So there are resources like http://lifehacker.com/5902598/superbetter-is-a-game-that-rewards-you-for-healthy-living-and-working-towards-your-goals

But I gamify in a very simply way… I have this -

The graph shows the size of my todo list, it's updated by a cron script every half hour and it's publicly viewable. Tasks that have been in the inbox (I use the same inbox for incoming mail and for tasks) for more than a week are the red line, more than three days the purple and more than 24 hours the green (the blue is the 'current' state and includes all the tasks triggered by calendar actions and emails to reply to… The game is to make the graph smaller - it's very simple but it's remarkably effective for me.

Following some comments for method - I use a modified version of getmail http://pyropus.ca/software/getmail/ to generate files like

34 2012-01-21 1327152611 5 16 10
32 2012-01-21 1327154411 5 14 9
32 2012-01-21 1327156209 5 14 9
34 2012-01-21 1327158012 5 14 9
34 2012-01-21 1327159808 5 15 9
34 2012-01-21 1327161611 5 15 9
34 2012-01-21 1327163406 5 15 9
33 2012-01-21 1327165211 5 13 9
34 2012-01-21 1327167011 5 13 9
31 2012-01-21 1327168810 4 12 8

(left to right this is, current size of inbox, date, seconds since epoch, emails older than 7 days, emails older than 24 hours, and emails older than 3 days. I then put it though a matlab script (although I'd like it to be an R script) as follows…

I then use this Matlab code:

load ~/emailAnalysis/results.txt
results=results(size(results,1)-400:size(results,1),:)
temp = results(:,3)-1238370000;
h=plot(temp,smooth(results(:,1)),':b')
set(h,'LineWidth',1)
ylim([0 80])
xlim([max(temp)-(86400*7),max(temp)-1])
set(gca,'XGrid','on')
ylabel('Emails')
hold on
i=plot(temp,smooth(results(:,4)),'r')
j=plot(temp,smooth(results(:,5)),'-g')
k=plot(temp,smooth(results(:,6)),'m')
xlim([max(temp)-(86400*7),max(temp)-1])
set(gca,'XTick',[1:86400:(86400*max(temp))+1])
set(gca,'XTickLabel',['Mon';'Tue';'Wed';'Thu';'Fri';'Sat';'Sun'])
set(j,'LineWidth',2)
set(h,'LineWidth',1)
set(i,'LineWidth',2)
set(k,'LineWidth',2)
xlabel('Time')
title('Size of inbox over time (seven days)')
print -r3000 -djpeg /XXXX/inbox7day.jpeg
hold off

to generate the graphs - both matlab and getmail code run as a cron job every half out on my webserver.

EDIT AGAIN - for interest, there is also the 'inbox-zero' version for incoming emails...

Oh just thought of something unrelated to previous answer

I wrote up a full version on my blog, but I summerise below :)

I'd like to be able to get up early, but I don't really have anyone to be accountable to for this. So I advertised on gumtree (I think craiglist is the equivalent in the US) for someone who was also competitive and wants to wake up early. The rules we have are this.

We each must email each other before 7.10am in the morning, every day except Sunday. If one of us is late, or misses an email due sleeping in, they get a 'late point'. At the end of the month, the person with the most late points gives £10 to a charity chosen by the other, and the scores are reset. We've been doing this for about eight months and it's been a really good way of setting up competition… at some point when I need a project to learn the twitter api I'll build the funcationality into a twitterbot...

EDIT - for an update - this has evolved into also sending over the 'must do' list everyday - quite good for personal accountability.

EDIT - again, following another answer I gave elsewhere, I've dropped this approach and no longer attempt to get up any earlier than natural (unless I have a genuine commitment), will let you know how this goes in another post. Third edit - and this is how it went: http://joereddington.com/1799/2014/01/11/throw-away-your-alarm-clock/

How about Habitica?

I've been using it for a day so far, and I really like the idea and interface. They now have an official Android app.

I would like to see this app expanded to be more detailed and game-like, but so far, off to a good start.

Pomodorium - a Pomodoro technique based RPG-game.

Pomodorium is an attempted gamification of the Pomodoro technique.

The idea of Pomodorium is to use rules of role-playing game in the Pomodoro technique.

It's a Pomodoro technique timer with a game. For every completed pomodori you get 'gold' and there is game character - you buy him/her armors/weapons for this gold. There is a map you can travel through and fight monsters and level-up.

More detailed information how to play could be found in Pomodoro technique RPG style.

There was a similar thread on Ask Metafilter a while back. This answer in particular had some good links.

The Habit Judo project no longer seems operational, but it does have an interesting approach. The random rewards element makes it particularly interesting.

I use RescueTime to keep track of my time spent on my PC. It also keeps track of my time away from the PC and lets me enter a category when I get back to my PC.

It lets me set categories for the apps I use and sites I visit, with a level of productivity for each category.

It compares my "productivity" to all their users. And has real time reporting.

Only downside is the $5/month :)

I just published an article entitled What Task Management App Developers Can Do to Catch Up with Pokemon Go.

While it's written for a specific audience, the underlying logic applies to your question.

First, gamification is a great synonym for "highly engaged practices." In other words, the most engrossing (non-life-threatening) activities are the most gamified.

But why doesn't life appear this way to us? Why can't we see gamification opportunities everywhere?

It's because we aren't able to see past our daily activities to the underlying game mechanics and other elements that lead to high engagement. When we can do so, it gives us "superpowers" that look strange to other people. Such as would-be Olympians who enjoy getting up at odd hours and putting their bodies through exhausting, repetitive practice.

Most of us have little motivation to follow their example in any parts of our lives and can't understand their drive. We can't see the gamification they have done, and they don't have time to explain.

The movie "Life is Beautiful" offers more than a Holocaust story. It's also a lesson in gamification, for those who are aware of the elements. I recommend it - but it's such a good movie, the realization that the father was a master game creator might come during a second viewing... after the tears have been wiped away.

In my article, point out that in task management, we want to do a great job. We want to be appropriately engaged so that we can meet our goals. In other words, we have plenty of motivation - the highest possible.

But it's not enough. Playing a game at a high standard requires more. And this is where task management apps fail us. They obscure the games we are trying to get done in the way they are designed.

For example, some give points for each task completed. But how useful is a "points-for-tasks" game, really? Most of us would actually prefer the opposite - to achieve our goals with as few discrete tasks as possible. It's an easy metric to define, but it misses the mark.

In the article I outline a game we all play which we care a lot more about: making sure that we have enough capacity to prevent tasks from slipping through the cracks. It's a game we start playing when we create our first tasks as pre-teens and we continue to play until we die.

The point I'm trying to make here is to contrast two kinds of gamification. One (like points-for-tasks) involves external motivation and an overlay of computer game design techniques on the daily practice of task management. The other kind is built on the games we are already trying to play, but have a hard time doing so because the underlying elements are poorly set up.

We need lots of help to play the second kind of game and if we were to receive it, we'd be happy, because it actually expands our intrinsic motivation.

That's what we really want! A gamified like - which includes our work life.

And we don't necessarily need an app to get started, just a perspective that makes things easy to get going.

I suspect that putting too much effort in gamifying your daily work would be a waste. I strongly recommend you try the Pomodoro Technique, which is game-like, simple, fun, and personally I find it even a bit addictive.

Take an hour to read the free eBook, it's only 30 pages long.

If you don't have a kitchen timer, use this app, or one of the many other Pomodoro-softwares.

Have you tried something like this?

I created https://puzzle25.com for this particular reason. This is a gamified version of pomodoro timer, you need to solve a jigsaw puzzle but you don't have all the pieces. To get another one, you must complete a pomodoro :)

Points are replaced with completed pomodoros. You can see how well you are doing and the trends after a completed pomodoro.

Did it work out?

Works perfectly to me.

P.S. Sorry for self-promotion, but this is a direct and honest answer to the topic.