Here's Why You Should Turn Your Life Into A Video Game
And how to do it!
Think about the last time you, or someone in your life, sat down for a gaming session.
How long did it last?
1 hour?
3 Hours?
6 Hours?
If you didn’t have any other responsibilities to take care of, how long do you think it could have lasted?
I’m willing to bet you could sit and play 2K, Fortnite or World of Warcraft for 12+ hours without much thought.
Think about the last time you sat down to work, build your side hustle or cross things off your to-do list.
How long did it last?
60 minutes?
30 minutes?
10 minutes?
What’s the difference?
Video game developers have spent billions of dollars to find out what keeps you focused on their games.
You spent 2 minutes watching a video that told you to focus by putting an egg timer on your desk and take a break every 30 minutes.
Here’s how to get shit done by gamifying your life:
Lower Startup Friction
From the time you think about playing a game to the time you are immersed in the experience is usually no longer than 60 seconds.
Find a way to apply this.
Put your workout clothes at the end of your bed the night before. Leave paragraphs or even sentences of your work half finished — The Hemingway Trick.
Introduce Variable Rewards
This is the real life equivalent of loot boxes. It’s not unique to gaming, it’s used by casinos and social media companies to keep you hooked as well.
This is the most potent psychological reward mechanism.
Here’s one of my favourite implementations from Dickie Bush:
Create Artificial Levels
Another powerful driver of focus and attention is a sense of progression. Video games do this most commonly through leveling systems or new items.
We often set goals that are too large without intermediary success points. Get a 6 pack. Get married. Get a $100,000 salary.
This causes us to lose motivation or willpower when we don’t see the goal as achievable in our immediate future.
What if we broke each large goal into levels?
The levels of getting married:
Level 1: Go out with friends more often.
Level 2: Chat up a barista.
Level 3: Secure a date.
Level 4: Weekly date night.
Level 5: Become exclusive.
Level 6: Move in together.
Level 7: Get engaged.
Level 8: Get married.
I wrote a newsletter on the framework I use to break my dream life goals into actionable steps.
Measure From Where You Started… Not Where You’re Going
This idea was popularized by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan in their book The Gap and the Gain.
Focusing on The Gap causes 2 problems:
You never look at the achievements you just spent so much time setting up.
You never actually close the gap. You will ALWAYS create a new gap.
Focusing on The Gain is more akin to a video game where you match your now level 72 character against who you were at level 1. You realize that your character would crush the earlier one, even if you aren’t at the maximum level yet.
The "laziest people" you know can focus on a video game for 12 hours straight. Are they lazy? Or is reality just a badly designed video game? - George Mack