Productivity Lessons from Video Game Design (Ep. 265)

Productivity often means needing to do something repetitive or boring. Luckily, video game designers are brilliant at making repetitive things seem fun. Full show notes This week’s episode is sponsored by: Skillshare: with over 25,000 courses in a wide range of different skills, Skillshare can help you take things to the next level. Get started with 2 free months of unlimited learning (including Thomas' Productivity Masterclass!) at Skillshare.com/geek. Things mentioned in this episode: Habitica (iOS | Android) Fitocracy (iOS | Android) Paul Davids on YouTube This Thing is Neat's Minit and Puzzle Hygiene article Brandon Wu's Unity Game Dev course on Skillshare Thomas’ Productivity course on Skillshare Habify (iOS) Coach.me Strava (iOS | Android) Notion (iOS | Android) Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page. You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter. Timestamps: 0:08:39 - Visible progress and feedback loops 0:15:31 - Accomplishment and progression through small wins 0:21:38 - Sponsor: Skillshare (Learning new skills) 0:24:15 - Staying motivated by introducing novelty 0:29:41 - Story and living vicariously 0:33:18 - Competition and cooperation 0:37:58 - Self-expression and customization 0:42:48 - Discovery and exploration 0:47:39 - Reducing the effort of getting into the flow state 0:55:25 - Conclusion If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.