How do you make life interesting?
Subscribe to my newsletter to get early access to unique weekly content!
What if there are ways to make your “work” not feel like “work.”
What if you did that thing you wanted to do and not postpone it for a later time?
Huh? No way that’s possible.
It could be, though.
Let’s see how!
How do you think video games work? There’s some levelling system, some sense of achievement of actually winning something, and maybe some ownership too.
These are all aspects of ‘Gamification.’ Gamification is a word I’ve seen being used a lot. But I’ve always wondered how I could really apply this to my own life.
I’d first heard of gamification from a podcast. The Inforium podcast had an episode where they spoke about the productivity lessons we could take from games. This was an interesting episode, but I didn’t really use these learnings in my life.
More recently, a video by Ali Abdaal caught my interest. In the video, he dived into a book called “Actionable Gamification” by Yu-Kai Chou, who luckily for us, also has a fantastic Ted Talk that also talks about this.
The framework that Yu-Kai Chou created is called the ‘Octalysis.’
These are the 8 key designs in video games that make them very addicting and make us want to keep coming back.
But they can be broadly classified into four main categories:
- Intrinsic Motivation
- Extrinsic motivation.
- White-hat techniques.
- Dark-hat techniques.
Extrinsic is something that is external to you. This is the motivation that comes from outside factors.
Intrinsic is something that is internal to you. This is the motivation that comes from inside you.
White-hat techniques are the ones that you would want to replicate in your lives. Think of it like using The Force like the Jedi.
Dark-hat techniques are the ones that Gacha games, Casinos and techniques gaming companies use like microtransactions to get you addicted to doing certain events. Think of this like using The Force like the Siths.
Personally, I have understood that a lot of stuff I do first starts out with some social element and then moves to it being intrinsic.
An example of this is going to the gym.
Back in 2019, I had a serious itch to get fit.
There was a goal I was looking to achieve. I remember telling myself that I not only wanted to look leaner, but I wanted to look fitter and nicer in some of the clothes I had. So, when I trained, I tried on some of these shirts when I went out to meet friends. Lo, and behold, I started looking nicer in these shirts.
This slow but steady progress I made was based on this goal or meaning I wanted to achieve and made me want to continue to do better. I also used to hit the gym every day. These sessions used to be fun as I went with a bunch of friends. This inculcated social influence as my friends, and I grew stronger together.
Lastly, when I finally went back to college after my vacations, PEOPLE ACTUALLY NOTICED! This was a huge achievement for me!
All of this was pre-pandemic, though.
This year I’ve tried my best to get into shape. But most things haven’t really worked. I don’t have a friend group near me who go to the gym. The goal now is not the same as I had earlier. So, how can I use gamification to make this a habit?
I’m trying to build a process by which I can be held accountable for the first few weeks or so and then get into the groove by myself. A fitness Instagram account where I post every day might makes things social as it is public accountability. This I’ll start by the first week of November. I’ll be posting my updates here, too, along with some other aspects of my life I’m trying to grow!
Sound good?
Subscribe to the newsletter to see weekly progress as well.
https://sidharth.substack.com
