Why Does a Banker Blog About Video Games

I got an email from a friend earlier this week. I'll not go into the details of the message, but this friend basically asked me "Chuck, why do you, as a professional banker, leader and respected member of the community, write about video games on your blog? Are you not worried that this will make people judge you (very Not-Safe-For-Work link due to language and pics, but the author makes some outstanding arguments), and even possibly diminish your social standing as you climb your career ladder?"

My answer to him was that I am not worried about that. My reasoning was twofold: First, my performance at work speaks for itself. Second, a hobby outside of work helps me maintain my work-life balance.On top of that, many of the young start-up business owners that are bringing new jobs to the area grew up as gamers just like I did. My knowledge of business, manufacturing, sports, current events and yes, even video games, has helped me build a relationship with many customers. If part of your job involves selling, you know relationship building is very important. Any common round that you have to build on can be helpful.

In today's blog I am not going to go into the social stigma of gaming, although that might make an interesting topic on another day. I am going to talk about gaming as an aide to work-life balance. Here are 5 things that help me balance my work and leisure time, and how gaming can be involved.

1 - Do something for yourself one night each week. This should be something you will enjoy, not something you think will be good for you. This is not something that your partner wants, or that the kids will benefit from. This is for you. Play a game, read a novel, watch a movie. Go to a museum, mow the yard, attend a sporting event. Put an away message on your email and screen your calls. It does not need to be for a long time. It is amazing what an hour to yourself can do to recharge your batteries and make you more productive. I do not play video games each week, but often my one night is spent with a good game.
2 - Keep a weekend free once a quarter. I do not mean that you sit around the house and do nothing. I do mean that you should spend this time with your significant other and your kids, or just by yourself. Get out and be spontaneous. No to-do lists or agendas, just enjoy some free time. Again, your productivity will soar when you are happy, having just spent a weekend enjoying yourself. This will also help you avoid burnout. Again, I do not use this weekend each quarter as an excuse to develop a gaming addiction, but once in a while I will spend some time playing a game with my son. He loves it, and so do I.
3 - Learn to say no. I understand the guilt we all feel when asked to run the PTA or serve on the homeowners association committee. Lear to do these things when you feel driven to serve, not guilty for refusing. Spend the time you would have used in these capacities doing something you enjoy. Exert that extra energy by heading a task-force or project at work rather than toiling away with something you do not wish to do. I have often let extra activities cut into the time I have set aside for myself and for my family. Again, if you want to avoid burnout, you must protect this time.
4 - Learn to solve work-problems while outside of the workplace. Ponder your latest sales strategy while you sit on the subway. Develop new flowcharts for that program you have been working on while you walk with your family. Discuss some of your work-related ideas with your partner. They may not know a lot about what you do, but that might be just the fresh point of view that you can learn from. My personal thinking time, and more often than I'd like to admit, the solution to one of my problems has come to me while I was in the middle of a video game.
5 - Find your own balance. There is no 5 step guide to perfect work-life balance. Just like too much work can cause burnout, to much leisure can cause complacency. Protect your free time and enjoy it, but work hard each day. Your mid and body will tell you when you need a video game, and they will also tell you when it is time to get back to work. Listen to your body, and work hard at work and at play. If you feel like you are out of balance, then you are. Find your own balance.

In closing, I game because I enjoy it. Gaming (actually any leisure activity, but I often choose gaming) helps me be more effective at my job. Work life balance is one of the most important skills we can develop. Give it the attention it deserves.

SPAZ #MicroReview

Just a post mimicking my most recent twitter #MicroReview.


@SPAZGAME - Very deep top down space combat game w/RPG elements. Amazing ongoing dev support. A steal at $10 - MUST BUY #MicroReview


I have logged 34 hours in this game, and there is a ton of content I missed and loads of replay-ability. The developers are amazing, and free content patches come regularly. This is well worth a buy, or at least a try. Click here for a demo.




Related Posts: 
Orcs Must Die #MicroReview

#MicroReview, What Does That Mean?

#MicroReview @OrcsMustDie

@OrcsMustDie - my favorite game recently w/37 hours logged. It is a great buy at 19.99 GOTY edition. Sequel coming soon-ish.#MicroReview

Just a post to archive another #MicroReview. But if you are reading this, seriously... buy this game. My favorite game of the last year or so.

#MicroReview, What Does That Mean?

I love video games. Anyone who knows me, or pays attention to my tweets knows that. I don't have a lot of time to play them, and one of my main gripes about the industry is the lack of good, short game reviews. I barely have time to play a game, let alone read 2 - 3 reviews, usually each being 700 - 1000 words or a 15 - 20 minute video review, about each game I am considering before making my next purchase. #MicroReview is my answer to this.

I am going to start sending out occasional tweets with the hashtag #MicroReview, basically stating whether or not I am satisfied with the money and time I put into a game. I don't play a lot of games, so more than anything I am hoping that someone out there in twitter-land who is more of a force than I, maybe TotalBiscuit or The Yogscast or Jesse Cox, will adopt this hashtag. My basic idea is:

• Find someone with similar gaming tastes to yours.
• Read their #MicroReview to see if a game might be worth putting some time and money into.
• Play the game.
• Tweet your own #MicroReview.

If you stumble upon this article, please go ahead and adopt this practice. I sent my first tweet tonight, quoted here in all of its <140 character glory "Finished @HardResetGame last night with 4 hrs across 4 months. Good game, worth full price, don't hesitate to buy on sale#MicroReview"

As a point of reference, if you are interested in my gaming preferences... I like RPGs, platformers and RTS the most. I like FPS, Click-to-advance adventure games and time management games the least. I would suggest that you remember that when taking the advice of my #MicroReviews.

In true geek fashion, Hello World!

So, each day I make a vlog on YouTube. I usually start out my vlog by sharing some sort of anecdote, story or experience. My lovely wife has informed me that people don't want to hear that, they come to see the kids act silly. She may be right. I am not he most eloquent person in the world, and my southern drawl may take away from any good point that I do have to make. My new plan is to continue to share the happiness that my children bring to our family in the vlog, and place the rest of my rambling musings in this blog.

I am a junior to mid-level leader in the banking industry, directly or indirectly supervising from 20 - 25 people, and I have the ability to influence about 250 other associates on a regular basis. I am a happily married, proud father of two. I am active in my community, my church and my children's lives. I love all things geeky, but have a special spot in my heart for video games, Star Wars and spreadsheets. I have been known to keep a spreadsheet about a Star Wars video game... but that is a story for a different day. It took me almost 30 years to find out that there are other people like me in the world.

Each day I learn something that helps me to better serve those I work with, my customers, my community, my family or just helps me to live a happier life. I have learned a lot of things that I am happy to share with others, and I think some of it may even be useful to help other aspiring leaders to grow their careers.

As this blog progresses, you can look for me to post about my various interests and talents. Most likely the following topics will recur quite often:

Leadership and management
Parenting
Personal Finance
Happiness
Video Games
Random things that don fit any of the above categories

If you are a daddy, or want to be; If you are a leader, or want to be; If you just want to share thoughts with a fellow geek, this is the blog for you. I will try to keep the posts informative, thoughtful and entertaining. Please comment and share, as you will get out of reading this blog whatever you put into it. If you don't comment, I still get the therapeutic catharsis of writing out my thoughts!