Level up your life

If you’re like me, at some point during your childhood (or maybe still!) you thought about how fricking awesome it would be to get paid to play video games all day.

But hey, while I do have a pretty good sense of humor (my wife puts up with a LOT), I’m not ridiculously good looking and as it turns out I don’t have the reflexes of the gods, so playing games for my job is pretty much just a fantasy.  But given the boredom I often suffer at my actual job, I started thinking, what if I could do things to level myself up like I was playing an RPG?  Below are a few interesting ways I found to “gamify” my life.

Duolingo

If you’ve been thinking about learning a new language or refreshing your skills at one you’ve already learned, Duolingo is a fun place to start.  You gain xp by meeting your goals every day and completing modules for each part of the language you’re studying.  It’s easy to add friends if you want to add a little good natured rivalry.  The content is often funny as well – I’ve recently been asked to translate “Estás cortando el queso?” (are you cutting the cheese?)  and “No te vas a dejar aquí vivo!” (you won’t leave here alive!) – and the comments from other users are as amusing as you might expect.

Lumosity

I used to be skeptical of Lumosity commercials – “train your brain” to get better at what, some very specific games? – but after actually trying it out I really have noticed some improvement in maintaining attention without procrastinating and multitasking more successfully.  Besides which the “Trouble Brewing” game wherein you get to be a terrible Starbucks barista is just plain fun.

Habitica

I haven’t gotten too far into Habitica but it looks like it could be extremely helpful for gamifying your everyday life.  You set quests for yourself and gain rewards or lose “health” depending on whether you complete them.  You can create parties with your friends and defeat challenges for all the fake internet gold and equipment your heart desires!

Hopefully you found these ideas useful – if you have any you’d like to share please do so below!