'I turned my entire life into a game': Man gamified life for 30 days by rewarding himself XP for productivity, realizes he’s made a mistake

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Feb 13, 2025 11:30 AM EST

Productivity culture has gotten way out of hand. Somewhere along the line, "work smarter, not harder" turned into "optimize every single second of your existence." Now, it's all about cramming your day into color-coded calendars, tracking 12 different habits on apps, and waking up at 5 a.m. to meditate before tackling your to-do list. And all for what? So we can get burnt-out out a little more efficiently?

We've reached the point where scrolling through memes in bed feels like rebellion against this hustle-obsessed world. But for one guy, his way fighting of back against productivity culture seemed pretty promising. He decided to gamify his entire life for 30 days. He turned every task into a point system with rewards and penalties, just like he was playing a video game. At first, it seemed genius. Productivity became fun. But as the experiment continued, the "game" got a little too real. 

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    via Florian Olivo for Unsplash+

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  • "I gamified my entire life for 30 days. It was a mistake."

    I've always been into the idea of productivity. You know, the "optimize your entire existence" kind of thing. But in reality?
    via BaksteR-23
  • . • Five different productivity apps cluttering my phone. • A bunch of YouTube videos . about "habits of successful people." • Still scrolling Reddit at 2 AM, wondering where my time went.
    via BaksteR-23
  • So I decided to try something new. I turned my entire life into a game. For 30 days, I gave myself points for everything:
    via BaksteR-23
  • . Waking up early? +10 XP. . Deep work session? +20 XP. . Mindlessly scrolling TikTok? -50 XP. Skipping the gym? -100 XP.
    via BaksteR-23
  • I even set up little rewards extra gaming time, a fancy coffee, whatever kept me going. At first, it was amazing. I felt like I had finally hacked my brain. Productivity was actually fun. I was getting sh done, waking up on time, and finally sticking to habits.
    via BaksteR-23
  • Then... things got weird. Somewhere around week two, | caught myself doing push-ups just to earn five extra points. I started “optimizing" stupid things like drinking water because hey, free XP. At some
    via BaksteR-23
  • point, I realized I wasn't actually enjoying anything unless there was a number attached to it. By the third week, I completely broke. I was so focused on tracking everything that I stopped caring about why I was doing any of it. I caught myself
    via BaksteR-23
  • skipping a spontaneous walk with a friend because "it wasn't part of the system." That's when I realized I had basically turned my entire life into a checklist. And honestly? It kind of sucked.
    via BaksteR-23
  • I still think gamification works, but only in small doses. If everything becomes a game, you stop enjoying things just for the sake of doing them. So now I'm wondering - has anyone else tried something like this? Did it actually work for you, or did it just make things worse? Would love to hear how you guys approach this stuff.
    via BaksteR-23

  • It turns out that not everyone is as discouraged as this guy. He might actually be onto something with this point system he’s got going… he just needs a little balance.

  • namregiaht Seems like you need to add side quests into your xp system.
    via namregiaht
  • Cmoke2Js When does the spontaneous walk dlc drop bro? Count me in
    via Cmoke2Js
  • FatesAreCruel Girlbossed too close to the sun
    via FatesAreCruel
  • SilverWolf9911 -15 for not touching grass 10 for commitment
    via SilverWolf9911
  • Such-Lobster3167 Let me guess... you watched Solo Leveling.
    via Such-Lobster3167
  • Hassan7reg_ Getting locked in a grind doesn't mean you ruined your life, add socializing to the checklist, and hey if you are focused on improvement you will absolutely sacrifice other things
    via Hassan7reg_
  • tayvocado i think you may be neurodivergent lol
    via tayvocado
  • DillerDallas spontaneous interaction with a friend, 1000xp
    via DillerDallas
  • Shot_Dog1919 There's an app called Finch that you may like. Similar concept.
    via Shot_Dog1919
  • DiamondTough7671 Good god, we're a weird species.
    via DiamondTough7671

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lifestyle xp FAIL productivity gaming reward gamers habits points video games productive
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