Dr. Habitica
Or how I learned to stop worrying and love to-do lists
To-do lists have long been the bane of my existence. Like many sufferers of ADHD I am unable to use a traditional to-do list because their is no reason to complete the items once written down. I need a sense of immediacy in order to get things done.
This has been a problem of mine since school and every method I have tried to force my brain to conform to the “Normal”, the harder I have failed. So, I gave up.
My brain needs rewards if it is going to care about a task. If there is no reward, I am not interested. But do those rewards need to be physical? Nope. This is where Habitica comes in.
Habitica is an online multiplayer getting things done role playing game, or OMGTDRPG. The basic principle is that you have a character, who starts as a warrior, who is adventuring in the world. You gain experience by completing the stuff you have to do anyway.
Gaining experience lets you level up. Once you reach level 10 you get to specialize into either a healer, a wizard, a rogue, or you can stay a warrior.
Each has its own abilities and advantages. I chose to be a healer because that is my default when playing tabletop. The Healer is great because can help your party if someone misses a daily task.
PARTY ON!!
Did I mention that you can join or create a party of adventurers? This allows you to have a support group and people that will hold you accountable. If you are in a party and you happen to be on a quest to defeat the Octothulu you need to get those dailies done or he will attack.
Are you someone who has a hard time sticking to a to-do list because their are no consequences for not getting things done? This eliminates that. If you don’t get things done your character or that of a party member could die. Which is a real danger.
My friend Jon and I recently defeated the Basi-list and that gave us a taste for battle. Like a fool I started the Octothulu quest. The Basi-list had 200 hp, Octothulu has 1200. We have to make sure that we get everything done, everyday so we don’t die.
But Wait, There is More
What about the rewards? Each task you complete gives you some gold to buy new equipment with. And there is a chance that the defeated task will drop a pet egg.
Pets are awesome animals that are hatched from eggs by hatching potions, which are also dropped when you defeat tasks. There are a lot of pets to get, so the collector in me is interested.
Notice the green bar below the pigs, That is how close they are to being mounts. Each pet can be grown into a mount as you feed them.
Getting Started
The best way to get started is to join. Duh. Give yourself a few small dailies to get a feel for the site. You will see that their are Habits, Dailies, and To-do’s. Each one has a different purpose.
Dailies are things you have to do everyday. Logging food and scooping the kitty litter are two of mine. Dailies are recurring and their frequency can be adjusted if the task needs it. Missed dailies turn redder and the longer the streak the more blue they appear.
To-do’s are just that. Items that you need to get done. You can put due dates on them, or not. They get redder the longer they have been on your list.
Habits can be defeated more than once in a day. Every habit can be positive, negative or both. This allows you to have habits like: Eat less than ten pieces of Candy, reward you for success or damage you for failure.
Join Me
Of all of the methods I have tried to get things done this one seems to be the one that has stuck with me the most. I enjoy being able to get small rewards for doing things I had to do anyway. It also rewards me for getting things done that I didn’t want to do.
If you are a hater of to-do lists and have tried other methods of getting things done and they just didn’t work, join me. I am always looking for new members of my party, or I’ll join yours.
Be safe out there.
