Despite what some may think, maintaining a good balance of work, life, and League of Legends can help you in the long run. Playing a lot of League of Legends can seem like a lot of fun, but it's not when it gets in the way of everything else you need to be concerned about. Some players may have school, work, or a combination of both. Having the added pressure from school, work, and League would make anyone frustrated. This article is meant to talk about some tips that could help you.

Get a Good Amount of Sleep

That's right, I'm looking at you past midnight player! Sleep is essential for your health and for you to be in a good mindset. If you're well-rested, you'll be in a better mental state to play League of Legends. Sleepy players will be distracted, unconfident, and tilt-prone. For work and school, you'll have more energy to listen to lectures or to do your work. Don't spend that extra time playing a late game of Summoner's Rift when you know you can get some sleep instead. You might tell yourself that you have to get a win or that you have time for one more game, but it isn't worth it. Trust me, you'll regret it a lot less if you get enough sleep. I would recommend getting at least 7 hours minimum of sleep if you can.

Separate from Your Study/Work Environment

As simple as this may seem, you'll feel less tempted if you're able to separate the two environments where you play video games and where you study for school/work. Especially with the pandemic, many people are at home now working from the same places that they relax in. This constantly sets you in a tempting environment to play. If you have a desktop and a laptop, try sitting in a different room away from your desktop that has League installed. You'll be able to focus more on work or school. It's similar to the idea of studying at a library instead of at your house. Except, you're most likely in your house right now due to the pandemic.

Change Your Mentality

Unless you competitively play League of Legends, the game is a time sink. Once you acknowledge this fact, you'll be more content with seeing League as something non-productive. This doesn't mean you should completely eliminate the game from your life! League of Legends can be a fun game if you don't let it overtake everything. For many, it's an escape from the real world or way to blow off steam from school or work. Look forward to a small amount of game time from a day of school or work!

Additionally, it's important to realize that League of Legends is something to play for fun. Unless you're going pro, League of Legends is pretty much recreational. Now, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't take the games that you play seriously. Other people are playing and they deserve to not have their game trolled. However, when you realize that it's something you play to spend your time and that you don't need to actually play League of Legends all the time, you'll be able to separate yourself from it.

Make Accessibility Difficult

If you are having an extremely difficult time keeping yourself away from the game, you may need to make it harder for you to have open access to League. It might help you to create different user profiles on your computer for playing video games. One could have video games like League, and the other could have all the programs needed for school/work. This added step might further deter you from playing when you shouldn't.

Create a Reward System

Maybe you need a little motivation. Take a page from B. F. Skinner (tested reward schedules with pigeons) and help yourself by creating a reward system. In this case, the reward is playtime. Make sure that the goals you set are reasonable and achievable. You don't want to set something too difficult to where you might be frustrated from not getting to play a game or two. This may also inspire you to enjoy playing League more knowing that you were rewarded for your work and effort. Be careful to not just finish your work to rush and play a game of League of Legends. This is meant to effectively motivate you.

Limit the Time You Spend

If you enjoy League as much as I do, this can be really difficult, but I promise it'll become easier over time. If possible, time block how much time you're allowed to play League of Legends. For example, maybe for a certain day, you only allow yourself two games. I would recommend that you measure this by the number of games instead of hours as it's slightly unpredictable for when a game could end. You'll also feel more productive when you don't spend the whole day mindlessly playing, and you'll grow to enjoy your game time more.

By using some of these tips, you'll find that everything is not only easier to maintain, but that you're also more productive. The games will feel more enjoyable because you'll begin to appreciate them more. In turn, you'll learn to value your time. Good luck!