Hello Brains!
Remember how I said you can turn your life into a video game?
It's true. In fact, I'm on a quest right now.
[medieval sword sounds]
[Intro Music]
Last week I talked about why video games hold our attention so well and
how we can apply that to our everyday lives. Today I want to go a step further
and show you how you can turn your life into a video game.
For instant motivational powers!
It's called gamification and it's really popular right now.
Gamification is the application of game design elements and game
concepts to non-game situations like your life.
In other words gamification turns all the boring stuff you have to do:
Homework. Dishes. Laundry.
Into fun challenges which can help you "level up" in real life.
And, thanks to apps, you can now gamify everything from your morning run
to going to bed. On time.
I'll show you some of my favorites in just a minute but first to help us understand
how gamification works: cool science stuff!
[Music]
It starts with intrinsic motivation. That's basically your desire to do
something like go to the gym. By itself, intrinsic motivation isn't always strong
enough to get you moving or keep you focused.
That's where gamification comes in. Gamification provides extrinsic, or
external, reinforcement that helps turn your intrinsic motivations into action.
You don't need external reinforcement for stuff you already love to do or do
all the time. But, for ADHDers, a lot of day-to-day tasks aren't intrinsically
rewarding enough for us to stay focused on them. As I talked about last video
ADHDers tend to need external reinforcement to do their best.
And you don't have to look much farther than the Pokémon Go craze to realize just
how motivating games can be.
OK. Enough explaining. Let's get to the games!
And how they can help. That too.
"I like how I feel when I run but I can't seem to get started."
It's a lot more motivated to run when somebody's chasing you.
Especially zombies. Zombies! Run! is an app that lets you listen to your music while
you're running and interrupts it occasionally to provide you with story missions.
Or let you know that zombies are chasing you and you should probably,
you know, step it up.
Just be careful not to overdo it. Fake zombies can lead to real ankle injuries.
"I want to get stuff done but to-do lists are so boring."
[Falls Down]
Not when you can take your to-do's down in a street fight. RPG style!
Epic Win is a simple to-do list with awesome graphics where you can create an avatar
that makes progress when you do. You can add tasks to your to do list for that day,
choose repeating to-do's like water the plants every Monday, Wednesday, and
Saturday, and even sync your calendar to it.
Would you just listen to this music? This is a to-do list.
[Music]
I like it because it's fast and easy to use. Plus every time you open it says:
Epic Win!
[ominous music]
"I feel awful and I don't want to do anything."
Super Better was designed as a Recovery App to take you from feeling terrible
to feeling terribly awesome. You can use it to help you with things like anxiety,
depression, eating healthier, recovering from a physical injury, or even just to
feel better in general. I love it because it makes baby steps feel like the
accomplishments that they are. You can also invite allies to help you on your journey.
[Ding]
Bonus: it may even help you live longer.
"I'd like to start walking but it's boring."
I know I totally get -
[music plays from phone]
Pokémon Go is so good at gamifying walking that most people don't even
realize they're exercising until it's too late.
Here's how it works: there are Pokémon out there in the real world.
But you can only see them through your phone's camera. To catch them
you have to walk around and find them and then throw little pokéballs at them.
If you run out of pokéballs just walk over to the nearest pokéstop to replenish.
Want to battle someone? Just walk over to the nearest pokégym.
Did anyone here how many times I said walk just then? No, because all you hear is:
Poké, poké, po -
Gamification!
Pro tip: you want to throw the pokéballs when the green circle is at its smallest.
Wasted a lot of pokéballs figuring that one out.
I totally looked it up on the internet. Have you met me? I do research. It's what I do!
Warning. If you watch this video with at least one band-aid on do not play
Pokémon Go while using the stairs or crossing the street.
"I really like this whole gamification thing. Can I make my whole life a game?"
Why yes you can!
Habitica, formerly known as habit RPG, is awesome because it's really versatile.
You can use it to encourage good habits, stick to your daily routines, and even
use it as a to-do list where you can break down big projects into smaller steps.
You can create or join an adventuring party, hang out in the tavern, there's even
an ADHD guild and a whole wiki page dedicated to adapting it for ADHD.
If you also struggle with depression check out the challenges from Take This.
Of course, like any game, it's totally possible to get bored of these.
They may not work forever but they can work long enough to help you establish
new habits. So, long after I've forgot about these games I might still be watering my
plants three times a week and taking my dog for lots of walks.
[Ding]
If none of these appeal to you, don't worry. There are a ton of other options
out there or you can make up your own games to make life fun.
Edward and I both tend to neglect the dishes.
So this is the game we came up with:
we take turns using sticky notes with our initials on them.
Whoever's initial is closest to the sink has to do the dishes and you can't
switch your note until you've done all the dirty dishes.
The positive: you don't ever have to do dishes when you don't feel like it.
The negative: the longer you wait the more dishes you're gonna have to do.
Nothing makes doing the dishes as rewarding as getting to move that sticky note.
Speaking of which.
[Clanking and paper sounds]
Ha!
That's it for this week. Let me know what kind of gamification work for you.
Comment below. Hit me up on Facebook or Twitter and if you like this video and
you want to hear more ADHD tips, tricks, and brain hacks, subscribe.
Bye Brains!
"How do I stop losing my stuff? Please answer!"
You sound like you're saying this in very desperate tone so short answer
have you heard of Tile?
[Ding]
"How can I control my impulsivenees?"
A huge part of ADHD is not having any space between your thoughts and your actions.
Meditation and mindfulness are scary words for those of us with ADHD but they really help.
[Outro Music]