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I Increased My Productivity 10x - By Turning My Life Into a Game

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When I was younger I used to play a lot of video games.

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But as I grew older, they started taking too much time from my other activities.

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For this reason, I started to gradually reduce the time I spent playing them, until I eventually quit.

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But recently, I decided to incorporate some more down time into my schedule.

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And I gave video games another shot.

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This is when I remembered just how fun video games can be.

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It wasn't long before I was looking forward to the end of the day,

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just so I could hop on the computer and play. 

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But this also got me wondering.

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What exactly made those games so compelling?

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And could I somehow apply those game elements to other areas of my own life

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to make them more desirable?

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This is what I've learned.

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Most video games are structured in a way, so that throughout the game,

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our brain consistently releases dopamine.

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I'm sure many of you are already aware, but for those of you who don't know,

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dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with wanting and desire.

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It's one of the reasons why we want to repeat certain behaviors over and over,

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and why we have the motivation to pursue something.

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You could say that dopamine is kind of like a carrot on a stick.

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Wherever the carrot goes, we want to follow.

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And video games are really good at constantly dangling this carrot right in front of you.

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Especially RPGs, also known as role-playing games,

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where you level up and play a fictional character in a virtual world.

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These types of games can be particularly addicting, because they have what I like to call

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a "dopamine trail".

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Essentially the game has a lot of different components

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that consistently trigger the release of dopamine, over and over.

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This way we don't get bored, and we want to continue playing.

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Now I've identified 5 key elements that form this dopamine trail, which you can

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actually replicate in your own life.

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But just to clarify I'll be using RPGs as an example, as they resemble our lives the most.

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Not every single game has all the components I'm going to talk about, however they all probably have at least a few.

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So let's take a look at those elements.

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Let's see how you can take control of the carrot, and make your own daily activities more compelling.

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The first key element is that you always have a clear objective to work towards,

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and you know what you should be doing.

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Maybe you need to kill a dragon, or rescue a princess. It doesn't matter.

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What's important is that you know in which direction you need to go.

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In real life however, many of us don't really know what we're working towards.

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And while other people can set direction for us, it's not the same as when we set the path ourselves.

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Whether it's running a marathon, reaching a certain position at work, or writing your own book.

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Having a clear goal you're working towards, gives your actions purpose.

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Otherwise your efforts just feel meaningless.

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But while killing a dragon might be the end goal, the game doesn't really make you focus on that too much.

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Instead it's broken down into shorter sub-goals that lead up to that big moment.

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First you might help the king get his stolen jewellery back,

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then you help a wizard with his potion problem, etc..

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Whenever we finish something, no matter how mundane or small it might seem,

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we get rewarded with a sense of accomplishment.

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And the more we feel accomplished, the more we want to continue feeling that way.

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Essentially, this creates a loop where a tiny bit of success, rewards us with dopamine and motivation to continue,

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which results into more success.

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Sure, we might've not killed the dragon yet, but we've still completed something that's

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leading in that direction.

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And that's all that matters, since as long as we continue doing that, eventually

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that big goal will be achieved.

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If you want to write a book for example, your sub-goals might look something like this:

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Create a chapter outline.

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Design a book cover.

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Write 1000 words.

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Edit 1 page.

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Of course, all of these can be broken down even further, but I think you get the general idea.

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The point is to kick-start the achievement loop, and do something that will lead you towards the greater objective.

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Now, goals are also important because of the second key element that video games have.

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Which is that progress is visible.

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Games make it very clear that you're improving by showing you that the experience bar is getting filled up.

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However it never says: "You're 0.7% on your way to level 100."

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That would be demotivating.

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Instead it shows you that you're 70% towards level 2.

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This visible progress gives you the necessary motivation to continue grinding forward.

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It's very easy to justify playing a little longer, just so you can reach that next level before logging out.

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But the thing is that usually there are multiple progress bars getting filled up at the same time,

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so that by the time you reach level 3 in one skill, you're almost level 5 in another.

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And when you reach that level 5, you're now close to level 4 in the other one.

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So you're made aware that you're constantly close to completing something,

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which makes you want to keep on playing.

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However progress in real life is usually not that obvious and you must make it visible yourself.

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I found that one of the best ways to do that, is by simply tracking your daily activities.

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During each day, make sure to take note of all the things you've done, that led you towards your goals.

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If you wrote 500 words for your book, write it down.

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If you ran 3 miles for your training, write it down.

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If you studied for 1 hour, write it down.

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And if you saved $10 by skipping Starbucks...

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Write it down.

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This way you make your progress, or lack of it, actually visible somewhere,

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and you can clearly see if you're getting closer to your goals or sub-goals.

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And when you see that you're close to accomplishing one of them, you'll be more motivated

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to continue moving forward, just so you can reach that milestone.

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Now, knowing that you're progressing is also important because of the third key element.

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Which is that games reward you for your effort.

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There is often some sort of prize when you reach a certain level or complete a quest.

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And these rewards serve as an incentive to complete your tasks.

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Would you bother killing a dragon if you didn't get anything for it?

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Probably not.

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But because there is a prize, you keep completing those quests.

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Rewards are often one of the best motivators in real life as well, as when you anticipate getting one,

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your brain makes sure to release a lot of dopamine.

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In the back of your mind, you know that once you finish, let's say studying for example,

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you get to enjoy a reward of your choice without any guilt, which can easily make you power through your task.

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But it has to be noted that in video games, the reward, always rewards you back in some way.

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Once you defeat an enemy, you might get a stronger sword, which means

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you can now defeat bigger enemies.

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Essentially the prize you receive, makes the gameplay better for you,

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and it makes you want to continue playing.

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And this is something that a lot of us get wrong.

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When we eat healthy for 1 week straight and we go to the gym 5 times during that period,

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sure, we deserve a reward.

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But instead of having a reward that rewards us back, we usually do something that hurts the progress we've made.

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We reward ourselves by eating the whole cake, while laying on the couch.

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Which, if you think about it, isn't a smart move.

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Imagine completing a quest in the game, and instead of gaining a level, you get penalized

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and your stats get worse.

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It doesn't happen.

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Yet, in real life, we often do just that.

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We manage to save $500, and what do we do?

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We reward ourselves with a brand new phone, which we don't really need, or something of that nature.

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Instead we should invest that money into an asset that will reward us back.

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That will allow us to make, and save even more money in the future.

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Or for another example, if you like running like me, you could reward your consistency with new running shoes.

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That kind of reward makes the runs easier and it reinforces the habit.

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So think about your own life situation and find a reward that rewards you back,

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or at least make sure it doesn't sabotage your progress, like it usually does.

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But you might notice that the rewards in games aren't always the same.

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You don't always get a better sword, but instead you sometimes get a stronger armour,

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other times it's a new spell, etc..

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Which brings me to the fourth key game element.

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Variety and novelty.

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Good games always have something new waiting for us.

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It could be new area unlocks, new enemies, or just new cosmetics.

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Our brains love variety, and as long as an activity has something novel to stimulate us,

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it remains attractive and satisfying.

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Imagine if instead of experiencing something new in the game, you'd have to repeat the same level over and over.

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Most of us wouldn't find it fun.

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We would get bored of doing the same thing pretty quickly, and we would want to quit.

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And it's the same in our daily lives.

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If we want to stick to something long term, it helps if we can incorporate something new into the activity.

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If you have a job, think back on the first day you spent there.

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The job probably didn't feel boring, instead it was most likely interesting.

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There were so many new people to meet and a lot of things to learn.

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However 1 year later, once all that novelty has faded, the job probably became boring and dull.

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That's because it became routine, and now there's nothing new to experience.

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It's kinda like repeating the same level in a game, for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

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You don't really have anything to look forward to, since you already know what to expect.

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While I do encourage having some sort of a routine in your life,

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it's also good if you have some variation within that routine.

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So if you usually do the same work all the time, see if it's possible to take on a different project,

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to switch it up a little bit.

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Preferably something that you're not fully familiar with, so the challenge is novel.

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Now while you might not be able to have a direct impact on the way you do things at your job,

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you can always incorporate some new aspects that are still related to it,

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which you do have control over.

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Like befriending someone at the office, who you don't normally interact with.

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Maybe reorganizing your desk.

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Or just going to a different restaurant to eat your lunch.

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As you can see, it doesn't have to be a massive change.

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Nor does it have to be permanent.

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The point is to just have a new experience every once in a while.

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You can also spice up your workout routine, by trying out a new exercise.

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Or if you're still studying for school, try to find a different study location.

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Just look for a way to make your days slightly different.

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Now the fifth and final key element that games have,

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is that they consistently challenge you.

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The human brain loves working on, and overcoming obstacles.

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But the difficulty has to match your current skill level, otherwise you won't enjoy them,

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nor will you want to do them.

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In other words, the challenge must be neither too hard, nor too easy.

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When you start at level 1, you don't go fighting the biggest and the baddest boss right away.

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You would get defeated every time, as it would be too difficult for your skill level. 

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And because it would be too hard, you wouldn't want to continue playing.

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This is why games set you up against easier challenges first.

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Those that you're able to actually overcome.

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But once you get better at the game, the difficulty also ramps up.

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Otherwise, if you were to improve, but the challenge stayed the same, you wouldn't want to

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continue playing.

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There's no fun if you're able to just effortlessly demolish everything in your way.

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You would quickly get bored, because the game would be too easy.

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The challenge has to feel at least semi-difficult, so that when you overcome it, you can actually

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feel proud about it and get rewarded by that sweet, sweet dopamine. 

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But in real life, we are only rarely faced with optimal challenges.

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Instead most of the time, we're either overwhelmed or bored by them. 

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If something feels overwhelming, and you can't bring yourself to do it, chances are that it's

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above your current skill level.

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You need to take a step back, and start slow, at the beginning.

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Break that big task, down into more manageable pieces.

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Then you should tackle those pieces individually, and focus on the easiest one first.

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This helps bring the difficulty down, and get the momentum going at the same time.

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If something feels too easy, you must increase the challenge.

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Ideally you would want to skip the easy tasks, but sometimes they just have to get done.

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Personally, I increase their difficulty, by imposing time limits on them.

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I give myself a time frame and try to do the task before the time runs out.

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This forces me to find a way to be more efficient, which also helps me get through it faster

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in the future.

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I'm still doing the same boring activity, but the time pressure

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ramps up the difficulty and makes it more fun.

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So try to match the difficulty to your skill level.

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You will find that whenever you're able to do so, you'll be more engaged,

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and the activity will be more compelling.

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By now you probably have a much better understanding about what makes video games so addictive.

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And you might notice that if those elements are not present, the game doesn't really pull us in as much.

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Of course there can also be other factors that can make games irresistible, not just the 5 I've described.

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One for example, could be the social aspect, that provides a sense of community and competition.

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Another one might be cool background music that we enjoy.

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Or the game could provide us with feelings of autonomy and a sense of control.

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However I didn't want to focus on every single factor, because I wanted to prioritize the

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most prevalent ones found in RPGs, since those games resemble our lives the most.

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Now it also has to be noted that video games apply all those elements at an extremely rapid rate.

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Making the release of dopamine very frequent.

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So frequent in fact, that our daily activities aren't actually able to match it.

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But that doesn't mean you shouldn't replicate the dopamine trail. 

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In fact, it's even more important that you implement it, otherwise you'll just get pulled

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towards wherever the most dopamine is. 

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So make sure to apply those 5 elements to the areas of your life, that you find most important.

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This will allow you to take control of the carrot

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and you'll be able to do, whatever you set out to do.

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If you made it this far into the video,

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let me just say that you're awesome.

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And I would highly appreciate it if you would gently tap that like button below the video.

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This shows the Youtube algorithm that ideas like these are worth spreading, and it shows

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my content to more people.

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Which means more people can benefit from it, and improve their lives.

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As always, thanks for watching.

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And I hope I made you better than yesterday.

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♪ ♪ ♪

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Do you accept this quest?

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Your job is to apply all 5 elements to one daily activity.

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Yes. I accept it.

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Then I wish you the best of luck on your journey, hero.

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♪ ♪ ♪

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