How do you control time spent gaming?

[paddyfool]

Having often spent too much time that I could ill afford to waste playing computer games (up all night recently, prompting me to once again delete all the gaming apps on my phone), I'm curious about how other people control and limit their time spent on computer games. Any tips people have found that work?

[Antonok]

If I'm playing a mobile game, I set my phones alarm to a certain cut off time. If I'm on my pc or PS4, I have a bright clock within my field of view. Usually works when I don't outright purposely ignore them :smalltongue:

[factotum]

I prioritise. I make sure I've done everything I need to do before allowing myself to sit down and play a game, which naturally limits my gaming time. In fact, I haven't spent any time at all playing for the last two evenings, and I know I won't be able to get any done until later tomorrow afternoon because of all the stuff I have to get done tomorrow morning.

[LansXero]

Develop some self-control. Any gimmicks or stopgaps you may try wont work because you can always consciously / sub-consciously ignore them, and you will until you develop the discipline to focus on the important stuff first.

[GloatingSwine]

1. Set a specific bedtime and a specific time to get up. Don't allow them to vary.

2. No screens in the bedroom. No use of phones, tablets, etc. No TV. No computer.

3. Set specific times for household tasks. Put them on a calendar. To do lists don't get done. Calendar appointments are real.

[Leecros]

*checks hours played on Steam*

2000+ Hours into Crusader Kings
2000+ Hours into Europa Universalis IV
600 Hours into Dungeon Defenders
400 hours into Payday 2
250 hours into Dead by Daylight
400 hours into Skyrim
200 hours into Sword of the Stars 2
250 hours into Sword of the Stars: The Pit

Innumerable hours into many other games...




umm.....I don't?:smallredface:

[Driderman]

I'm really bad at it, to be honest. I have a fairly silly habit of binging for days, and then feeling a bit embarrassed about it, I spend a few days cramming in all the stuff I feel like I should have been doing during my binge days. Luckily, as both my professional and social circles revolve around gaming a lot, a fair amount of my gaming can be attributed to "homework", of a sort :)

[LibraryOgre]

I make a deal with my wife that I get 2 hours in a block. 2 hours when she'll deal with the kids and just let me play. It's a soft limit, but it's "reach a place you can save and are not being shot at" not "let me finish these 30 quests!"

[Caldman]

A better structured approach to your day can help, as well. Don't just set time limits on your gaming, but schedule your non-gaming activities as well. That way when you put down the controller or step away from the keyboard and mouse, you know exactly what you're doing next.

Leaving some parts of the day unscheduled is healthy as well, though. You don't wanna become a robot. (Unless you do. But sadly I don't think the bio-tech is quite there yet.)

[gooddragon1]

*checks hours played on Steam*

2000+ Hours into Crusader Kings
400 hours into Skyrim

umm.....I don't?:smallredface:

I think I see the problem here. These numbers need to be switched. Kidding :p

For me: I deleted all my computer games and stuff off my phone (transferred my pad account on phone).
I just don't have the discipline, but I'm just freeing up time so that I'll have more to spend on my studies. I've got a long term goal in mind that will make it worth it.

Might take a few bits of that advice about setting appointed times for things. Those sound good too.

[Aotrs Commander]

I can easily play four to six hours a day every day, more at weekends, but I have the luxury of not having to worry about significant others or children or whatnot1 (aside from the occasional helping out with the nephews). I don't always do that (forums, posting/reading and whatnot consume probably a large amount of my time, but that's how it goes), but its probably as common as not. (Tonight, for example, is unusual, since normally I'd probaby be playing for another couple of hours or something.)

That said, I also have a set routine for doing the necessaries every week. As I am not beholden to your petty work hours, mine are a bit skewed, but regular. I HAVE learned not to do CAD work beyond nine, since that tends to not do me any favours the following day (as I had to prove to myself again a couple of weeks ago int he run up to getting war starship rules finally published after fourteen years). And DO have endless mental to-do lists, which I tend to review before and after meditating to regain my mana every day.

In the end, though its basically discipline; though being very heavily Lawful and well as Evil significantly helps, one suspects.




1I say that with no irony. Having more demands on my time to not be able to do what the frack I want is one of the many reasons I don't relationships.

[Olinser]

When I have something I absolutely have to do, I set an alarm in advance of the event (i.e. I have to leave for work at 1:30. My alarm is auto-set every day at 1:00).

Otherwise I don't. I play when I feel like it, stop when I feel like it.

[Weimann]

It really helps for me to not think of it as "when to stop gaming", but as "when to start doing something else". That way, I mentally focus more on the other thing, which I often like or need to do as well, and less on the absence of gaming.

Though it also helps that I almost only play games with pretty short gameplay cycles right now, like Heroes of the Storm and Brawlhalla, and I tend to tire after a couple matches.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Setting objectives. This requires a certain awareness of the game, but it also helps to combat a major psychological exploit that some games utilize to keep you playing: a shifting frame of reference.

"Oh, this new quest just popped up in the game, I just have to go over to X and collect 17 Nobgoblin skulls, that's simple enough."
"Oh, right by the Nobgoblin cave, there's a quest I can get to upgrade my item, let's see what that's about."
...
"Wait, what was I doing, again?"

When we get focused on what we're doing in the now, we lose sight of what our original objectives were. It's the "just one more turn" of Civ games, or the "I'll just queue up for one more match" of online multiplayer games. So when you boot up a game, decide what your objective for that game session is. Write it down. (Writing it down is critical, because it provides actual physical proof that you decided on a goal--and it doesn't allow your memory to distort that goal, because memory is not always reliable. It also acts as a nice, constant reminder.)

Maybe it's "finish 3 missions", "finish my Arena run", or "play for 50 turns". Whatever it is, stick to it. Having that goal will help you control gaming sessions as finite experiences with limits. It also helps you become mindful of your own actions, instead of surrendering to the flow of gameplay, which will help build your self-discipline. (Self-discipline isn't just a sort of mental endurance--it's a complex set of skills that involve heavy self-awareness, among other things.)

[GungHo]

I consider the costs of divorce.

Actually, I do a bit of what Mark Hall does and what factotum does. 1) I take care of chores before 2) asking my wife if there's anything she needs handled/needs help with (including a lot of chauffeuring) and if 1 & 2 are satisfied, I use the remainder for that. It works out to about 2~4 hours in the afternoon on Saturday/Sunday. Sometimes less if there's a day trip. More if I was able to do lawn/house maintenance after work during the week.

[Algeh]

I drink lots of water.

No, really. I'm a total mindless eater/drinker when I'm doing something on the computer (or watching tv), so if I'm playing a game that it's ok for me to lose several hours to but not to play until I realize that birds are chirping outside because it's now morning (Civ, I'm totally looking at you), I make sure I have a quart canning jar full of water next to the computer and then I drink it within the first half hour/hour. Need to get up and use the restroom? While I'm up, I refill the jar with more water and drink it again. This ensures that I take regular breaks and am aware of the passing of time on the scale of hours.

If I need to not spend more than, say, a half hour or hour on the game, I set a timer in a part of the room where I'd have to get up and turn it off. I'll listen to it beep until I've finished whatever turn I'm in the middle of (or finished the day in Harvest Moon, or gotten to a save point, or whatever), then exit the game before getting up to turn off the alarm.

(I also find mindless computer/tv eating to be a good way to get enough boring green vegetables, because I will mindlessly eat an entire bowl of something like raw broccoli or spinach without salad dressing if I'm doing something else. It's about making your bad habits work for you.)

[danzibr]

I had children.

[LibraryOgre]

I had children.

Word. *fistbump*

[Lacco]

Word. *fistbump*

Can't agree enough with the husband/father angle.

When you are awakened by your kid on Saturday at 5 AM because you told the kid we'll go to see a castle when she wakes up makes you think twice about playing Stardew Valley until midnight.

Also, my wife prefers when I post to the forums as opposed to playing PC games. She is also a big fan of boardgames and the most active member of my RPG group. So I rarely have time to play PC games.

[danzibr]

Word. *fistbump*
*fistbump*

Can't agree enough with the husband/father angle.

When you are awakened by your kid on Saturday at 5 AM because you told the kid we'll go to see a castle when she wakes up makes you think twice about playing Stardew Valley until midnight.
Darn tootin'.

I could be a bit less laconic. I dunno, I liked the earlier brevity.

My gaming time went down the toilet when I was like 23. I was getting my Master's, had a newborn son, and was teaching. Things only got worse (so to speak, from the gaming time perspective, anyway). I had another child when I was 25, was teaching at two colleges, and working on my PhD.

On most nights I only have time to play after my kids go to bed. Usually from 8:00 to 9:00 or so (maybe a few more minutes on either end). On the weekends my wife and I swap "quiet time." Sounds like what Mark Hall was talking about earlier. I watch the kids, she goes to our room and crochets and watches TV. I go to our room, and usually write actually, but occasionally play games.

That quiet time though, total life saver. Sanity saver, at least.

[Spore]

I usually game either at night with a fixed bedtime. A good sleep is more important to me than a virtual McGuffin rescue. Or I game before work where the mere thought of "if I quit 10 minutes early I can go to work relaxed instead of panicking". This doesn't work out as well because I tend to not enjoy my work (or coworkers) right now.

[Lacco]

On most nights I only have time to play after my kids go to bed. Usually from 8:00 to 9:00 or so (maybe a few more minutes on either end). On the weekends my wife and I swap "quiet time." Sounds like what Mark Hall was talking about earlier. I watch the kids, she goes to our room and crochets and watches TV. I go to our room, and usually write actually, but occasionally play games.

That quiet time though, total life saver. Sanity saver, at least.

I get my "quiet time" after I get back from work, for half hour. Then, it's my turn to take care of the little marmot - and my wife gets some time for herself.

After the kid goes to bed, we usually spend some quality time together - luckily, little one usually falls asleep from 19:30 to 20:30. We take turns telling bedtime stories, etc.

Then we decide whether we watch something together, play something together, just spend the evening talking, or if we have "hobby time".

Yeah, it's a sanity saver.

So, that's what controls my gaming time :smallbiggrin:. Normally.

[kentran]

Schedule a specific and do it. I play games every Friday night for entertainment.

[Flitz]

The major way I keep my gaming under control is having a full time job and being the person where I work who's most likely to volunteer for over time. And when I'm at work I don't touch games. I might text once in a while but aside from that I consider my cell phone off limits while on the clock. I don't keep games on my work PC and when I am doing something non-work related, I'm usually scheduling appointments to get out of the way, or researching things that I've been meaning to learn more about (for example, vacation plans or computer specs.)

On my days off I really can play all day but I plan out what all I need to get done and when, and it varies - if I need to go to the DMV I wake up early and try to be the first person there, but if I have a doctor appointment at 9am I'll set an alarm for when I need to start getting ready (15 minute shower, 5 minutes to get clothes on, 30 minutes to drive to the doctor and 10 minute cushion means I would set my alarm for 8am) and play until my alarm goes off. I ALWAYS give myself a 5-10 time cushion depending on how far away my destination is, sometimes longer at 20-30 minutes, because I'd rather be early and play on my phone (or even be taken care of early!) than be late and need to reschedule or have my appointment cancelled.

I also take into account how long a game is going to be and how long I have before I need to do things before I start playing (including estimated queue times, load up, etc.). For example I can assume that if I'm going to play a round of DotA that it will take around an hour, sometimes more. But a round of Overwatch will take 20 minutes tops, usually much less. If I used the above example, and woke up at 7am, I probably wouldn't play DotA to pass the time because it cuts too close to when I need to get ready, but I'll play a few rounds of Overwatch.

I also do my daily chores immediately before or after work or errands - I figure if I'm already in "work" mode I might as well keep the mindset to get those chores done. If I sit down and start to game I usually make excuses not to stop and be lazy.

[Anthony222]

If I'm playing a mobile game, I set my phones alarm to a certain cut off time. If I'm on my pc or PS4, I have a bright clock within my field of view. Usually works when I don't outright purposely ignore them :smalltongue:

This is a great idea! When I play on my computer, I can't control time at all :smile: But recently I've found out that I can play my favourite games on mr bet (https://mr.bet/) using my phone. Usually it is hard for me to stop especially when I play at night and it is time to go to bed. So, thanks for sharing your experience, I'll try to set a phone alarm.

[Slipperychicken]

I don't control the time I spend gaming; I control myself to evaluate which activities which are most important to me. Some nights that means playing games till midnight because that will soothe my stress. Sometimes that means I play music or contact friends and loved ones because it makes me feel good. Some nights it means boring adult stuff like making phone calls, shopping, and doing chores.

The way I see it, as long as I accomplish things conducive to my happiness and support myself as a functional adult, then I can game as much as I want.

Also I sometimes set up a clock to overlay my games so I can hop off in time to do something important.

[Triaxx]

I tend to do anything that needs doing first, to generate the largest space of time possible. Of course I also have a couple of different clocks visible from where my monitor is, which makes me aware of the time. Out of sight, out of mind, so having a physical representation in my peripheral vision helps keep me going too long.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I try to limit my gaming to evenings, even on the weekends unless the weather is bad and I have nothing else better to do - good weather is rare enough not to be wasted indoors, and daylight has better uses than illuminating a glowing computer screen. My gaming reflexes are also poor enough that I start getting sloppy and make trivial mistakes when tired; this naturally limits how late I play, as when I start messing up, I start to get frustrated, the game stops being fun and I stop wanting to play anyway.

[Mordaedil]

I always just play until I get bored. And then I have to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. Games don't interest me in the same way they used to, so I end up playing older games a lot and reliving my childhood. But they are often ladden with obtrusive mechanics that wear on me and I can't enjoy them for very long before I get bored. Games like Skyrim have terrible plots that I don't really follow, but at some point you hit *that* point. You know, where you become a demigod. And then it's just a matter of grinding skills so you can fight a challenge. But by then he's so hopelessly outmatched.

I often play more experimental titles especially from foreign countries and end up finding neat ideas that I'd like to see fleshed out in a different way. Sadly, my boredom prevents me from playing anything too modern. It just doesn't thrill me.

[Kaptin Keen]

For the number of people who invest time considering this question, I wonder how many ever do the same concerning their time spent watching tv.

Myself, my time spent gaming is restricted only by the lack of games good enough that I want to play them.

[Slipperychicken]

For the number of people who invest time considering this question, I wonder how many ever do the same concerning their time spent watching tv.

I don't, because I haven't had cable for about a decade. Watching individual episodes online does make it easy since they're generally 20-30 minute time slots, which makes me look at my clock and realize that I should be stopping soon.

[factotum]

For the number of people who invest time considering this question, I wonder how many ever do the same concerning their time spent watching tv.

TV tends to be naturally more limiting than games because TV programmes are on at specific times, whereas games can be played at any time. Unless you're the sort of person who just sits in front of the TV switching channels whenever you get bored with whatever you're watching, then, you'll naturally limit your TV viewing according to when the programmes you actually want to watch are on.

[Knaight]

For the number of people who invest time considering this question, I wonder how many ever do the same concerning their time spent watching tv.

Myself, my time spent gaming is restricted only by the lack of games good enough that I want to play them.

Probably not that many, largely because there are some pretty strong generational trends in terms of both video game playing and TV watching that point in opposite directions. My personal favorite example is the ubiquity where college students go to college, don't have TV, realize they don't miss it, then don't ever buy it after they've graduated - including the ones who land jobs that let them buy really nice gaming computers.

At which point roughly 500 articles are written whining about how millennials are killing TV, because it is just so terrible that consumer habits might change and that supplier habits might have to change to keep up.

[danzibr]

I always just play until I get bored. And then I have to figure out what to do with the rest of my day. Games don't interest me in the same way they used to, so I end up playing older games a lot and reliving my childhood. But they are often ladden with obtrusive mechanics that wear on me and I can't enjoy them for very long before I get bored. Games like Skyrim have terrible plots that I don't really follow, but at some point you hit *that* point. You know, where you become a demigod. And then it's just a matter of grinding skills so you can fight a challenge. But by then he's so hopelessly outmatched.

I often play more experimental titles especially from foreign countries and end up finding neat ideas that I'd like to see fleshed out in a different way. Sadly, my boredom prevents me from playing anything too modern. It just doesn't thrill me.
Ya know, this is said pretty well. Or rather, it resonates with me.

I just don't get the same enjoyment out of games that I did in my youth. Usually. Now and then I'll find a game which pleasantly surprises me.

[factotum]

I have that problem too, but I think it's actually more down to the way games have changed than down to the way I've changed, because I can go back and play games from 20 years ago and still enjoy the heck out of them* (albeit I probably have to dial down the difficulty these days). One thing that has definitely changed over the years is my patience, though--once upon a time I'd be happy to replay the same mission half-a-dozen times from the beginning in order to complete it, nowadays, I'll probably ragequit after the second time unless the mission is particularly short.

* Or play games that *feel* like games from 20 years ago, like Divinity: Original Sin 2, which I'm up to 64 hours according to my Steam stats and still not tired of it.

[druid91]

I have that problem too, but I think it's actually more down to the way games have changed than down to the way I've changed, because I can go back and play games from 20 years ago and still enjoy the heck out of them* (albeit I probably have to dial down the difficulty these days). One thing that has definitely changed over the years is my patience, though--once upon a time I'd be happy to replay the same mission half-a-dozen times from the beginning in order to complete it, nowadays, I'll probably ragequit after the second time unless the mission is particularly short.

* Or play games that *feel* like games from 20 years ago, like Divinity: Original Sin 2, which I'm up to 64 hours according to my Steam stats and still not tired of it.

I'd say a lot of that is the Video Games Industry stagnating with the high barrier to entry. Indie games still carve out their niche, and are pretty successful, and the big budget AAA games keep churning on, lubricated by the tears of a thousand twelve year olds.

But because it costs so much money to make a video game, it's just harder to get into. Meanwhile board games are having a massive resurgence in popularity.