Jessica Steiner (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jessicasteiner) wrote2013-03-06 07:53 pm
jessicasteiner) wrote2013-03-06 07:53 pm
Review: HabitRPG and How I'm Using It for Writing Motivation
I have a really terrible headache right now, but I need to earn experience. So here I am, reviewing the sole reason why I'm not in bed. I know I normally review books, but this is worth making an exception.
I discovered HabitRPG through their Kickstarter, which just recently finished and which I donated to. The idea behind the website is that it uses videogame principles to help people develop good habits and get things done.
You can set up daily tasks to be completed, one-time to-dos, and other habits you want to develop by rewarding yourself every time you do them, or punishing you every time you do something you want to avoid doing.
Each time you complete a task, you earn experience. If you do something you aren't supposed to, or leave a daily task incomplete, you take hit point damage. You level up, and can earn gold, which you can trade in for rewards such as ice cream, or armour and weapons to customize your sprite.
The game is in beta and updates are happening very quickly. I've been having a lot of fun trawling the Trello board, voting on suggestions and taking part in the discussion. Now that the Kickstarter funded, a phone app is on the horizon.
To my slight surprise, it's really working! The variety of tasks I've put on there range from chores (doing the dishes) to writing related (finishing chapter 25 of Dale Shepard and the Bug Aliens from Outer Space) to health (taking the stairs instead of the elevator) and I keep coming up with more things to put on the list.
The fact that I'm writing this right now (posting on my blog is a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday activity and if I don't do this I'll take damage) is a testament to the fact that it IS working.
I highly suggest that you try it out. It's free and easy! There are so many ways it can be used to improve someone's life, I'm sure I couldn't list (or even think of) them all. I'll warn that it's a tiny bit buggy, in that sometimes I have to refresh a couple of times before it'll record what I've done. But I have no doubt that over time it'll become more reliable. And once the phone app is released, it'll be even easier to record my achievements without having to wait until a computer is handy.
Now I think I'll sleep.
Also, when you reach level 3, drop me a line with your userID and I'll invite you to my party Turn Write (also the name of my dead writing group, oh well).
I discovered HabitRPG through their Kickstarter, which just recently finished and which I donated to. The idea behind the website is that it uses videogame principles to help people develop good habits and get things done.
You can set up daily tasks to be completed, one-time to-dos, and other habits you want to develop by rewarding yourself every time you do them, or punishing you every time you do something you want to avoid doing.
Each time you complete a task, you earn experience. If you do something you aren't supposed to, or leave a daily task incomplete, you take hit point damage. You level up, and can earn gold, which you can trade in for rewards such as ice cream, or armour and weapons to customize your sprite.
The game is in beta and updates are happening very quickly. I've been having a lot of fun trawling the Trello board, voting on suggestions and taking part in the discussion. Now that the Kickstarter funded, a phone app is on the horizon.
To my slight surprise, it's really working! The variety of tasks I've put on there range from chores (doing the dishes) to writing related (finishing chapter 25 of Dale Shepard and the Bug Aliens from Outer Space) to health (taking the stairs instead of the elevator) and I keep coming up with more things to put on the list.
The fact that I'm writing this right now (posting on my blog is a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday activity and if I don't do this I'll take damage) is a testament to the fact that it IS working.
I highly suggest that you try it out. It's free and easy! There are so many ways it can be used to improve someone's life, I'm sure I couldn't list (or even think of) them all. I'll warn that it's a tiny bit buggy, in that sometimes I have to refresh a couple of times before it'll record what I've done. But I have no doubt that over time it'll become more reliable. And once the phone app is released, it'll be even easier to record my achievements without having to wait until a computer is handy.
Now I think I'll sleep.
Also, when you reach level 3, drop me a line with your userID and I'll invite you to my party Turn Write (also the name of my dead writing group, oh well).