Time management in simple words. Gamification

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

I don't want to write a report! I want to shoot pigs with birds! Real life is hard to compete with games. And now we are already using all our willpower not to play. Maybe you shouldn't run away from games? Maybe use games to achieve something in the real world?

I don't want to write a report! I want to shoot pigs with birds!

Real life is hard to compete with games.

And now we are already using all our willpower not to play. Maybe you shouldn't run away from games? Maybe use games to achieve something in the real world?

Gamification is not new.

Shops have long taught us to collect stickers and points, get new levels (platinum, gold, etc.). So that we buy more and not go to competitors.

Gamification is also successfully used in teaching:

• English (LinguaLeo, etc.);
• programming ();
• speed reading (Reading Arena).

What attracts us to games?

• After reading the book, get +5 knowledge and +1 intuition right away. And in real life, you can read 100 books, but you still don’t understand what exactly you bought and how much.
• You can surpass your own or someone else's achievement (High Score).
• You can upgrade your character.

Correct gamification of life

To make life look like games, we need:

• measure and record many small parameters;
• set goals and assign rewards;
• summarize.

My first experience

At the age of 20, I kept a sign with goals for health, education, etc. I gave myself grades from 1 to 10. At the end of the day, week, month, I summed up the results. The system worked, but over time it fell off. I guess I'm just not yet ripe for serious work.

Now, 10 years later, I am "playing other games."

Pomodoro

Pomodoro's time management system is very simple. I wrote about her in the article "".

Let me remind you the essence:

1. We define the task.
2. We set a timer for 25 minutes (one tomato).
3. We work without distractions.
4. After 25 minutes, we take a 5-minute break, even if the task is not completed.
5. Go back to step 1 or 2.
6. Have you "eaten" four tomatoes? We take a long break for 15-30 minutes.
7. At the end of the day, we count the number of tomatoes.
8. Distracted by something? The tomato burns out - start all over again!

The main advantages of the system:

• You improve the quality of your working time (you are not distracted).
• You do not skip rest periods (eyes, back, brain).

Here are my tomato beds for the last two months:

You can see the results for the day and for the week.

The system really motivates to work, + 10% for sure))

Plus, it shows how much you've worked. Not "not bad," but the exact number.

The system is ideal for sedentary workers like me.

Reading of books

In 2014, I read 55 books. If I continue at this pace, I will end the year at 70 books. An excellent indicator. But the number 100 is so close! This is motivating. Result: I've read more in recent weeks.

Yes, craving for round values is a mental trap. Yes, this is artificial motivation. But it works, damn it!

Calculation of income and expenses

Play "economic strategy". You only need to record your income and expenses. I do this in the Personal Finances Pro program, although any other will do. Or even just a table in Excel.

We compete with ourselves, reducing costs and increasing income.

Any goals

Almost any goal can be set numerically, and you can start tracking your progress, successes and failures.

For example, here is a plate for one of my projects:

And how interesting is it to take stock at the end of the month ?! Always looking forward to this day!

Sport

The life hacker regularly writes about all these physical activity trackers: running, walking, movements in general. They are all gami ed.

Although the best gamification in sports is tennis, basketball, volleyball. And, of course, my passion is football!

Slimming

To lose weight more interesting, buy yourself a scale. Just weigh yourself always at the same time. For example, before breakfast.

Rewards

I do not apply rewards or bonuses for success. Hands do not reach. And the topic is cool! Completed the task - get a bonus. Failed - a new attempt will be made next month.

The main thing is to be honest with yourself. For some reason, if we give our word to another, we will die, but we will restrain him. And we often deceive ourselves …

However, don't overdo it with rewards. Daniel Pink wrote about the danger of overdoing it with bonuses in his book "Drive".

What can be the reward:

• chocolate bar;
• trip to Egypt;
• iPhone 6;
• massage session.

For the lazy

If you are too lazy to draw something, to invent something, "achievable" services appear in full force.

For example, a service:

Or the scheduler now offers a built-in gamification system:

Do things on time and get points to karma for it))

Total

Use gamification to motivate yourself, your kids, and your employees. This is great. This is the future!

Plus gamification is timing. We begin to see our effectiveness, not just speculate.

Write in the comments

Do you use gamification? Rewarding yourself for your accomplishments at work?