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Incentives
Oct. 15th, 2024 05:18 pmSo gamification (making things into games) is a big deal. It works well for some things and for some people. In theory, I would enjoy this, as I enjoy games. However, after thinking about it, I have realized that the problem for me is that I am not really inspired by external rewards. A lot of the gamifying apps allow you to earn points or gold for doing things like cleaning the bathroom or doing the laundry. You can use those points or gold to upgrade your avatar (not interesting to me) or to earn real life rewards that you give yourself, like watching TV. TV doesn't appeal to me, and I don't have time I want to waste on it anyway. I don't want to eat junk, in part because I can't and in part because I need to lose weight. I spent some time thinking about rewards today. I am generally happy with just getting something done. I like the floor not being filthy, so I'm okay with vacuuming. I like clean clothes (and I really love clothes drying on a clothesline), so doing the laundry is its own reward. What I don't like is how long everything takes. It takes years and years to learn a foreign language. Getting clothing that fits, is comfortable (for me), and looks the way I want is usually only possible if I do the sewing and design, which takes time. Making furniture (which we can't find here) also takes time. What I really need is more time.
Finally, I realized that some things can be taken off my to do list for less than a whole lot of money. I had planned to have a tree service come to take care of the trees in our yard once and then tell us what needs to be done over the long term. Instead, I'll have them come semi-regularly to care for the trees and put fertilizer on them (if that is something they do). Likewise, I could probably get a handy-man to put in the slightly raised beds that I want (dealing with all the work of getting good dirt delivered and maybe compost, if it is possible) and maybe even bring us the plants that I want, since it is hard to get them without a car.
Ultimately, it turns out, I don't need to gamify anything. I am content to do the things I need to do. What I really need is to get things done by someone else that I don't care too much about doing myself.
Finally, I realized that some things can be taken off my to do list for less than a whole lot of money. I had planned to have a tree service come to take care of the trees in our yard once and then tell us what needs to be done over the long term. Instead, I'll have them come semi-regularly to care for the trees and put fertilizer on them (if that is something they do). Likewise, I could probably get a handy-man to put in the slightly raised beds that I want (dealing with all the work of getting good dirt delivered and maybe compost, if it is possible) and maybe even bring us the plants that I want, since it is hard to get them without a car.
Ultimately, it turns out, I don't need to gamify anything. I am content to do the things I need to do. What I really need is to get things done by someone else that I don't care too much about doing myself.
