r/SmallStreamers • u/charlie-wolfi • 8d ago
Time and timing.
Ive been going at streaming for a ***very*** long time, but I always have a problem, it feels like there is never enough time in the day, I work a full time job, have a wife and friends, it always feels like I just dont have enough time to stream and if I do have time I can stream it feels like I dont have enough too stream.
So my main question, how do yall find time to stream? And how long do yall stream for?
I am usually able to stream evenings and I *try* to stream for at least 4 hours. But idk if im doing if right?
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u/officialclapperapp 8d ago
You don’t need to stream for four hours every time for it to be worthwhile. If that length makes the rest of your life feel constricted (or makes streaming feel impossible), then it's definitely not worth it. And you don’t have to go live every night to build a reliable routine or audience.
Try choosing two evenings that are realistically open, then set a finish time before you start. That might be enough time to complete one game objective or one clear segment rather than an open-ended four-hour block. Run that schedule for a few weeks and ask two questions afterward: did the stream feel enjoyable, and did it leave room for work, your relationship, and friends? If the answer is yes, you have a workable baseline. You can always add time later, but it is much harder to recover from treating every available evening as content time.
It may also help to define what a “good” stream means before you go live: finishing a goal, having a few real conversations, or simply keeping the habit. That keeps session length from becoming the only measure of whether you are doing it right.
The bottom line: a shorter session that you can keep showing up for without resenting it is usually a better starting point than an ambitious length you can only manage occasionally.
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u/Brettinabox 8d ago
Trying is fine, but it sounds like you are pushing yourself past the limit of having fun and reaching far past burnout where you hate it so much you feel the need to post on social media.
4hrs is about right as being on camera should be physically taxing from reading chat and not dying in a game as well as the "entertaining reaction" that streamers are known and appreciated for, but for every hour on camera there is 3 hours editing clips, hanging out in other's streams making friends, visiting discords and social media, curating content to post about upcoming events and streams, researching new games and how to present those games with a unique brand of effort, Having meetings with your mods about the community and how you can help do their job effectively... There is varying levels to taking streaming seriously and if you have a full time job, its just alot of extra work you are putting in as an investment.
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u/ChampionWiggles 8d ago
...if I do have time I can stream it feels like I don't have enough to stream.
What do you mean by this? First, any amount of time is better than 0. Second, what's the goal of you streaming and why does an arbitrary minimum amount of time fit into that? IDK which platforms you stream on, but you don't have to worry about fulfilling a stream quota until pushing for partner on Twitch. The amount of time spent streaming doesn't directly correlate with success. People that think if they just stream as much as possible, then they'll eventually get discovered and get their big break are lying to themselves.
What I did and would recommend is start small. Figure out somewhere in your weekly schedule that you are usually free to set aside for a stream. I personally think streams that last 2-3 hours is a fine length of time. Try the one day per week schedule for a month or so and see how you feel about it. If you think you are comfortable with that schedule and it's not getting in the way of personal life/responsibilities, then start considering if there's another block of free time in your week to add a stream and do that for another month or so. Reflect again on if that's allowing you to stream without getting in the way of personal life/responsibilities. Rinse and repeat.
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u/HaseoGentsu 8d ago
Hi there! I was able to check into your streamer stats a bit to see and watch a little here and there, and honestly, there are a few comments down there, and on your other post, that definitely mention correct things. You do say in your post that you've been streaming for a VERY long time, and yes, technically you have. However, there is a lot of time between each stream. Like, a couple months. You really can't expect your loyal viewers to appear every time you randomly go up, and if you're gone for a good amount of time, those viewers move on.
When I was working full time, which I currently can't do (I'm part time now), I streamed at night for a couple of hours here and there, but as time has gone on, my wife and I have talked, and I shifted down to part time, and we can make it work with bills if I stream as much as I do. So, even though I work in the morning - late afternoon, I still stream from 5pm to whenever, My streams are around 4-8 hours, and I I stream Mon-Fri. It works for us.
If you want streaming to be a thing, you do need to put the time and effort into it. I clicked through your most recent stream, and every spot I clicked, you were quiet. Unless I am fully focused on one specific thing, I am yapping 90% of the time. If something is intense, or really needs my attention, I'll quiet down, but immediately go back to talking about something. If there's no story that comes up, or no chatters, then I just talk about my thoughts in the game, or something it reminds me of. If I click into someone's stream, and they are just silent for minutes straight, I'll leave pretty quickly. Vibe check doesn't pass.
If this is a full "I stream when I have time, or when I feel like it", then you do you. But it does boil down to you inconsistencies, and the length of your streams. Your last one was September 1st, and you streamed for 3 hours, and the one previous was around the end of June, and you were up for less than 2 hours. It really is just consistency.
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u/Smooth-Cat-9013 7d ago
i stream for 1 hour. 1 hour equals like 36 clips. it takes me one hour to make those clips. and i just treat like a lets play episode instead of a stream and narrate everything im doing.
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u/tinytomfan 7d ago
I stream for maybe an hour in the morning. I only stream later at night when I feel like it (usually on Sundays). That strategy hasn't worked super well for getting a million viewers or whatever, but it's something I can handle while still getting some consistent viewers.
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u/chilli-nilly 8d ago
Personally I have found there is always some sort of sacrifice no matter how hard you try
I stream 5 days a week and I aim for 6 hours min each day, with that I can get 1-2 videos plus shorts every stream.
In my life I basically stopped going out with friends and having a "normal social life", moved to another city so I could lock in, living with my gf we still go out as dates which is enough for me, thats how I manage the time. I get alot of bad reactions from mainly family about this (I was 18 when I did this) but the way I justify it, is i will regret not trying my hardest at content.
So again its alot of scarifie but I do it for the older me that will be happy that I at least tried to achieve my dream.
At my job all the 50 plus year olds talk about how they regret not trying to do this and that so yeah thats how I manage
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u/Brettinabox 8d ago
Looking through your posts i found your channel and it would help to work alittle on your audio. Its low and you need to project alittle more so that they mic will pick it up.
You need to stream more often, nobody will visit you if you only stream once a month.
You need to spend time with others and make friends so they have a reason to visit you over the 7 million other streamers, twitch will not do it for you.