7 principles of enhancing personal effectiveness using gamification

Gamification - an introduction to the activities of any additional gaming rules by which routine process becomes more fun and interesting. From the usual games or simulators gamification is different in that the player has to comply with these additional rules and performs valuable work in the real world. And, you can at any time waive the right and again to do everything in the old way.

In other words, gamification - this is what makes the tedious process interesting, avoid - welcome and complicated - simple.

Magic pill does not exist. If you blindly copy what suits others, nothing good happens. But there are a few basic principles, the use of which will allow you to significantly improve their performance through gamification.

1. Track progress

One of the basic elements in the games is the scale of progress, and in the sport and time management have long known that what is measured, improves.

Let us consider the application of gamification as an example. For example, your goal is - read not very exciting, but useful book in the specialty. In this book of 900 pages. Bring myself to open it and start reading - no easy task.

If every day you will record the number of read pages on this day, this figure will almost certainly improve. It sounds silly, but it almost always works. You will be uncomfortable to put a dash, and if you ask yourself certain minimum bar, then burn fewer pages.

The main difficulty here in the regularity. But if you can bring yourself to periodically enter information about their progress, and progress itself, most likely will not take long.

This mechanic works well when you are reading e-books. On the main page displays a read volume as a percentage, and the progress is shown as the ratio of pages read to the total volume of the book (eg, 476/900).

2. Put the best of short tasks

It is important when planning to put a harder task. If your previous experience has shown that even read the 100 pages of fascinating picture books you hard in the day, should set ourselves the task easier.

A good option would be to appoint a task, at least one third of the volume, which you are free to read daily. It depends on how much time you can devote to reading every day.

Even if it is five pages, in six months you will read the book. This is better than none at all it is not read. Most likely, you will subconsciously try to surpass the problem, so that the book you are done much faster.

It is also important not to give myself too simple daily tasksFor example, "read one paragraph." You will spend more time on it to open the book and find the right place than reading.

An ideal option in the case of a thick book - selected as a day low volume, duration of multiple title or chapter. If you assign a minimum of half of the head, it will increase the likelihood that you will regularly beat the target.

3. Provide rewards

An interesting feature of the game is that with few exceptions they are intangible rewards, that is, you just can not use them in the real world. studies show Cash is for SAPS. , That tangible rewards stimulate significantly less than, for example, providing access to anything or receiving status.

You can decide in advance what it is you reward yourself for having read the section of the book, or the whole book. This may be a preview of the new season of the series, go to a nightclub with friends, a couple of hours of the game - any game, which will be interesting for you personally.

It is important to provide rewards that you get while driving to your achievement. Long-term objectives designed to months and years is enough in real life. It should take advantage of, which give us the game - to reward yourself for each passing level.

It is not necessary at the same time reward yourself too often - it's quickly get bored and stop fun. To reward do not get tired, you can use the case of mechanics - to choose a prize at random from lists that you create.

4. Celebrate feedback

It is important to celebrate the feedback immediately after the action in the form of a check in the chart or the mark, how many pages you read. Ideally express this feedback using multiple channels of perception.

For example, you can glue one Leaflets for notes from one wall to the other every time, when you read 10 pages. You will see how the number of stickers on the wall will experience tactile sensations and perhaps hear the sound of glue leaves.

Book of 900 pages can be divided into 90 stickers. If over time they begin to fall, perhaps your reading a bit delayed.

5. Do not lie Me

Perhaps this is the most difficult point. Cheating (foul play) - a very common practice in games. If the only judge who controls the accuracy of the rules, you will be the probability of disorders is increasing.

In the example of the book may be tempted to count almost finished reading the fragment. There might work rule: read 9 pages are not considered as made mini-task. Leaflet will be perekleit only after reading 10 pages. To do this today, or to read another page, or tomorrow, read only one page. It is likely that you will want to accomplish this task it is today.

6. Do not enter the penalty

Very often, the introduction of such systems, it is tempting to think of punishment. Experience multiplayer games shows that this is not the best tactic. Let us compare the two systems:

1. Players receive penalties if not go to the game every day.
2. Players receive prizes for daily intake. If they do not come into play, their performance is not affected.

The second system will work much better and more efficiently.

The lack of reward or a dash in the "do today" - already a strong enough punishment.

By the way, the imposition of penalties greatly increases the likelihood of cheating. People prefer to avoid the negative experience. It may be that it is easier to avoid the whole system built (perekleivanie leaflets to read books in our case), than follow it.

7. Do everything in the real world

Celebrate progress is possible in Microsoft Excel or specialized applications, but it is best to do it in the real world. When we do something in reality, not on your tablet or computer, we are more we return ourselves to this report. Furthermore, in the physical world easier to ensure effects on several channels of perception (vision, hearing, tactile sensation).

conclusion

You can enter a variety of other tools that are used in games - battles with "bosses", social pressure, narrative, creating avatars. They can count several hundred. It is important to choose the ones that suit you.

This requires a systematic approach to the question: clearly prescribe the target (for example, to read a particular book) what actions will lead you to it (read 10 pages a day), how will you keep track of and celebrate progress.

Of course, you need a good understanding of ourselves and of human psychology and how the game has various tools. More about this you can learn from books, articles, and even online courses.