Mentor Talk: Cut out the video games and increase the side hustles
- Marc Lemere
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
I'm a mentor for a few young men out there, many of whom I met while in service or at hobby events. And periodically, we touch base to see how things are going; business, educational goals, relationships, whatever. A big bro check-in. And yesterday a topic resurfaced that I have had repeatedly with many mentees, video game addiction/habits.
Yes, I'm going to tell you it's bad for you but let me explain why and then decide for yourself.
CONTEXT / HOW IT CAME UP
We were discussing his educational goals (he's currently working on his Master's) and his side hustle is working in early education with pre-k children. Then he asked what I'm up to. And I replied with a few projects I'm working on as well as going back to school to finish up the remainder of my GI Bill benefits. After explaining my projects, the school course plan, and our family schedule such as homework, play and outings, he asked "how can you handle all of that? If I took on that many things, I would probably lose my sanity."
I reminded him that it's an important self-imposed rule that I abide by to not own any video game consoles or get involved in any PC or Steam gaming. Throughout my day, there will be lulls between events or tasks. For example, while the kids are in school, I can go to work or full-time school. After work, when the kids are home, we catch up on homework, do some test studying, perhaps drop-off at sports or club and then have dinner. But after dinner, and before bed there's a 1.5-2 hour gap. After they're asleep is another 2 hour gap. So I can fill these gaps with normal people things like Netflix or video games. OR, I can fill it with a project or side hustle activity.
PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE VS. NORMAL PEOPLE
My mentor talk on this topic is pretty simple, as adults we have choices. All the time and everywhere we go, we have choices. And sometimes the choice of doing something or doing nothing doesn't FEEL like it should have consequences, but it does. In the lulls I was talking about above, I also have a choice. I can play with my phone, doom-scroll Tiktok or other social media or I could pop open the next binge-worthy series. But what is the consequence of that? The natural consequence of inaction is that nothing changes. Nothing improves. Nothing gets done. And that is the problem.
Productive people see those gaps as an opportunity. You're not going to build the Taj Mahal in an hour and a half, but you could lay a couple bricks. And then another couple. And then another. See, the goal isn't to crush your projects everytime you sit down. The goal is to make slow but steady progress. Normal people see it as time to unwind and chill for a bit. But those people won't see any improvements or changes in their lives. If you've read this far, I can assume you don't want to be like that.
HOW TO CHANGE THE HABIT
The very first step is to find a good side hustle and then rearrange how you spend your time. Don't go selling your PS5 or Xbox right of the bat. First you need to figure out what is something you can do with your spare time to make a little extra money. I'm going to write a whole other blog post on just this topic. Something like "Solid sidehustles for 2026 and beyond." But for now a simple example is the Gary Vee idea of yardsaling or thrift shopping for flippable items.
So let's say you want to make a change in your lifestyle and become more productive. You could spend 1 hour after work each day and atleast half the weekend going to local yard sales or thrift shops looking for flippable items. Things like vintage clothes, collectibles or furniture that needs a bit of cleaning or light repair. Then you bring them home and sort them in the garage or a spare bedroom. On a different evening, you take an hour to clean/repair them, take some photos and list them for sale on facebook marketplace or ebay. Then on another evening you package up the ones that have sold and ship it or deliver it.
This is just one example. There are so many more. But the key parts to focus on are that it is repeatable, can be broken in to separate tasks, and that each task can be done at a different time. Depending on your situation, some side hustles may be too demanding and others may not be demanding enough. So I prefer to have a couple that I can work on, picking them up when demand is there and putting it aside when the demand has slowed.
After some time, you will notice that the side hustle has become kind of like a new hobby. One that also brings in a bit of money as well. And it doesn't feel like work, so it doesn't give you stress. One of my favorite things to do is open YouTube with a lofi study song (something without lyrics) and an online project (like school or selling things). I feel relaxed and happy while finishing up a couple tasks at the same time.
Once you've gotten into this mode, where your hobby has shifted to the sidehustle, then it may be the right time to discuss selling a video game console.
HOW THIS CAN IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
Creating productive habits and putting your lull time into busy work will have several positive impacts on your life. First, it gives you a sense of identity, like Steve "the guy who fixes furniture." Second, you will feel a sense of accomplishment everytime you sold or fixed a thing. It's oddly satisfying to see a broken chair stand up. Or a broken picture frame hang once again. And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it makes money. I teach financial responsibility as well. So how you use that money is a topic for another time. But making extra side money is great. You can save it for a rainy day or help replenish an emergency fund. You can use it to invest in more tools to help your repair hustle go more smoothly. Or many other things.
For me, I found a deep sense of regret every time I finished a video game or one of those boredom apps on my phone. Reaching the highest level felt like a failure because I would look around at all the irl (in real life) things that didn't get done: the emergency fund still light on cash, the course I wanted to do still not done, and so forth. We don't want to look up one day and realize there was so much squandered opportunity, all because we beat a game one time.
THE TAKEAWAY
In my opinion, there are periods in life to build and periods in life to sit back and see what you built. From 15 to 35 is not the time sit back. It's the time to lean forward and get busy. School, apprenticeships, University, work, sidehustles and alongside all of that are relationships. A purpose driven life is one that is full of goals and ambitions. One of the simplest and most effective things you can do to hone in your focus and energy towards those goals is to remove distractions and filler (such as video games and substance abuse).
If we keep our hands busy, there is no telling what we can build.