[Doctor]

Hey there peeps ,
So here i am with another question for the community wanting to know how do you guys balance your life with so many activities to do , yet still got time for starcraft 2..

New semester started for me around a week ago , and i'm starting to find it hard to have time to play starcraft anm , which i really want to , i've been able to play like 1 games on weekdays , and like 5 games on weekend , because of the need to rest..
Mon - Friday , i went to school from 8 in the morning and finish at 1 , after that i go to work until 5 - 6 pm , and when i got home , i feel so tired that i can only watch people play via streaming or replays , in physically maybe i can play for a game for two , but mentally it's just too tired to play..
For the weekend , mostly i went out with friends.

Are there anyone out there having the same problem as me ? Or are there any solutions ?
TELL ME PLEASE , I'M ALL EARS !

Cheers,
Doctor

[foxmeep]

if your day is so draining that you don't have the energy to play when you get home, try taking a nap for an hour or so. works for me!

[Jaywalk]

i have the same problem man. work/study 9-5 five days a week, train every day from 6-8. hard to fit in the sc2 as well really wish i could play a lot more though.

[Theend]

If you really want a game , the " Find match" button is always there 24hour 7day a week.
i like a game when im totally drained. test your limit =)
Otherwise , dun play.

[FaDeKerrigan]

Sigh same old same old. Don't feel alone man. I may be having a holiday aka recess week now but I hardly have the time to play as well. Life of a Singapore undergrad.

[DtorR]

Best place to catch up on sleep is during class at school. By the time you get home from work, you should have some more energy to fit in 2-3 games a night during weeknights. Weekends, you can always just play in the early morning.

[DeNile]

i wish it was a just a tired factor often i don't get home till 5 then once my house is done washing cooking dinner time with fiance. All the other stuff my spare time can got to sc2 or any other game. But then i have to get up at 330 so well that does not leave me much time

[ToRSmotPokingFish]

ahhh the joys of high school

[ToRSpartaz]

In all honesty in this year alone I actually havent been keeping my life in balance. Im literally spending spending the majority of my time in my final year for my school work. There is literally no time to meet that balance. I have 3 scholarship papers, a Architecture Portfolio to design (From Scratch), Young Designers Award, Graphics 2 assignments >.<.

What sums up my life right now would be:

Asdklfhjskdafn.kawsdhouahwlkiehlakjdscf,mfazbva m - Wise thoughts of Nick Simpson (Thats me btw (: )

[Volition]

To all those struggling to find a balance - you have to ask your self 1 realistic question:-

How good do I actually want to be at this game?

Once you have answered that question, you then have to be dedicated enough to make it happen. Everyone is going about saying "I work from 8 to.." or "i study 9 to..." and are then too tired at nights. If starcraft is important to you, you will get up in the mornings and play. If you know you play rubbish when tired, then do it in the mornings when you are fresh. yes you have to go to bed earlier, but that is the price you pay if you actually want to improve.

There is no silver bullet solution that will suddenly find you 3 more hours a day to play. If you want to improve you will make it happen, and i really suggest early mornings. sc2 isnt physically draining, so it shouldnt really affect you, PROVIDED you are getting enough sleep. If you arent willing to go to bed early to try to find a balance, you surely are going to get up early to find a balance.

My sc2gears stats the other day said that i play more games between 5am and 7am than i do between 6pm to 9pm during the week. i know where i want to be and am willing to get up in the mornings and make it happen. And besides, there is nothign better than being frest at 5am and playing against people in SG that are still up at 3am and havent slept.

Quick Comments

	xGKingdelete:
	x5_dot:	so wise
	nirvAnA:
	Reere:
	ToRSmotPokingFish:

[NvPinder]

I don't get it, if school/work is making you too tired to play sc2, you literally don't want to play sc2 enough, and should enjoy watching streams/casts as a casual supporter of the sc2 scene.

If however, you get home from uni and can't wait to sit down and practice, no matter how mentally tired you are, you get a rush from playing this game and want to play it. Look at the guys (in SEA alone) that are playing up to 70 games a day. They're mentally exhausted for sure, but there love of the game and drive to be the best keeps them going. If you don't have the same love of PLAYING the game, or the drive to be the best sc2 player you can be, I don't see why being mentally exhausted is a problem, it means you're working hard at succeeding at the things you want to succeed in in life. Kudos.

As for me, i personally set my timetable so that all my classes are as early as possible so i finish uni really early every day so i have the rest of my day to do all the things I want to do. (sc2, gym, social life etc.)

Quick Comments

ToRSpartaz:

Thats me in a nutshell (: I tend to be more on the Sc2 Scene with streams cause i dont play as much xD

[inFeZa]

Don't play before bed. It gets you too wound up and you wont be able to sleep.
Also fatigue can be a mental health issue too. Go see a doctor.

Quick Comments

	Volition:	Good mental health awareness, we all gotta support each other in this regard
	crAzerk:	are you making a pun on the OP's nick?
	Mayo:	What infeza said!

[FS.Kezz]

If you've never sat down and planned out a rough weeky 'schedule' for yourself, I'd highly recommend it. It should take you about 20 minutes (once), and you can write it down if you think you'll have a hard time sticking to it. Make sure you decide what you want to excel most at (study/gaming/work) and give time for each accordingly, and don't forget to pick a reasonable time to sleep.

gl hf

[Celldweller]

I do all my hw in my free periods and study at the library, I get like 7-8 hrs so im never really tired as well, rest of the time is web design or sc2

[SLCN.Kez]

I'm usually pretty tired after work 9-5 and then gym after work but i love the game so much all i do at work is thinkg about sc2 and what im going to do that night to practice so by the time i actually get home i feel pumped to play Sometimes i do only play 4-6 games and then watch streams or what have you, but thats generally cauz i rage cauz i play bad or somethin lol. Then on weekends or if i dont have work a day then i play just about all day n try crank out like 20-30 games But what pinder/Volition said is the best advice!

[QEDMazaire]

Unfortunately for me my computer broke so there has been no sc2 for the past 2 months. but i have started mech engineering. its about 40 hours a week contact hours and i am trying to get into the gym 3 days a week along with 12 hours work a week :s so i have no idea how much SC2 ill be able to play TT____TT. i would love to hear how people schedule sc2 into their lives.

[Mayo]

How much sleep per night are you getting? This is my 'schedule' for Mon, Tues, Thurs nights.

- Work 9am - 5:45/6pm
- Aim practice in CSS/CS 1.6 or play 1 SC2 ladder match (whilst waiting for the mrs to get home)
- Go to the gym around 7
- Get home around 8:20: Have a quick shower and then eat dinner whilst sitting in ventrilo with my team
- Aim prac a little more and find scrims
- Play CS:S until 10:30-11
- Sleep
- Repeat

Quick Comments

FS.Kezz:

Do you do your work from home or an office?

[QEDFridge]

I came across this dilemma back in High School When I got my first PC, and a copy of Counter Strike Source. I played it all the freaking time.. I easily did 40 hours of it a week while at school.

I got offered a job after Year 10 to go to an IT trainee ship 9-5 at an accounting firm. So, me hating school with a passion, scooped the opportunity up and took it. This however was a problem as Now I was working full time, travelling for work, and studying for my certificate.... this however did not get in the way of my CSS.. I started drinking energy drinks and just overall not sleeping...

After doing that for 3 years.. I just got used to it ha ha.

Of course there are times when you are just too tired and mentally drained to play it and you begin to dislike the game when you start to lose and it creates anger, and that is fine. It simply means you need a break from it. take some time off for a couple of weeks (a holiday if you will) and go do something less fatiguing, whether its just lounging around watching movies or tv shows, hanging out with mates or simply switching to a game less mentally challenging like Skyrim or something that you can relax with.

Once you come back in 2 or so weeks, you will be itching to play and you will feel amazing.

Anyways, I never balanced, just pushed myself, but as phil said, fatigue can sometimes be a serious problem so don't just ignore it.

Hope I helped.

Yours Truly,
ReallyFuckingTiredAllTheTimeOmgIsThatAnEnergyDrink !?!.

[aLtMrFool]

To start off.. I've actually experienced this a lot and before I started taking steps into changing it, life wasn't as good or pleasing as I wanted it to be..

Currently, I am serving as a NSF (national service in singapore ) and my weekly schedule includes the following:

1: 5 days stay-in in a military camp with no computer access
2: Starcraft 2
3: League of Legends (casually with friends and brothers )
4: World of Warcraft ( Heroic Dragon soul 8 hours a week with rankings in world of logs for normal dragon soul )
5: Girlfriend
6: Family
7: occasional outings with friends

I play Starcraft 2 consistently at the GM level and its really easy for my friends and family to ask me-

"How the hell do you do this? How can you spend 5 days in camp, 2 days out playing league of legends, World of warcraft, go out with your girlfriend once or twice a week, spend time with family and still play starcraft 2 managing a top 200?"

There is no other secret other than forgo-ing sleep. I sleep up to a max of 8 hours a day and mostly 6 or even less. If you truly want to do more than you're doing atm whether its starcraft 2 or any other things in life, its all the same.

But I'm sure volition has already hit the main point. You have to ask yourself this deadly question -

"How GOOD do YOU really want to be at what you think you wanna do?"

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=...&v=hV63DbQ_qSc

Watch this video, I know its really cliche but it certainly does hold more truth to us than we'd like to admit despite it revolving around pro weightlifter!

So what is it? Discomfort? Or exhaustion? For me, my gaming for starcraft 2 has only been to the stage of discomfort and I'm currently on the process of trying to push myself to bring it to another level. I'm dropping world of warcraft from my gaming list as I've done to many other games that I play casually. I might go back to playing it casually once ive finished my National Service commitment, but not now.

Thus, I'm here to give my advise for those who truly wish to get good at this game. Trust me, its gonna be blunt and if you don't want to, don't read it. Just two words.

Get Real.

No, seriously, get real with yourself. Ask yourself how much you really want to get good at this game and how much are you willing to give up? Are you willing to give up sleep? Give up going out to have fun with your friends? Give up all the things you're doing casually? How much of exhasution are you willing to endure for your goal?

If you've answered those questions and told yourself yes. Here's the next step, set yourself goals on how good you wanna get and take a break from the game. 1 week, 2 week, it doesn't matter how long you take a break for. Go and settle things and make sure you are ready for a big change in your life. Go give up what you need to.

If you can't, you truly don't wish to get as good as you want to be and you should just play this game casually, support E-sports as a casual gamer who watches pro play and/or in any other way! Trust me, you'll be much more happier than forcing yourself to do something you don't really want to do!

Truth be told, if you've actually reached this point in your life like OP, where you feel dissatisfied with how your life-process is going and wish to change it, there's a ton of things to do and you better get ready for it.

After all, we're all humans and we dislike change, we avoid it. But, just remember, change is the only constant in this universe, embrace it.

Most people are so afraid that they'd rather stay in their drony life, doing the same old thing that they dislike doing but come on, we only get to live life once, go make it how you want to live it!

I hope this post helps those in the same situation as OP or when you tell yourself you wanna get good at something in life, ask yourself those questions and decide whether you truly do want it. Its no use habouring on to something you think you wanna do and not put any sacrifices into it, success is paid in sacrifices.

Regards,
aLtMrFool

Quick Comments

	ToRSmotPokingFish:	why cant i give you all of the rep :(
	nirvAnA:
	pRoEpsilon:
	FS.Kezz:
	neKo:

[FS.Kezz]

Amazing post! and a video that goes well with your 'get real' point is this one:

You Tube

You Tube

It's motivational speaker Eric Thomas talking to some highschool students, with video footage of an NFL player training; inspirational stuff and so applicable to this situation.

Originally Posted by aLtMrFool

To start off.. I've actually experienced this a lot and before I started taking steps into changing it, life wasn't as good or pleasing as I wanted it to be..

Currently, I am serving as a NSF (national service in singapore ) and my weekly schedule includes the following:

1: 5 days stay-in in a military camp with no computer access
2: Starcraft 2
3: League of Legends (casually with friends and brothers )
4: World of Warcraft ( Heroic Dragon soul 8 hours a week with rankings in world of logs for normal dragon soul )
5: Girlfriend
6: Family
7: occasional outings with friends

I play Starcraft 2 consistently at the GM level and its really easy for my friends and family to ask me-

"How the hell do you do this? How can you spend 5 days in camp, 2 days out playing league of legends, World of warcraft, go out with your girlfriend once or twice a week, spend time with family and still play starcraft 2 managing a top 200?"

There is no other secret other than forgo-ing sleep. I sleep up to a max of 8 hours a day and mostly 6 or even less. If you truly want to do more than you're doing atm whether its starcraft 2 or any other things in life, its all the same.

But I'm sure volition has already hit the main point. You have to ask yourself this deadly question -

"How GOOD do YOU really want to be at what you think you wanna do?"

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=...&v=hV63DbQ_qSc

Watch this video, I know its really cliche but it certainly does hold more truth to us than we'd like to admit despite it revolving around pro weightlifter!

So what is it? Discomfort? Or exhaustion? For me, my gaming for starcraft 2 has only been to the stage of discomfort and I'm currently on the process of trying to push myself to bring it to another level. I'm dropping world of warcraft from my gaming list as I've done to many other games that I play casually. I might go back to playing it casually once ive finished my National Service commitment, but not now.

Thus, I'm here to give my advise for those who truly wish to get good at this game. Trust me, its gonna be blunt and if you don't want to, don't read it. Just two words.

Get Real.

No, seriously, get real with yourself. Ask yourself how much you really want to get good at this game and how much are you willing to give up? Are you willing to give up sleep? Give up going out to have fun with your friends? Give up all the things you're doing casually? How much of exhasution are you willing to endure for your goal?

If you've answered those questions and told yourself yes. Here's the next step, set yourself goals on how good you wanna get and take a break from the game. 1 week, 2 week, it doesn't matter how long you take a break for. Go and settle things and make sure you are ready for a big change in your life. Go give up what you need to.

If you can't, you truly don't wish to get as good as you want to be and you should just play this game casually, support E-sports as a casual gamer who watches pro play and/or in any other way! Trust me, you'll be much more happier than forcing yourself to do something you don't really want to do!

Truth be told, if you've actually reached this point in your life like OP, where you feel dissatisfied with how your life-process is going and wish to change it, there's a ton of things to do and you better get ready for it.

After all, we're all humans and we dislike change, we avoid it. But, just remember, change is the only constant in this universe, embrace it.

Most people are so afraid that they'd rather stay in their drony life, doing the same old thing that they dislike doing but come on, we only get to live life once, go make it how you want to live it!

I hope this post helps those in the same situation as OP or when you tell yourself you wanna get good at something in life, ask yourself those questions and decide whether you truly do want it. Its no use habouring on to something you think you wanna do and not put any sacrifices into it, success is paid in sacrifices.

Regards,
aLtMrFool

[Jaywalk]

I think a lot of people have missed the point of what the OP was saying and what i was trying to express.

I dont care "how good i get" or if i become "successful" in sc2. I just want to play more. If it was practical I would play 12 hours a day, i absolutely love laddering and practicing. I know personally for me, I work full time and train (sport) every day for 2 hours, so that's obviously my primary passion, but id love to be able to find a way to get some more sc2 in as well.

I think playing in the morning might be a good suggestion, but it doesn't seem like "balance" to stop doing other things in your life to "become a GM" in star craft.

I think its a bit unfair we have uni students saying "you dont want it bad enough" and this "you only live once" sort of thing. When I was in school/uni i didnt have a problem, its just hard to find time now, and its saddening

I feel a bit insulted hearing that I "don't love the game enough" and that I should become a "casual viewer of streams" when playing sc2 is one of the most treasured things in my life, i love it so much, but i need to pay rent/eat/live also.

Im going to start trying to get up earlier to play, but i usually feel so tired by then i don't think its going to work too well haha

Quick Comments

aLtMrFool:

Im sorry you felt that way ^_^ You read it wrongly if you did, it was actually to become a "casual player" and watch streams, not casual viewer of streams

[aLtMrFool]

Originally Posted by ToREcho[5]

I think a lot of people have missed the point of what the OP was saying and what i was trying to express.

I dont care "how good i get" or if i become "successful" in sc2. I just want to play more. If it was practical I would play 12 hours a day, i absolutely love laddering and practicing. I know personally for me, I work full time and train (sport) every day for 2 hours, so that's obviously my primary passion, but id love to be able to find a way to get some more sc2 in as well.

I think playing in the morning might be a good suggestion, but it doesn't seem like "balance" to stop doing other things in your life to "become a GM" in star craft.

I think its a bit unfair we have uni students saying "you dont want it bad enough" and this "you only live once" sort of thing. When I was in school/uni i didnt have a problem, its just hard to find time now, and its saddening

I feel a bit insulted hearing that I "don't love the game enough" and that I should become a "casual viewer of streams" when playing sc2 is one of the most treasured things in my life, i love it so much, but i need to pay rent/eat/live also.

Im going to start trying to get up earlier to play, but i usually feel so tired by then i don't think its going to work too well haha

I'm sorry you felt that way, you probably read it wrongly ^_^ , it was meant as become a "casual player and watch streams" and not "casually watch streams and not play" , it's very different you know! Just saying that if you're trying to push yourself too hard to play and aim to become really good, you wont be be happy trying, so why not just play it casually, play whenever you can, watch streams when you like. If you get casual with this game and eventually reach the point when you can "care less" about losing and not go all crazy and ragey over a loss, you'll be able to play at any time of the day and not tell yourself something like "meh, this is not the time of my tip-top condition, i'd rather not play".

I have real-life brothers who are in uni / doing work, they play this game only from time to time really casually and watch more streams than they play. They're still players, just that they've gotten so casual they just play (they care about trying to win), but it doesnt affect them as much if they lose. They do love playing starcraft 2 but have since found out / told themself that they're not cut out to play the game at a competitive level. They did try for a little while, but it pushed them into being really ragey and not-that-happy. Now that they only watch top-level play and play whenever they feel like it, whenever they want to and whenever they feel happy playing, they are much much happier than when they tried to advance in leagues, trying to be 80% w/l and all that.

[Meatex]

Well I have only glanced over the thread and surprised nobody has mentioned this but I can tell you from experience
You seem like you have time to play but are too worn out after work and school
Ironically, perhaps, to be able to play more you have to dedicate some time in your schedule for another non sc2 activity.
That being exercise.
You might think you are fit and healthy but like sc2 there is always room for improvement. When I was doing 2.5 hours at the gym 5 days a week - in the mornings no less - then working for 8 hours. I still had lots of energy.
After about 2 months you will be coming home from work, school and gym and still with enough energy to play sc2. PiG will also likely attest to the benefits of serious exercise

[Jaywalk]

+ [quote] +

Originally Posted by aLtMrFool

I'm sorry you felt that way, you probably read it wrongly ^_^ , it was meant as become a "casual player and watch streams" and not "casually watch streams and not play" , it's very different you know! Just saying that if you're trying to push yourself too hard to play and aim to become really good, you wont be be happy trying, so why not just play it casually, play whenever you can, watch streams when you like. If you get casual with this game and eventually reach the point when you can "care less" about losing and not go all crazy and ragey over a loss, you'll be able to play at any time of the day and not tell yourself something like "meh, this is not the time of my tip-top condition, i'd rather not play".

I have real-life brothers who are in uni / doing work, they play this game only from time to time really casually and watch more streams than they play. They're still players, just that they've gotten so casual they just play (they care about trying to win), but it doesnt affect them as much if they lose. They do love playing starcraft 2 but have since found out / told themself that they're not cut out to play the game at a competitive level. They did try for a little while, but it pushed them into being really ragey and not-that-happy. Now that they only watch top-level play and play whenever they feel like it, whenever they want to and whenever they feel happy playing, they are much much happier than when they tried to advance in leagues, trying to be 80% w/l and all that.

I think you may have just inspired me to shuffle my schedule around so that i can play for two hours in the mornings haha. I think ill start a blog and let people know how hard it is/if its a reasonable idea. i refuse to go casual yet!

[Mayo]

@kezz, I work at an office which is around 10-15 minutes away from my house