By Yvonne Cheung (25S03S), Julian Low (25S06A, Peer Helper)

Your resident Aunties and Uncles are back with our Ask Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset column, this time as a collaboration between Raffles Press and the Peer Helpers’ Programme (PHP)! Ever wanted to rant about that someone you just can’t stand? Overwhelmed with too many feelings? Submit your confessions to https://tinyurl.com/RIAAUU and we’ll give them our best shot. This column will be published at the end of every month.

Dear Drew,

  You are definitely not alone in feeling this way. Another day, another unfinished tutorial, another CCA session that ran overtime, and yet, somehow, your friend still finds time to grind ranked on Valorant every night, while the only grind you’re on, is to eliminate your backlog of unwatched lectures. How do they do it? 

  Balancing work, CCA, and gaming in JC can often feel impossible when the scale is practically breaking from the weight of all your commitments and hobbies. But the key isn’t squeezing everything into your schedule—it’s figuring out what actually deserves your time.

The Reality of JC Life: Why It Feels Impossible

  JC can feel like an endless grind, but unlike your favourite games, there is no pause button, no respawn and definitely no peaceful mode. Between tutorials, CCAs, your endless projects and volunteering commitments, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything on your quest list. Add gaming—or any personal hobby—into the mix, and suddenly, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

  Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Some students swear off gaming entirely, promising to return to their PCs after A Levels. Others try to juggle it all, only to find themselves stuck in a cycle of burnout – too tired to study, too guilty to game. In their guilt, they hop onto YPT at 2AM wondering how others managed to clock in six hours studying, hit the gym, and still drop a 30-bomb in Valorant. The truth is, nobody actually has it all figured out, but you need to find your personal balance. Remember that trying to do everything often ends in getting nothing done at all!

Breaking things down

  The first step to managing your time better is figuring out what truly matters to YOU—because let’s be real, would you rather ace your exams or ace a Valorant match? Sure, clutching a 1v5 feels great, but so does clutching your promos. Try categorizing your commitments this way:

Non-negotiables – Lectures and tutorials on time, CCA sessions, Competitions, CE01 meetings (~solid commitments!)

Flexibles – Gaming, social events, side hobbies and hustles.

  Everyone only has 24 hours in a day, and if you are struggling to fit everything in, something’s got to give. If you find yourself stuck in both your game progress and your life progress, it might be time to take a hard look at your priorities. No, you do not need to quit gaming entirely, but you do need to be honest about where your time is going. If your game time is eating into study time, and leaving you scrambling to complete tutorials at 2 AM, then maybe, the game can wait. 

  Think about it this way: missing a few hours of gaming won’t ruin your rank and statistics forever, but bombing a major exam can set you back way more than an unlucky loss streak. School, academics and CCA experience are not optional side quests—they are the main storyline, and if you don’t get these in order first, no amount of in-game progress is going to save you from real-life consequences.

Time Management

  Once you know your priorities, it is time to level up your efficiency. Here are some strategies you can explore!

1. The Pomodoro Technique – this technique needs no introduction, consisting of 25 minute intervals of focused work, followed by short 5 minute bursts of rest time, and repeat! This technique helps in preventing burnout and distractions. If 25 minutes is too short, you can always experiment with the timings and find out what works for you.
2. Time Blocking – Set fixed slots for studying, CCA, and gaming so nothing bleeds into one another. Some people find that upholding a schedule, strict or vague, can help in keeping them on track of their tasks. Be realistic about this – you need to leave room for sleep as well!
3. Don’t Multitask – Despite what you (or many of us) may think, we aren’t very good at multitasking. You might be tempted to work on a tutorial question or skim through your lecture notes while queueing for the next Overwatch game. Don’t do this – it will only make you more stressed out and affect your enjoyment! Instead, it’s best to focus on one task at a time.
4. Work First, Play Later – Winding down with a good gaming session can be a lot more enjoyable when you are not haunted by unfinished work! Reward yourself with gaming time when you complete difficult non-negotiable tasks. 
5. Switch to Low-commitment Games – If you find yourself drowning in schoolwork, maybe now isn’t the time to start a 300-hour playthrough. Instead, you can try occupying your limited free time with more casual gaming such as a quick round of Bullet Chess on your phone, or an intellectually-stimulating bullet round on chess.com. Save your heavy-duty games for that long weekend or term break!

The goal is to maximise efficiency without sacrificing the things you enjoy.

A Healthy Gamer is a Happy Gamer

  Picture this: you’ve just logged off after an intense 6 hour session with your friends. Your neck hurts, your eyes water, and everything seems kind of blurry. You jump in bed but struggle to fall asleep. This scenario might be a little too familiar to the hardcore gamers amongst us—unfortunately, gaming for long hours does have an impact on your physical health. As we get carried away, we tend not to think about our poor posture or the fact that our eyes are starting to tear up. The physical impacts of excessive gaming can affect our sleep and our ability to focus, hampering our performance in other areas of JC life. This is more often the case on the weekends, where we might game for long hours into the night.

 Although it may be cliche, perhaps it really is important to be mindful of our physical health when we are gaming. Watch your posture, take care of your eyes, and know when to take breaks from the video game itself, even if you’re itching to rectify your losing streak. Gaming, especially with friends, is an excellent weekend activity, but don’t let it keep you up too late. 

Managing guilt

  Even with good time management, the occasional slip up is inevitable where you play for longer than you meant to. Instead of feeling guilty, understand that working without breaks is unsustainable and taking breaks between studying can help improve focus and productivity in the long run. Practice self-compassion: gaming or not, everyone gets carried away doing the things they enjoy! What’s most important in JC is that you stay consistent; and that means a few minor missteps here and there aren’t going to hurt anybody.

  Always remember, the goal is not to villainise and eliminate gaming, but to make sure it does not interfere with the pursuit of your goals and expectations. Gaming can bring a lot of valuable experiences to a students’ life including key communication skills, patience, critical thinking and most of all, friendship and social interaction. It can help relieve stress and unwind from our hectic school lives too. Everything is fine in moderation and gaming is no different if done so responsibly!

Understanding your limits

  If you still find yourself unable to find your balance, it might be a sign to step back and reevaluate your commitments. Signs that you may be taking on too much to handle include:

• Constant fatigue due to accumulating sleep debt.
• Falling behind in school despite studying all the time.
• No time for yourself and your hobbies, leading to stress, frustration and nothing to look forward to in daily life.

  If any of these sound familiar, consider adjusting your commitments until you can find your balance. JC is packed with opportunities, and losing out on something is not the be-all-end-all. In the end, it’s about you, your passions and what you can commit to.

Final Checkpoint: Finding the Right Balance

  At the end of the day, balance is not about doing everything—it’s about doing what is right for you. Some people thrive on a packed, highly efficient schedule whilst others need downtime between study sessions to focus up. And that is perfectly alright. 

  Balancing JC, CCA, work and games isn’t about sacrificing everything fun—it’s about knowing when to hit pause. You do not have to quit gaming, as long as you’re making conscious choices about where your time goes, prioritising what actually matters and setting clear boundaries. You’ve got this, Drew. I hope you can play smart, both in-game and in life!

Sincerely,

Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset

If you need anyone to talk to about any issues you might be facing, do drop by My Rest Space near Marymount gate and talk to one of our peer helpers! We’re open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 3 – 5 p.m., and Wednesday 11.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. If you would like to meet a peer helper on a regular basis, do email us a request at rafflesinstitutionphp@gmail.com or fill in our request form at our website: https://rafflesinstitution5.wixsite.com/rafflespeerhelpers