My +1 Sword of Productivity

If I'm being completely honest, I think the game-ification of a daily task list is a dumb idea. I also love it, and can't stress enough how well it works. Habitica might just be the way I get things done from now on.

I'm a perfectionist. If you've ever seen photos of my office (or hairdo), you might not think that's the case, but I assure you, it's true. Unfortunately, one of the big side effects of being a perfectionist is procrastination. Not laziness, but delaying or redoing tasks until you can get them just right. It can be crippling for productivity, and ironically, the rushed product that results often is sub-par to what would have been created in the first place.

Habitica turns the struggles with perfectionism back on the perfectionist. Although I honestly don't care very much about the swords and shields I earn by completing tasks, for some reason, the idea of losing HP for skipping a task is difficult for me to accept. I find myself doing extra "good habits" throughout the day just so my character is as good as he can be. Honestly, I'm surprised Habitica works for me. I still think it's dumb. I also can't stop striving for new experience levels and early task completions.

There's a great Web version of the free program, plus you can get mobile versions for iOS or Android via their respective app stores. If you think it sounds like a dumb idea, I completely agree. I also urge you to try it, because I find it incredibly awesome!

Shawn is Associate Editor here at Linux Journal, and has been around Linux since the beginning. He has a passion for open source, and he loves to teach. He also drinks too much coffee, which often shows in his writing.

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