Most people trying to be productive fall into the same cycle.
They start with excitement.
They download an app.
They set up a task list.
They promise themselves: This time, I’ll stick with it.
And then, after a few days, maybe a week, the motivation fades.
Why?
Because productivity systems often feel like just another chore.
But what if you could trick your brain into loving productivity the same way it loves games?
That’s where the idea of gamifying your life comes in.
And it’s not just a buzzword.
It’s a movement that’s been growing quietly, driven by creators, thinkers, and people like you who want more from life than checklists.
Explaining the Trend
Who started it?
Gamifying life isn’t a new concept.
But if we talk about who brought it into the modern productivity space, a few names stand out.
⊙ Adrian Twarog was one of the first to show the world what it looks like in practice.
Three years ago, he built an app — not a commercial product, but his own personal tool — to track his life like an RPG.
In his video, he showed how he created a character, tracked skills, and treated daily habits as quests.
That video resonated.
Over 6.2 million views.
People saw it and thought: That’s what I need. I need life to feel like that.
⊙ Ali Abdaal took the idea further.
In his videos, he spoke about how boring tasks could feel fun if we added game mechanics.
He introduced audiences to Actionable Gamification by Yu-Kai Chou — a framework explaining the eight core drives that make games addictive, and how to apply them to life.
Ali’s message was simple: Make the boring fun.
Why do they recommend gamifying your life?
Because life without a game plan feels empty.
Dan Koe calls it the limbo phase.
Most people don’t know what they want.
They follow someone else’s plan.
They mistake confusion for failure.
Gamification lets you take control of the story.
Ali Abdaal breaks it down into psychology:
→ We need progress.
→ We need feedback.
→ We need to feel in control.
Games give us that.
They give us purpose (the quest).
They give us feedback (XP, levels, progress bars).
They give us rewards (things that feel good when we’ve earned them).
When you apply these to your life:
→ Tasks become quests.
→ Goals become missions.
→ Habits become daily challenges.
→ Rewards become real: time off, a treat, a trip — whatever you choose.
It’s not about adding points to a to-do list.
It’s about reframing the entire way you see productivity.
How it works
Imagine this.
You create a character — your avatar in this adventure of life.
Every habit, task, and project becomes part of that character’s journey.
→ Completing tasks earns XP.
→ Achievements give you coins.
→ Leveling up unlocks rewards.
→ Bigger challenges give bigger XP or coins.
You design your reward system:
⊙ A break — only if you hit a certain level.
⊙ A purchase — only if you have enough coins.
⊙ A vacation — only after you’ve completed key missions.
The core of the system is simple:
You’re not just tracking tasks.
You’re playing a game.
That’s what keeps you coming back.
Why People Love This Technique
We love games
Games are addictive because they’re designed to be.
They give us purpose, feedback, and a sense of progress.
Think about any game you loved.
What kept you coming back?
It wasn’t because you were forced.
It was because every session gave you small wins, big challenges, and rewards that felt earned.
When life gives you the same structure, you don’t need motivation.
You want to keep playing.
Productivity can feel boring
Without this structure, productivity feels like a grind.
Ali Abdaal says it best: When you’re having fun, productivity takes care of itself.
But most of the time, pushing yourself feels boring — especially when there’s no immediate reward.
Gamification gives you something to aim for, today.
It makes hard work fun
Gamification transforms work.
What was once a chore now feels like a mission.
A task list becomes a series of quests.
Completing that project?
It’s not just work — it’s leveling up.
You stop dreading the effort.
You start enjoying the challenge.
How You Can Do It
Apps and tools
Here’s how you can bring this into your life:
→ Notion — Build your own gamified template
→ Obsidian — You can make capturing notes like a game inside Obsidian
→ Custom app — Code your own app like Adrian
How does this system work?
It easy steps:
→ You create your character.
→ Your tasks, habits, and projects (goals, books...etc) become quests
→ You earn XP and Coins as you complete them.
→ You level up your character
-> Unlocking new rewards.
→ Rewards are things you actually want (time off, treats, trips).
→ You can’t claim a reward until you hit the required level.
→ Coins let you buy rewards, but only if your level allows.
The Bad News
Most people get bored of gamified systems.
I’ve seen it myself.
I gave away two free gamified Notion templates
People loved them at first.
Then they quit.
Even Adrian’s app? Same story.
Why?
Because most systems give you XP, coins, maybe a character…
But no real challenge.
Without challenge, a game gets boring.
Think of GTA with cheat codes.
Fun for ten minutes.
Then empty.
What makes a game addictive?
→ A challenge that pushes you.
→ A reward that feels earned.
Without both, the magic dies.
How I Designed a System That Keeps You Hooked
So, like anyone who got excited about this trend, I built my own personal system.
I shared it, and the feedback was good.
But I didn’t want good feedback.
I wanted a system that would actually keep people playing.
A system that wouldn’t feel exciting for a few days, then boring.
That’s when I saw what was missing — the addictiveness that makes real games fun.
So I kept improving it.
And what came next was a version designed to keep you playing, growing, and enjoying the process.
How my system works
First, I built my character
Every task, habit, journal entry, or goal earns you XP and Coins 💰.
XP helps your character level up.
Leveling up is what unlocks your rewards.
And you can’t just stack coins to buy your way to a reward.
You can’t claim anything until you’ve hit the level required to unlock it — no matter how many coins you’ve saved.
That’s what makes every bit of progress meaningful.
And it’s not just points.
There are real challenges, from easy to impossible.
⊙ Finish 50 tasks.
⊙ Journal for 365 days straight.
⊙ Read two books.
⊙ Finish 3 Goals.
⊙ And more
Every time you beat a challenge, you earn puzzle pieces 🧩.
Collect enough, and you unlock rare Productivity Titles 🏆— badges that take real effort, and that’s what makes them satisfying.
The result?
A system that stays fresh, because every action moves you forward, and every reward feels earned.
You can build a system like this yourself inside Notion.
Or if you want to save time, you can download the exact version I use.
Or Watch this Video
The Answer:
You might be wondering — does gamifying your life work?
The honest answer is: that it depends on you.
If you want to try it, go ahead.
Try my two free Notion templates — they’re designed to get you started fast and keep things fun.
If they don’t get boring for you, that’s amazing — keep using them and level up your productivity game.
But if you find they don’t quite fit your style or lose their charm, that’s totally fine too.
Maybe you’re great at Notion — or maybe not.
Either way, you can try other apps, other templates, or even build your own system from scratch.
The goal isn’t to force yourself into one method but to find your way of making productivity enjoyable.
If you have the skills and patience, design your own challenges, your own rewards — make it addictive like a real game.
Because only you can answer whether gamification works for your life.
Thanks for reading.
OLS (aka Osama)
