Gaming

That's the neat part. You don't.

At work and in game, every 90 mins try to take a 5 min breather and relax as much as possible, definitely stretch.

Beyond that, keep in mind how much sun and socializing you are getting and eat a protein heavy diet. That can drastically affect your stamina and will.

Beyond that it’s a matter of pacing yourself, being happy, and doing what works for you. If you don’t want to game, don’t force yourself to. Sometimes just watching tv and building something is better for you and your joy.

Steam deck is good! And if your Internet is good, any device that can do moonlight streaming.

I have my steam deck plugged into my TV in my living room. I'm all hardwired and can use moonlight to stream my PC to my steam deck with no noticeable latency. I'm usually very picky about input lag / latency and I legitimately cannot notice it. Moonlight/sunlight is wayyyy better than steam remote play imo. And for indie games that the steam deck can run well, I can play natively from that. I hardly ever play at my desk anymore

To be honest, I don't get a lot of time to game as an adult. For the past several years, my gaming is mostly restricted to fall/winter, like November through early March and even then, it's primarily around the holidays when I have extra time off work. Even during my "gaming season", I'm usually only able to get in a 45 minute session a few times a week. The rest of the year, I'm lucky to have the down time more than a couple times a month.

So, the big thing is: I have to really consider my time limitations and that restricts the types of games I play. No point in trying to play games with super complicated control schemes, complex story lines, or which require a lot of time dedication to "get gud" because I'm going to forget how to play, what I need to do to advance, and I'm just going to suck compared to kids who play 18 hours a day 7 days a week.

The Steam Deck actually did help me do a bit more gaming. Like you, I sit in front of a computer all day for work, so being able to game elsewhere and in a variety of locations is nice. Plus, I can fire it up when traveling.

I also stick to games that I feel like there's a good chance I can "beat" over the course of my gaming season or games with simple mechanics and limited stories. Like this past winter I played Doom. The year before it was Cult of the Lamb. The year before that it was Hades. Short enough games (at least the main story line) and simple enough controls. Then there are games like Vampire Survivors that offer short, simple, self-contained and satisfying mini gaming sessions if and when I have a random bit of down time and feel like playing something.

I often sit at a desk all day and all evening. I find that these things help:

• Good chair. Height adjusted for my keyboard/mouse height. Upright back. Lumbar support. Comfortable-but-supportive seat.
• Good posture (when I remember to pay attention to it).
• Split, tented keyboard. Mechanical switches that don't require too much pressure.
• Good display. IPS panel. Light anti-glare surface. Backlight that actually dims the light source, either without pulse-width modulation, or with PWM at such high frequency that it cannot induce flicker fatigue. Brightness turned down much lower than the default. Calibrated at that brightness setting, optionally to a slightly warm color temperature.
• Muted room lighting. Nothing behind me bright enough to reflect much on the screen.
• Comfortable clothes.
• Cup of water. Regular trips to the kitchen to keep it filled.
• Frequent short breaks. Start the laundry. Get a snack. Look at objects outside. Wash a dish. Bring in the mail. Make the bed.
• Exercise. At least 10 minutes daily; preferably 30 minutes or more. Stretches. Squats. Rhythm games that require full-body movement.

Lol...you don't! Welcome to adulthood and having real world responsibilities. For me it's turned into maybe 1-2hrs a night at best. Weekends I can sometimes get a bit more in.

I take a lot of breaks. Just a few minutes doing something else.

I play on console mostly these days.

I don't have a desk job. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I also always end up taking a break in the suggested (or rather, the suggested manner back when video games straight up had warnings about playing too long in the manual/splash screens when starting them) when I am playing. Just stand up, walk to the kitchen/bathroom/whatever and look at something other than a screen for like 5-10 minutes every 45-minutes to an hour.

You should be able to do that at work, too. Just stand up, stretch, look at the ceiling/floor. You don't even have to leave your cubicle/office.

So interestingly enough. I work, play, and sleep in the exact same 5 feet nowadays. But I remember that initial feeling all too well from when I graduated and found work.

Similar to what someone else said, I'm always exhausted. I don't think that feeling really goes away. I think the difference is that eventually, you kind of get used to the exhaustion. It doesn't feel good by any means. But my brain has given into it and adapted slightly. I still hate it, but I've kind of adapted.

Do you drink coffee? I resisted it for a few years and then eventually gave in when I realized I wasn't able to function well without it. Mainly because I'm sacrificing sleep during the week. Partly due to bedtime procrastination, and also partly due to stress/anxiety. During the week, I'm getting about 6 hours of sleep each night. Not enough, in my opinion

It also depends on what the rest of your schedule looks like outside of work. When I had to work in the office, I was losing an extra 2-3 hours of my day every day.

I'm sorry you're feeling this way, though. It's not a very fun time. I wish everyone could have a better work-life balance

I recently bought 2 of these for my partner and I. Worth every penny if you’re going to lay in bed or sit somewhere with it.

I usually wake up early before wife and baby, i play for about an hour or so on the weekends but usually by the time I make my coffee and sit at my desk and update they are awake so I mostly just collect steam games that maybe ill pass down to my child.

I did setup steam-headless for a while on my server and I got a razer kishi controller and played games during lunch at work and few times but that kind of fell off. I also got an analogue pocket to play some gba/snes games I've been wanting to beat but I mostly only use it when I go camping or something

I don't mind sitting at a desk, but some care tips.

• Stand up at least once an hour, even just to get coffee, go to the bathroom.
• Always have a (full) bottle of water with you. If it's there, you'll drink it, you won't even notice it. Keep it in your eyeline
• Eyedrops. If you're in an office job, you need eyedrops. If you game on top of that you need them more. I actually dried out my eyes from coding and gaming too much, it's very easy to do. Talk to your eye doctor, get some artificial tears. Look away from the screen every 20 minutes or so and just blink.

I fall asleep with sticks in my hand

I work on a computer at a desk all day. I’m do penetration testing and red team operations, so I spend a fuck ton of time doing training and development courses and labs which usually just involve typing a bunch of shit into a terminal window, both during work and on my own time (I genuinely enjoy it, it’s not a shitty workplace colonizing my off time situation), and I’ve played games my entire life.

Idk I’ve never had this problem. Screens recharge me, it’s people that drain me. I’d have the same flipped question for product vendors that are always at conferences and stuff, or business insurance sales people, just wondering how they get through all these small talk conversations, sales calls, dinners with clients, etc., without a chance to just sit behind a screen and answer people at whatever pace they need.

Oh. I have a variable height desk I got from DeskHaus. I love it. I’m standing a fair amount of the time I’m working. I have a decent SteelCase chair I bought during the beginning of covid. I got it from a refurb reseller, but even brand new it’s not their nicest chair, but it’s expensive enough and holding up well enough that I don’t see a reason to replace it yet. Standing through the workday helps me not feel exhausted and tired of sitting in the same chair for 12 hours since I haven’t been.

Steam Deck. I can play in bed, or even hook it up to the TV in my living room and play from my couch. I even picked up a wireless keyboard and mouse for that specific purpose.

When I was in my 20's I had my PC hooked up directly to my TV. Now I have kids and I would rather not have it set up like that, but it may be an option for you.

You can't really. Only solution for me was to just not work 5 days a week. If you have a good job now... likely 3/5ths, so 3 days a week, will also make you able to support yourself.

I go through waves. Sometimes I don't want to play games at all, and during those times I do some of my other hobbies/activities. Summer especially I spend a lot of time outside. I would advise against spending money to try and fix what just might be a temporary thing. Not to say you shouldn't buy a SteamDeck if you want one outside of the fatigue, just don't let that be the only reason.

How long have you been working a day job? It might just be a period of adjustment. School life vs work life is a lot different, so it takes time to adjust for most people. Also, if you work from home, that may also be a factor. If so, try not working where you game if possible. That was a huge thing for me.

I got burnt out after treating WoW like a full time job for multiple years, while having a full time job. Ever since my PC is connected to the TV. Sitting at a desk isn't relaxing. So PC or console, it's from the comfort of my recliner with a controller.

I nap almost every day.

Well, I don't have a desk job and I'm on console. So while I can sympathize, I'm not really able to offer advice.

I work full time at a computer. I have two jobs, so I put in 68 hours a week (second is 28 hours a week, no overlap).

I have no issues with eye fatigue best I can tell, that or I've just gotten so used to it. I will note I do have the blue light filter on my glasses lenses my optician recommended.