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.

Other hobbies? I don't understand.

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 dont...

I joke that my hobby is collecting hobbies. Gaming, 3d printing, building electronic devices, fixing old stuff. Reading, paint I ng things I print, table top gaming, world building, writing.. to name a few. Being a father means I have less time. Sooo I read about other people's hobbies (new hobby)

Since having my daughter, I've just become way more selective about how I consume games/podcasts/TV/films, etc. I absolutely adore doing it, but I haven't got time to be grinding through levels or wasting time on a TV series I feel meh about.

Everything must be worth my time. I do spend maybe more time researching, but it allows me to maximize "value" to some degree.

I am a hobby collector (collector of hobbies). Generally I think "I'd like to know how to do this" and give it a go. I've calmed down over the years but I've just finished reading about making soap 🙄 and trying not to get invested in that.

But this has given me some experience with your issue: don't force it. Nothing is fun if you feel like you need to do it. Do whatever it is you are feeling up to doing. If you have to do it, then it becomes a chore, not a hobby. Sometimes I just have an urge to do hobby X, other times I do not.

You might not do one thing for months and that's OK too. Just be chill and go with the flow.

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.

no kids

Other hobbies?

IDK, game developers (basically all western publishers and some eastern publishers including Nintendo and Capcom) have been making it pretty easy for me to save money these days.

Unfortunately, all my gaming money is now consumed by bad global economy. So I guess it balances out.

As long as FromSoftware dont start releasing a bunch of expensive games, or Yoko Taro doesn't drop a super expensive game, it seems like things might continue the way they are.

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.

...Other hobbies? What are those?

Bipolar disorder. I rotate between many hobbies, mostly unfinished.

I have an elaborate to-do list system that looks a whole lot like (but isn't exactly) the system described in Getting Things Done. Get done the other stuff you need or want to get done, and then you can game with the rest of your time. On my to-do list for today was reading 2-3 chapters of the book I'm in the middle of (I settled on 2-3 as there's 62 chapters in this book, and I wanted to have it finished before the end of the month), as well as playing a couple of hours of The Blood of Dawnwalker.

You shouldn't feel pressured to do things in your free time you don't wanna do 🤷 Hobbies are supposed to be things you enjoy and don't require motivation.

I'm too busy working on studying to play games 🥺

Outside of building my PC, gaming is the cheapest of my hobbies so it's easy to pick over the others!

My other hobbies include automotive (I have a spare motor I'm rebuilding, and a motorcycle I'm fixing), firearms (sport shooting and modifying/accesorizing), and self-hosting (4 separate physical servers with multiple VMs or Podman/Docker totaling over 200TB storage)

Gaming can also take slices of time here and there, the others require more money and larger windows of time.

I think most of the comment nailed it. Hobbies are supposed to be something you enjoy and it's okay to take seasons with them.

I plays a lot of games for a months, then a lot of tv/movies, then programming or writing, then 3D printing.

It shouldn't really matter so long actually you're actually enjoying whatever free time you have.

I don't think about balance at all, just do whatever I want. There are times when I play a game... had enough of it then go back to forums and programming code, or write scripts. Then go back to games. Then there are times where I am focused to one activity alone, and do only one thing.

In the past I also did photography, but that hobby vanished. I always tell myself that I want to go back, but always find an excuse not to. Bad habit. BTW soon I have a new cat, and I'm sure it will activate some dumb brain cells to make photos to get new unseen memes. And reading real books? I mean like we used to as cavemens? Just joking. I just don't read books anymore, because it takes so much time. I barely find time to watch films and series!

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

I find I just don't want to game all the time?

Like, sometimes I'll be watching shows, or wrestling, or listening to an audiobook while painting some models, it very much depends on the mood of the moment/day.

So i guess my hobbies self-balance?

I don't have kids, but I do work quite a bit during the week. I choose games depending on how easy they are to pick up/put down.

For instance, Queen's Domain is a game I can't play with any other distractions or plans because it's a game that I want to immerse myself in and take my time with. But on the other hand, the Lego games are probably the easiest games to jump into and play a level or two, even if you're not really feeling it.

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 will admit this is hard to do occasionally. However, I think single player non-service games are generally easier to fit into busy lives -- you don't need a video game that demands all of your time, you need one that you can open and close within a month of on-and-off playing.

With that said, my progress on Metaphor Refantazio has been really slow because I don't play it for long sessions soooo yeah, there's that.

I play when I feel like it and do other stuff when I get bored.

It's easy to have time for all your hobbies if you simply neglect your sleep!

Sometimes a game gets a bit grindy or repetitive and then I listen to an audiobook or use text to speech while I play.

But often I try to prioritize the experience I want.

Games are an active experience that often excites me, where as reading, listening, or watching something is more passive and calming.

Music and films can be more social than games, unless I'm playing multiplayer.

My other hobbies are often planned out way in advance normally with friends and neighbors.

I guess I just try decide what I want beforehand like I do with food.

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.

I play games when I want then get interested in another hobby and get involved in that until I lose interest and go back to gaming and so on.

Its supposed to be fun and not work with a schedule so I just play if I want. Don't if something is more interesting.

Try different genres? My favorite genres are fighting games, action games, and shmups: all fun to play in short bursts and give me many more natural stopping points than an RPG would, for example.