hey! I've given habitica a go before, on a glowing recommendation like yours, but I ended up deleting it. I would struggle to remember to check off tasks/habits even if I did them, and I'd get frustrated & stressed about being penalised for "forgetting" even though I did the task IRL. it just seemed to add an extra step to everything I was mostly already doing. I've always wondered if I could fine-tune my approach to get more out of it - do you have any advice?
Do you find that you work well with the bullet journal system? Or to-do lists in general? Habitica is sort of like a constant everyday to-do list/bujo system, which isnāt for everyone. And even saying that, Habitica might not be for everyone that likes lists and bujosā¦ Itās really intended for habit building more than anything. Itās essentially supposed to be a reward/punishment system for building habits, which may not work for all. And itās easy to go WAY overboard with it in terms of writing too much on your list, or making each item description too long.
Iāve been using Habitica for several years now (inconsistently!) and finally have it fine-tuned enough that it works ~pretty~ well for me. Itās still not perfect (and the occasional glitchiness doesnāt help), but itās the only system that keeps me coming back on an almost daily basis. It helps me remember what I would consider my ānew year resolutionsā, rather than letting them fall to the back of my mind until next January. Everyday that I check off engaging in a bad habit, I feel determined to stop doing it tomorrow. If I check off succeeding in something Iāve been trying to be better about, I feel like āyess, Iām on the right track! I should keep this upā.
Some tips I would suggest if you wanna give it another try:
Get to know the format. Itās not as straight forward as it first appears, itās kind of confusing and you really have to experiment with the system a few times (and maybe read some of the wiki) before you find a good structure. Iāve wiped my settings probably 5 times over the past few years. You can do that in the settings/account section, but be careful because it wipes EVERYTHING except for your username basically!
Keep it simple! I try to make mine very basic, easy to read at a glance, aesthetically appealing (fancy text generator is your friend, and so are emojis!). I find that cutesy overly long check boxes just distract me, I need something really straight forward or I will gloss over it.
If youāre not feeling the gaming aspect but you like the check system, just ignore the gaming aspect (you can adjust notifications in the settings, and make it so that your character doesnāt take on damage by āsleeping in the innā. I do this bc I hate when my character dies over and over, itās just obnoxious).
If you do like the gaming aspect, dive into it! Thereās guilds, challenges, shops, and all kinds of customization you can get into. Iām not really into it that much because 1) I donāt have money to waste on the parts that cost money (most of it doesnāt though!), and 2) I have other stuff Iād rather spend my free time on. I do like the aesthetics/themes of the gaming aspect though, itās fun.
Itās not for everyone. If you still donāt like it, hereās another great time-management system that might work for you! Calendar blocking and time batching. Hereās a quick post about it. Iāve yet to really use the calendar blocking method, but I think once I start my career in earnest I might have to since Iāll have more appointments to keepā¦
TLDR; Try removing damage by āresting in the innā. If you still donāt like it, try simplifying things, experimenting, and/or getting into or out of the gaming aspect. If you still donāt like it, hereās a post about calendar blocking that might be more up your alley. š
