Finals are only a few weeks away, and if you are anything like me, you?ll try and procrastinate until the last minute, probably with video games. Though as I learned last semester this is a terrible approach, and I can most likely win a bet that some of you did too. That doesn?t mean we won?t do it again does it? Believe it or not, there is a way we can combine gaming and studying and actually give us incentive to do both, though it will take some self control.
The process for this is ?Gamification?, which is essentially treating real life like a game, complete with achievements, quests, epic item drops, and really anything else that makes games appealing (aside from shooting a terrorist in the head). You can use this process to not only help study, but with anything else in life you are doing. Let?s focus on studying at this time.
There is a simple procedure for what we need to do and, believe it or not, this is actually the process some game developers use to make the achievements in your favorite games. Break down what you need to study for. Have four classes but only three finals? Good to know now instead of spending all that time on a class you don?t need. Now do some insight. What do you know in each class? What is simple to understand? There is even less work you have to do, however I would recommend using it in your Gamification. So narrowed down what you need to work with? Good. Next step is to set a LONG list of short term goals that can be accomplished in half the time you have. Don?t spend ten minutes a piece on thirty different things. You will lose and waste time.
Now that you have broken down how you plan on studying and you gave given yourself ample goals and time, you can do the fun part: creating achievements. Think smarter, don?t work harder. Get the juices flowing before the mater work comes out. Some examples are ?I?ll match you 1 for 1? where for every 10 minutes of ACTUAL studying you do, you earn 10 minutes for gaming. One to go with that particular achievement is the ?Twice the work means a little extra fun? where you don?t accept a previous achievement and keep studying. The reward is an extra 5 minutes of gaming, so consider that you study for ten minutes, and instead of stopping to game, you study even more, say for 20 minutes straight. Well, you have just earned yourself 25 minutes of gaming. Other Possible Achievements are:
-Team Work: Study with a Partner
-Enemies Can Work Together: Study with a Partner who likes a different console
-I Love Books: Study in the Library
-This isn?t my Major!: Help a friend of a different Major Study
-Dual Wielding Like Master Chief: Study while making a study tool (Like Note Cards)
The best thing about Gamification is that it can be applied to anything, not just studying or games for that matter. You love your guitar? Change things up and make your rewards involve that, like ?Learn this Learn that? where you would study for an hour, and reward yourself by learning a new song. Want to work out? ?My Mind isn?t the only Muscle working? is an excellent achievement, where you study while you work out. Your reward? How about a nice brownie or another treat. You have been working hard, relax a little and enjoy the pleasures of life.
Try this with friends. Compete. Give your achievements points and see who the top dog is. You already do it on Xbox Live, expand that horizon.
Email me your achievements at
[email protected] and I?ll possibly put them in the next article so you can compete with your friends and get some new ideas. Please provide the name and description, as well as any reward you put with it. Remember, it doesn?t HAVE to relate to video games, and please, keep it clean.
