Started this a few weeks ago, but haven’t been working hard enough to keep it going.

The Game of Getting Better

I’ve decided that making my own self-improvement a game will help potentially keep me motivated.

They’re very simple ideas at this point (more point-ification than an actual game), but it’s a start anyway :)

Here are some of the ideas for my game

  • Give points for certain activities
    • Smaller amounts of points for little wins, like doing anything at all on a given day
    • Larger amounts of points for big milestone accomplishments, like finishing a set-about project
    • Streak bonuses for doing things repeatedly or on consecutive days
    • Other special bonuses as I see fit (Weekly Quests perhaps?)
  • Exchange those points for little 'treats' for myself
    • Make each point worth X dollars into an account
    • Use that money to buy toys
    • Give myself a discount / multiplier if I spend the 'toy money' on things that benefit my self-improvement (e.g. Home Server, Wacom Tab)
  • Continually use this blog to change the rules as I learn what works for me and what doesn't

I think this will make for a good activity to help me set goals and stay motivated.

Points ideas for the last bit of January here (these are my goals)

  • 2 points - Making styling commits / improvements to the blog
  • 5 points - Writing a new blog post
  • 20 points - Building the foundation of an HTML resume
  • 25 points - Finishing a game at the Global Game Jam

BONUS

  • 1 point per consecutive day making progress
  • 5 points if every weekday charts progress

I will keep score in a Google Doc here

I will likely bleed these into February as well, since I’ve gotten such a late start; Mostly I want to try and not be too hard on myself, and just incremental progress.



Published

21 January 2013

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