How do you balance real life and gaming?

Well, it really depends.
When I used to have a really busy schedule back in the days I bought a console just to play those 1-2 Hours a day before going to sleep or having some gaming time during the weekend.
It's really hard to find a balance when you have an active social life and work that takes most of your day.
not hard to balance when you have no social life and no job tho.
And honestly I preferred when I had "no time" to play, there was always something to play and I would never get bored, right now i can hardly find a game that is satisfying.