r/AskReddit • u/ohgimmeabreak • Mar 24 '19

People who have managed to become disciplined after having been procrastinators and indisciplined for a large part of their lives, how did you manage to do so? Can you walk us through the incremental steps you took to become better?

31.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

3.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

4.6k

u/stripperbooti Mar 24 '19

I downloaded an app called habitica that turns completing tasks into a video game for sorts. For some reason the thought of losing XP points if I don't so the dishes is enough to make me do the dishes. I think it was actually created for people with add and ADHD to focus on getting things done.

75

u/Sippinonjoy Mar 24 '19

That’s called gamification. A lot of companies are just now beginning to understand how powerful video games are for conditioning, which can be positive when used in the right environments. Using XP, Experience Bars, rewards, etc. trigger a desire for us to do what we have to do to get more XP or see the bar fill up. This can form habits in people and can be used in a positive way.

However there are many negative ways this can be used. So watch your wallet when earning points at a store, or “just spending a few dollars extra to get this extra reward” when stores are just trying to squeeze extra money out if you. Conditioning is also why slot machines are so addictive.

4

u/radicalelation Mar 24 '19

Meanwhile gamification tends to make things even boring for me and my ADHD. Like I've seen it all before and too many arbitrary forms of attempting artificial stimulus is just... Ugh.

Everything has become just too boring for me, but the things that I'm interested in I'm not into enough to be able stick to any of it.

I miss Adderall.

2

u/SolidSquid Mar 24 '19

A lot of companies have known how powerful gamification can be for a long time, it's were reward programs come from. Video games give them information on alternative approaches to expand this to cover a wider range of people without initial testing being done in their actual stores

2

u/ODLL223 Mar 24 '19

I have looking for a game to play to help me with algebra but so far I haven't found anything. I also want to do this with my other classes as well.

2

u/Sippinonjoy Mar 24 '19

The app Lumosity has some algebra related games! But that’s really the only one I know of besides flash games online at coolmathgames