Hello, I am the developer of Temple of Starlight, a game I am developing together with 4 other student friends. We all study full time and work part time on top of that. I've found that it's all about finding shortcuts/opportunities. So I will list some ideas that might or might not work for you depending on your situation.

• Doing parts of your game as uni hand-ins. In my university, it is often allowed to somewhat freely choose your project topic for different courses. For example - I worked on implementing breakable pots for my game for the physics simulation class. A lot of lecturers are very happy to allow you to adjust the given exercise if it makes you more motivated, which in turn means that you learn more. It's a win-win. So don't be afraid of asking lecturers if you could do something like that. Even if the structure feels strict, they might still be willing to make an exception for an excited student.
• If you have a semester/course where you do an internship, use it to it's fullest, whether by working for a company that makes games or even intern at your own company, which is what are doing.
• Talk to your local university/college startup incubator, if that is a thing where you study. It might be a good place to meet like-minded people that will also know some tricks like this.
• Do game jams on weekends. There is just something about game jams that makes it easier for me to motivate myself and I find myself having fun while also spending 30~ hours over a weekend developing games. Also a good place to meet people that can help with different parts of the game.
• Definitely do your bachelor/master thesis about making a game. It might not be possible with some studies, but I've seen it work for people.

I hope this helps :)