I play games when I feel like it, and do other things when I don’t. It’s mostly up to what I feel like doing in the moment. Setting schedules and trying to cram a ton of activities in a week feels like I’m turning my hobbies into a job, so I don’t do that.

Beer or other alcohol goes excellent with gaming simultaneously. Unless you’re in the competitive nonsense, of course.

I don’t game anymore, but I do read. I find the trick is to make space for it. I read via audiobook while I walk in the mornings to see the sun and keep some minimal activity, and I read on my ereader from the time I get in bed until I’m ready to go to sleep. The in bed reading is usually only 15 or 20 mins, but it adds up. I knocked out 25 books last year, and not like 200 or 300 page books either (besides 2 or 3).

Poorly!

I usually mix them together in someway. Usually it helps that they mesh well together. It also helps having friends though that help motivate me to get out of the house and do the stuff i can’t do over computers

Other hobbies?

Other hobbies? I don’t understand.

Most of my gaming is tabletop these days. Since it requires scheduling is regulates itself.

Hobbies don’t have to be constant. Take a break or don’t, just do whatever and don’t feel bad about it.

For you specifically I’d maybe try just choosing a day where you don’t turn on the computer. Try and stop yourself from that first step and see what happens.

I play single player games, and play them when I have the urge to play them. Many of my other hobbies come with commitments; gaming is one that I try to make commitment free.

I game very little, I can’t be in front of screens anymore as that’s what I’m forced to do for work. I fish and golf mostly now. 10% gaming

Try to plan beforehand what you are doing with your freetime, otherwise we tend to default to what we do the most, in my case is watching YouTube videos.

I find different hobbies come in waves and it’s best not to fight it. I have a racing simulator that I haven’t used in months, but that’s totally ok, because one day I’m gonna have that urge to jump in and I’ll probably be obsessed with it for anywhere from a week to a couple months. I have a modular synthesiser that I haven’t touched in a while, but it’s there for when inspiration hits. I haven’t done any capture the flags since my last Linux install on my main PC, but the other day I had the urge so installed burpsuite and had a lot of fun with that for the evening. Go with the flow.

My advice is do what you want to do, don’t try to force a hobby because in my experience that will kill any enjoyment so fast.

Another option if you really want to do another hobby but you’re just not getting to it, is schedule time for it. Plan an evening where you have free time to do that thing. If you’re spending most of your nights gaming because it’s easy and convenient, but you want to read, plan a Friday night around reading, say from 7pm-10pm. Make sure all your chores are done by 7pm, you’ve had dinner and you have no responsibilities for that time, make sure you’ve got a book pre-selected and prepare for it, get excited for it.

Don’t play live service software as a service game. They’re designed to suck as much of your time as possible.

Don’t chase leaderboards in multiplayer games. There will always be a bigger fish that is better than you. Maybe do a few ranked games just to see where you fall on the bell curve of players.

Do spend more time playing your single player games. They usually end. And then you can move on to the next story or hobby.

I do it until it doesnt give me joy. Then I stop. Literally just stop. For months at a time. No rush. Then ill read, do other things for a bit. And when that stops being good, I switch back or to something else. My free time is for me.