A few years ago, I opened my own content marketing business, Mandaroo Marketing, LLC. I’m a self-starter by nature, so this path was a great fit for me. Even still, I knew I would need to apply extra strategies to help me stay motivated, meet client deadlines, market my business, and keep the general enjoyment of solopreneur-life aflame.
So I started experimenting with a well-known productivity strategy: gamification. I would decorate my handwritten to-do lists as a reward for crossing off a task. Or take a walk after writing for a while. If there was a task to be done, there was a reward to be earned. It’s easily my favorite way to motivate me to get tasks done.
Here, I’ll share how to gamify your productivity and five gamification ideas to get you started.
Table of contents:
What is gamification?
Gamification is the process of adding game-like elements—for example, points, missions, and leaderboards—to non-game environments. The objective? Make dull things fun so that you remain more engaged.
For example, language learners using Duolingo can earn experience points (XP) for completing daily quests. You can then use those points to compare your progress with others and compete against other learners with the same level of points as you.
Why is gamification effective?
Gamification is effective because it taps into basic human psychology: You’re motivated to do something (a task or chore) in return for a reward or to avoid a punishment. The more you do, the more you receive. And the easier it is to keep riding that momentum and making more progress.
Depending on the type of gaming mechanics applied, gamification also plays into our human desire to achieve social status. If there’s a leaderboard, for example, you’re driven to achieve certain milestones so you can climb that leaderboard and gain a higher standing.
Of course, the reasons listed above provide a gross oversimplification of the psychology behind it all—but you get the idea.
How to gamify your productivity
Here are the two simple steps you need to build gamification into your workflow.
1. Identify the task
Define the task you want to complete or the milestone you want to achieve. For example, as a writer, I often set a target number of words I want to write. You could identify a specific task, a percentage of a project you want to complete, or a set amount of time you want to engage in deep work.
2. Define the reward
This is the fun part: decide what you’ll earn each time you finish a task or reach a milestone. Whether it’s a coffee run, a walk outside, or a mid-day nap, the key is to choose a reward that’s motivating to you.
That’s it. (Yes, it really is that simple.) Of course, if you wanted to reach Ben Wyatt levels of game design, you could absolutely add more complexity. But I recommend starting off small and scaling up or down from there.
5 ideas for gamifying your productivity
Need help getting those gamification gears turning? I reached out to other professionals in my network to ask how they use gamification in their daily workflows. Based on their experiences and my own, here are five ideas for how to gamify your productivity.
1. Treat working blocks as “challenges”
If you’re a productivity connoisseur, you’ve probably tried time-blocking your calendar to manage your time. I put a spin on this approach by treating time blocks as “challenges.”
When I finish a time block or reach a certain word count, I reward myself by changing to not just a new task but also a new working environment. I switch rooms in my house, move from a coffee shop to the library, go from walking on my treadmill to sitting down, or change up my background music. These adjustments reward my brain with a fresh start and new motivation to greet the next challenge.
2. Assign yourself experience points through success and failure
In roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, characters often earn experience points (XPs) by exercising a skill—the outcome of exercising said skill is irrelevant. Similarly, you can reward yourself for completing a task for the task’s sake, not for the outcome.
Here’s an example: When I shared about my experience sending unsuccessful client pitches on LinkedIn, Eli Wood shared that he sometimes gets excited about rejection. That’s because he awards himself XPs for marketing his business, no matter the result.
3. Track and document your progress
You’re not limited to rewarding yourself only after you’ve completed a task. Just like a video game might track your progress by charting your journey through a virtual land or reveal explored map areas, I mark my calendar as I go.
At the start of each day, I assign different tasks to tentative time blocks. Then, as I make progress, I update my calendar to note things like how much I wrote during a time block and how long my working period actually lasted. I also update the color of the time block to correspond with the client project I worked on.
At the end of the day and week, I get a dopamine boost from looking back at my colorful calendar and taking in all the work I accomplished.
4. Recognize your progress out loud
Progress milestones can be major checkpoints in your workday or small check-ins when you need a boost. Your favorite video game might replicate this with “shops,” where you can purchase new items just for fun or with a non-playable character (NPC) announcing that you’re doing a great job.
When Kiran Shahid finishes work, she sometimes says out loud, “Good job, Kiran. I’m proud of you.” Amna Aslam stands up from her desk and gives herself a round of applause. Rewarding your work can simply mean giving yourself the verbal feedback you need to keep going and stay motivated.
5. Go into co-op mode
Many games are better played with good company. And while you don’t have to gamify with friends, colleagues, or people in your network, co-working (or body doubling) introduces a level of accountability that can help you accomplish more.
You might work in public at a library or cafe, or find a community of people to join a Zoom call and co-work silently. Treat body doubling as a new challenge type and conversation after a period of productivity as your reward.
If you’re motivated by a little healthy competition, you can also compete with other “players.” Perhaps you compete to see who can log the most productive minutes or complete the highest number of tasks in a given time period.
The best gamification apps
If you need a little help with the gamification process, there are lots of apps that can turn your projects, tasks, and chores into achievable steps—ones you’ll want to complete, thanks to their gamification features. Here are a few gamification apps to try.
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Productivity Challenge Timer. This app uses the Pomodoro technique to break large projects into short, manageable work sessions. You can then review your productivity stats—everything from your most productive hours of the day to your longest productivity streak. The app will also rank you from “0” to “Unrepentant Slacker,” and you can either gain or lose your ranking each day, which will hopefully motivate you to work harder.
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Habitica. When you sign up for Habitica, you create a character—turning your tasks into a roleplaying game (RPG). As you complete your tasks and habits, you gain experience points and gold so you can level up or buy cool gear.
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Forest. This app helps you stay focused on the task at hand by letting you “plant a seed” whenever you want to concentrate. Over the course of 30 minutes, the seed will grow into a mighty tree to indicate a job well done. But leave the app to check TikTok or play a game, and your young sapling will wither away, leaving you with little more than a rotting log. If you’re looking for a little friendly competition, you can even share your results with friends to see who can build the biggest forest.
For even more options, check out Gamify List. You can browse through more than 500 gamification apps purpose-built for specific tasks like learning, self-improvement, and boosting employee engagement.
Go forth and gamify
Gamification is entirely what you make of it; no one can tell you how to do it. If a certain measurement or reward isn’t working for you, change up your tactics. The key is to keep things novel so that the work and reward remain fun—however you define it.
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