Yes, Video Games Can Relax Us ... If You Know What To Look For

It’s no secret that students need to take a break every once in a while to de-stress and avoid burnout. Turns out, one of our greatest childhood pastimes can help with just this: video games. 


Research increasingly provides that video games can relax us, if we know what qualities to look for in a game. Here, we’ve outlined a few traits of relaxing video games.


Calming music


Music is a mood maker. When it’s upbeat, it can get us jazzed for an all-nighter. When it’s slow-paced, it can help us wind down and relax. Every video game has its own soundtrack, some skewing slower paced to make us kick back and relax. 


Serene visuals


In the real-world, natural surroundings and scenic beauty relaxes us. The same can be said for video games set in the outdoors and with little fuss or frills. In some instances, when they’re simple enough, they might even help us slip into flow states.


Humor


Humor helps us release dopamine, and happiness is a natural agent for stress-relief. For this reason, funny games with low-stakes can simply help us not take ourselves or our tasks too seriously — and that’s a refreshing break. 


Cooperative play


Being tied to a desk writing a paper or studying can sometimes feel isolating. Video games with multiplayer modes or even taking Twitch breaks makes an opportunity for a quick social interaction one click away. 


No time limits


As students, we can feel married to deadlines and milestones. Playing a video game with no time limits isn’t only a refreshing change of pace but it also provides us the opportunity to express ourselves without guidelines, word counts, and other parameters. Games with no time limits give us creative freedom. 


Understanding these qualities of a relaxing game is just the start of how you can destress with one. Next, you need to find the right title for you. Norton, the cybersecurity authority that recently forayed into video game security, did just this by crowning its top calming games. Pore over them in the infographic here:

Please include attribution to Norton with this graphic.

20 relaxing games for a calmer 2021 | Norton

Secondary Income: How to Find the Right Side Gig

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It’s no secret that many people have a secondary income. They’ll often ‘moonlight’ to supplement their primary income if they don’t earn enough money or want to save money for something.

You’re likely reading this article today because you want to boost your income, but you haven’t found a replacement job that pays more money. Plenty of people have side gigs alongside their day jobs. The trouble is, which side gig is right for you?

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Here are a few hints and tips to help you find the perfect side gig:

How Much Time Can You Devote?

The first thing you need to consider is how much time you can devote to your side hustle. Some work is more time-demanding than others, so it makes sense to first check you’ve got enough time to commit to a side gig.

For instance, restoring furniture can be more time-consuming than copywriting or graphic design.

What Would You Like to Do?

You’ll need need to decide what type of work you want to do in your side hustle. As you can appreciate, there’s a variety of different options open to you. The big question you probably need to ask yourself is, what do you enjoy doing that you could apply to a side gig?

Here are a few examples to help give you some inspiration:

Writing

If you enjoy writing, there’s a raft of secondary income ideas you can consider. For example, you could do some freelance copywriting in your spare time. Or, you ghostwrite some books for other people.

Driving

Are you someone that enjoys getting behind the wheel of their car and going out for long drives? If so, you could become a delivery driver. You can search for driving work that suits you, such as local or long-distance deliveries.

Talking

If you’re someone that loves to talk, why not put your passion for chatting to good use and make some extra cash? You could work as a remote call center worker or a virtual assistant, for example.

Drawing

It might surprise you to learn that creative illustrators are always in demand from various industries. For instance, you could lend your services as an illustrator for book publishers. Or, you could work as a graphic designer that specializes in illustration work.

Would You Like to Work From Home?

Many people looking for a side gig want flexible work because they need it to fit around their work and existing lifestyle commitments. If that applies to you, it’s crucial that you choose work you can do from home.

Thankfully, there are hundreds of secondary income jobs you can do from home - some of which have been mentioned on this page.

Of course, you’ll have more work options if you can do work away from home as well. But that doesn’t mean you’ll never find a side gig that you can do from home.

Hopefully, you’ve found the tips on this page useful for you today. Good luck with your side hustle journey!