), sleep around 1-2, wake up at 8. On night shifts, this procedure is reversed, i.e I game before I go to work.

avinandan012 said:
Best time would be around 9pm - 2am(excluding cooking time i.e. if you help your wife in cooking. BTW if she's also working you ~~should~~ must help her ) ..dinner - 2am
If you are only two(husband & wife) then after having a child forget about any gaming time for yourself, in this case get a helping hand if you want to game .

BTW don't end up like this
*i.imgur.com/ODhnF.jpg

better to forget about hardcore gaming if having a child, it doesn't set good example. :-(

and gaming girls exists, but they are just super rare.

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
Best of luck with that. Girls hate gamers in my experience.

My girl plays tekkan with me.

She hates Dota though

(All my friends hate Dota)

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
Go work on time, return at 6, game whole night (about 1 hr for dinner or other activities), sleep around 1-2, wake up at 8. On night shifts, this procedure is reversed, i.e I game before I sleep.

Hmm...I rem you said you had office next day and we pestered you to play another game

w/ RedX and Dr.X

avinandan012 said:
*i.imgur.com/ODhnF.jpg

It will be like this for sure if I ever get married and have a kid someday.

Sarath said:
My girl plays tekkan with me.

weve got to see to believe it,better post a picture,if its true :))

Nanducob said:
weve got to see to believe it,better post a picture,if its true

gaming >>>> work

My girl plays tekkan with me.

Pics or it didn't happen

Nanducob said:
weve got to see to believe it,better post a picture,if its true

You must be kidding. Kids love tekken kinda games. So no wonder his girl plays Tekken.

My sis likes to play Original Most wanted, but not the new one. She even completed it twice

H

weekdays :

I leave for work @ 7.30 am and comes back @ around 7 pm.
7pm-8pm : workout
8pm to 2am : gaming + dinner + socialising stuff
2 am to 7am : sleep

weekends : gaming time varies depending on when I got out n stuff like that

24 hrs per day is not enough for gamers!

hellscream666 said:
weekdays :

I leave for work @ 7.30 am and comes back @ around 7 pm.
7pm-8pm : workout
8pm to 2am : gaming + dinner + socialising stuff
2 am to 7am : sleep

weekends : gaming time varies depending on when I got out n stuff like that

Yous should try to get sleep for at least 6-7 Hrs daily.

i work from 2.30pm - 10.30 pm. Gaming time 11 AM to 2 PM , 11 pm to 3 AM. /yawn

^Well many of you guys seems don't sleep much its not good for your health.At least we should sleep 7hrs a day ^-^

Nanducob said:
24 hrs per day is not enough for gamers!

Amen to that.

I remember when I was in college, only time I remember not gaming is when I am sleeping or at college attending classes (if I am not bunking).

101gamzer said:
^Well many of you guys seems don't sleep much its not good for your health.At least we should sleep 7hrs a day ^-^

Yeah , indeed. Sleep deprievation can have very serious effects. Atleast 7 hRs per day of sleep is mandatory.
Gaming is okay , but life is more important.

H

Rishi. said:
Gaming is okay , but life is more important.

I agree... but then again what is life when one can respawn endlessly ? :twisted:

furious_gamer said:
You must be kidding. Kids love tekken kinda games. So no wonder his girl plays Tekken.

so your wife plays tekken?

^^Both game and in real life....

My Gaming is reduced now due to office work

but I play some time on weekends

actually i sleep from 3 am to 11 am or mostly 12.00 pm so its ok

H

does sleeping in office count ?

no...how many indian girl gamers you know about? I don't know anyone. Will say my girlfriend(future) to start practicing FIFA, then only i'll come to ask your father otherwise we have to elope.

hellscream666 said:
does sleeping in office count ?

Reporting to your Boss,NOW!

H

oh don't bother .. he also sleeps a lot

^lol,ask him if want to play a co-op game

H

in my previous company I was caught once for playing the flash helicoptor game thinggy ...
my manager took me to the cabin and showed me AOE n CS , and asked me to stop wasting time with stupid flash games... world is in need of more managers like that :doublethumb:

^^ was it an early morning dream ?

H

nah actually happened during the lull in business in 2008 .. no one was really having any work lol

A

Why did you left that company?

^^Same question here. Bosses like him are made in heaven.

H

well lovely boss : yes but shitty paypacket lol ... no hikes n stuff .. had to leave

hellscream666 said:
in my previous company I was caught once for playing the flash helicoptor game thinggy ...
my manager took me to the cabin and showed me AOE n CS , and asked me to stop wasting time with stupid flash games... world is in need of more managers like that

0.0 !!!!