Some of us grew up to a soundtrack of 1-ups and audio verifications of being the smartest kid in Hyrule, which makes doing everyday activities increasingly boring as we get older.
Luckily, the digital age provides plenty of options for turning life into a game of power-ups, points and other bonuses that make average activities seem exciting. Below are three of the best ways to gamify the mundane.
Work: DueProps
DueProps is a web-based “peer recognition game” that essentially lets coworkers congratulate each other on jobs well done via various types of virtual props. That spreadsheet you spent hours on? Props! The PowerPoint you stayed up late finishing up? Props! Cleaning up all the old, gross food stains on the office microwave? Mad props!
Working Out: Fitocracy
Fitocracy is an online community of fitness folks of all levels. From personal trainers to beginners, Fitocracy is an excellent way to stay motivated and accountable for your workout plan. You can follow and interact with other users, go for certain records (or “quests”) and you continue to level up as you log workouts, turning workouts into a fun competition among friends (assuming you don’t cheat, which will be painfully obvious when you see said friends in real life). It’s currently still invite-only, but if you ask nicely you can get one via Twitter. Fitocracy also recently released an iPhone app.
General Life Tasks: EpicWin
EpicWin, an iPhone app, is especially enticing for RPG fans. With categories like strength, stamina, intellect, social, and spirit, you can manage all your daily life tasks and in turn build up an RPG-style character. As the app’s description says, “Doing the laundry is an epic feat of stamina so why not get stamina points for it?!”
