Habits and the Role Playing Game
I have tried a few different habit tracking applications over the past six months with minimal success. Those who have read about habits know they take approximately 21 days to hold without major thought and dedication. This is roughly the experience I have had given the Primal Blueprint lifestyle I have adopted since late last year as well as the plethora of ‘better’ habits I would like to include in my daily routine. Having an application to constantly remind you of the habits you want to establish really helps.
The problem with most of the applications is that they handle the habit tracking yet they provide no reward system. Although I eat in a relatively strict fashion I still love eating the things that are not good for my body. My problem is that the reward system gets out of control fast. I have one thing, then another and by the time I realize what is going on I am eating like I used without any boundaries. I’m going to steal a concept/term that a mate of mine has used a lot. I’m like a binary eater; either I eat extremely well or I don’t, the ‘in between’ is very difficult to maintain. Ideally that in between would be the 80 / 20.
I did another search on the Internet yesterday and came across HabitRPG. It is an online habit role playing game that also has an iOS application (handy). What I like about HabitRPG is how customizable the application is. The best part is that HabitRPG has a reward system that can be setup based on the habits, daily tasks and to-dos that you complete. You also have a health component that can decrement if you continue to perform bad habits. I spent about 20 minutes reading through FAQ/Wiki and the depth this site has is incredible. For those people my age and older would remember role playing games like MERP or Dungeons and Dragons. It has that similar look and feel.
I already know this is the application I have been looking for. It may not be the most elegant looking UI however it has the goods. Looking forward to seeing where this goes and whether it will ultimately control my habits, treating and ultimately not going overboard with the rewards.
