[SEABEAST]

it's amazing how the first reply to an OP can really set the tone for a thread. someone could have easily mocked OP for asking a question that has been done 100 times before, but instead skier wrote a really good response and now we have a quality thread.

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but in reality, the answer is truly what you make of it. If you keep a good sleep schedule that lines up with other things you would like to do with your life (I think this is very crucial) then it doesn't have to [censored] with your schedule. For poker playing at night is obviously best but when you find yourself needing to do something or buy something at a store and you get up at 8pm, you gotta do something about it. This causes you to move your schedule, or if you are visiting someone you have to flip right around. Constantly changing your schedule leads to lost days and many days of being tired and adjusting.

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this is bang on. i spend about as much energy just trying to balance my life as i do playing poker, especially now that i have started coaching. but it's completely necessary to do so, especially as you get further down the track.

i have been playing for a living/gaming hardcore for 5+ years now and as you get just a little older it becomes more and more clear that it won't matter how much money you end up making or how many people think you're a great player - if your entire life consists of spending time alone while the real world is asleep and you never get anything done IRL, you will not be happy.

it's fine/standard to go into sick grindermode for a while when you're young and obsessed with getting better, but it's not sustainable as a lifestyle when you move into genuinely playing for a living, and having a balance to your life becomes increasingly important.

personally i am quite content with the numerous facets of my life and the balance i have on paper, but i still really, really struggle with the sleep thing.

totally agree with what skier said about waking up too late to go run errands or do normal IRL stuff and how that can make you feel really alienated... so now i often tend to just stay up until the next day and do whatever i need to do then (whether it's getting a bunch of things done i've let slip for a few days, or catching up with a friend i havent seen for a while), but this is where the lost days thing comes in, and i'm sure i'm taking years off my life with all of this.