Published on: March 1, 2023 Last updated: July 7, 2023

6 Best Productivity Tools that Use Gamification Mechanics (2023)

Best productivity tools

Gamification has become a popular strategy for improving user engagement in many areas, including productivity. By integrating game elements into non-game settings, gamification apps can help users stay motivated and focused as they complete daily tasks and work towards achieving their goals. This article will explore 6 examples of gamification productivity apps that use gaming elements to help users develop new habits, learn new skills, manage their time, and stay on track with their to-do lists.

Habitica: A Gamified To-Do List Tool for Accomplishing Daily Tasks

Habitica dashboard
Habitica dashboard, image source: https://habitica.fandom.com/wiki/Tasks

Habitica is a gamified app that helps users turn daily tasks and habits into a role-playing game. It features game components such as character customization, quests, and boss battles to motivate users to complete tasks and establish new practices. With Habitica, users can earn experience points and virtual rewards for real-life achievements.

How does it work?

Habitica allows users to create avatars and track their progress in completing real-life tasks and habits.

Habitica special features:

  • Customizability: With Habitica, users can personalize their avatars, create custom tasks and challenges, and even modify the rules of the game itself to fit their specific needs and preferences. This flexibility is rare among apps focused on enhancing work efficiency formula, which typically has a more inflexible design and limited functionality.

  • Social Accountability: Habitica places a strong emphasis on social accountability. Users can join or create groups to share their progress, collaborate on challenges, and engage in friendly competition with other users.

  • Role-Playing Game (RPG) Elements: Habitica incorporates role-playing game (RPG) elements such as experience points, levels, and rewards to make productivity feel more like a game. This approach makes completing tasks and achieving goals more fun and engaging and provides a sense of accomplishment often missing from traditional productivity apps. Using RPG elements is relatively rare in the productivity app space, making Habitica unique.

SuperBetter: The Gamification Tool That Promotes Resilience and Emotional Wellbeing

superbetter tool
SuperBetter, image source: https://onemindpsyberguide.org/apps/superbetter/

SuperBetter is a gamification app that uses game-like elements to help users achieve their goals and develop resilience. It features quests, power-ups, and progress bars to motivate users to execute tasks and establish new habits.

How does it work?

Unlike other apps, SuperBetter focuses not on specific tasks or projects but on personal growth and development. It also offers social engagement with other users and personalized insights to keep users engaged and motivated.

SuperBetter special features:

  • Focus on building resilience: SuperBetter is a gamification app that aims to help users build strength and achieve their goals by framing challenges as “quests” and encouraging users to adopt a “heroic” mindset. Users can complete daily challenges, gain power-ups, and battle “bad guys” in real-life struggles.

  • Scientifically-backed approach: The SuperBetter app is designed based on positive psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural economics research. The app uses evidence-based techniques to help users build habits, strengthen social connections, and overcome obstacles.

  • Emphasis on emotional wellbeing: SuperBetter aims to promote productivity and emotional wellbeing. The app includes features like the “Power Pack” and “Quests” that focus on gratitude, self-compassion, and positive relationships. The app also has a “Resilience Score” feature that helps users track their emotional regulation, social support, and goal-setting progress. SuperBetter aims to help users lead more fulfilling and resilient lives by focusing on emotional wellbeing and productivity.

Ogamify: Employee Motivation Tool

ogamify leaderboard

Ogamify is a gamification app designed for business teams to improve performance through challenging self-improvement tasks. With Ogamify, team leaders can seamlessly integrate their employees and create a growth-based company culture.

How does it work?

The app offers a range of challenging tasks that aim to enhance productivity, collaboration, and creativity within the workplace. By gamifying the self-improvement process, Ogamify makes it fun and engaging for team members to pursue personal and professional growth.

Ogamify special features:

  • Integration for Business Teams: Ogamify provides seamless integration that caters to the unique needs of companies aiming to enhance their team’s performance. By offering diverse team-oriented challenges, Ogamify facilitates collaborative work and cultivates stronger relationships among employees, resulting in elevated productivity and a more positive work environment.

team integration
  • Real-time Progress Tracking: Ogamify allows users to track their progress in real-time, providing instant feedback and a sense of accomplishment as users complete challenges and achieve their goals. This feature is precious for businesses looking to enhance their team’s motivation and engagement. It helps users stay on track and feel a sense of ownership over their personal and professional growth.

ogamify individual challenges
  • Company knowledge base: Ogamify includes a feature that allows businesses to create a company knowledge base. This feature allows team leaders to compile and organize important information, resources, and best practices for their team members to access quickly. This feature also enables team members to share their knowledge and expertise, further fostering a workplace culture of growth and development.

company knowledge base

Brain.fm: Rewarding Users for Achieving Desired Mental States

brain.fm platform
Brain.fm

Brain.fm is a gamified productivity app that uses game-like elements to motivate users to accomplish tasks and stay focused. The app offers personalized insights, power-ups, and a progress bar to help users develop new habits and improve their time management skills in a fun way.

How does it work?

Brain. fm uses AI-generated music to improve focus, relaxation, or sleep. The app encourages users to set specific goals and track their progress while earning points and rewards for completing tasks and hitting milestones.

Brain.fm: Rewarding Users for Achieving Desired Mental States

  • Adaptive difficulty: Brain. fm uses an adaptive difficulty system to gradually increase the difficulty level of the music as the user progresses towards their goals. This approach ensures that users are continually challenged and engaged, making progress towards their desired mental state.

  • Multiple mental states: While many gamification apps focus on a single mental state, Brain. fm offers music tracks to support various mental forms, including focus, relaxation, and sleep. This makes the app versatile and adaptable to users’ needs, encouraging them to use it for various purposes.

  • Goal setting and tracking: Brain.fm allows users to set goals for their desired mental state and track their progress over time. Users can receive reminders to listen to music at certain times, and the app provides insights into their listening habits and mental state. This helps to build a habit of regular music listening and make progress towards achieving their desired mental state.

Fabulous: A Game-Like Tool to Develop Building Healthy Habits

Fabulous platform
Fabulous

Fabulous is a self-improvement app that uses behavioural science to help you create healthy habits and achieve your goals. The app provides personalized coaching and guidance to help you develop daily routines and track progress. It uses a combination of gamification, positive psychology, and scientific research to help you make lasting changes in your life.

How does it work?

The app offers a variety of features, such as daily challenges, meditation sessions, and habit tracking, all designed to help you live a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Fabulous special features:

  • Personalized Journey: Fabulous offers a customized journey to each user based on their goals and preferences. It provides a step-by-step approach to building healthy habits and routines, including fitness, mindfulness, and productivity. The app uses data-driven insights to tailor the experience to each user’s needs, making it highly effective and engaging.

  • Interactive Challenges: Fabulous offers interactive challenges that keep users engaged and motivated. These challenges help users build new routines, such as drinking more water, meditating, or going to bed on time. The app uses game-like elements like points, rewards, and progress bars to make the challenges fun and exciting.

  • Coaching and Support: Fabulous offers coaching and support to users throughout their journey. It provides personalized insights and feedback based on the user’s progress, helping them stay on track and achieve their goals. The app also offers a supportive community where users can connect with like-minded individuals, share their progress, and get advice and motivation from others.

Trello: A Project Management Tool That Makes Visual Task Organization Easy

Trello platform
Trello

Trello is a project management tool that helps individuals and teams organize and prioritize their tasks visually appealingly. It offers a gamified approach to daily productivity by allowing users to create boards, lists, and cards that can be moved and sorted to reflect the status of their tasks. Users can set deadlines, add attachments, and collaborate with other team members on tasks within the app.

How does it work?

With Trello, users can earn health points by completing tasks and developing good habits. They can also customize their boards and cards with different backgrounds and stickers to keep themselves motivated. Trello allows users to build resilience by tracking their progress and adjusting their goals. They can complete quests and challenges and earn reward points to stay motivated.

Trello special features:

  • Highly Customizable: Trello offers a wide range of customization options, allowing users to create unique boards, lists, and cards tailored to their needs. Users can add stickers, change backgrounds, and create custom fields to track progress. This level of customization sets Trello apart from other gamified productivity apps, making it a powerful tool for motivating users.

  • Real-Time Collaboration: Trello enables users to work collaboratively with others in real time. This feature is handy for teams working on a project, as it allows everyone to see the progress and make adjustments as needed. This unique feature makes Trello an effective gamification app in a team setting.

  • No In-App Purchases: Unlike many other gamification apps, Trello offers no in-app purchases. This means that users can access Trello’s features without spending money. This makes Trello an appealing choice for individuals looking for a non-game app with gamification features that can be integrated into everyday life.

Conclusion

Gamification is a powerful tool to improve productivity by integrating game elements into non-game settings. By turning daily tasks and habits into role-playing games or framing challenges as quests, gamification apps can motivate users to complete tasks, establish new habits, and achieve their goals and avoid work burnout. The six gamification apps listed in this article: Habitica, SuperBetter, Ogamify, Brain.fm, Fabulous, and Trello, offer fun and effective ways to help users stay focused, develop healthy habits, and manage their time. These apps provide users customizable challenges, real-time progress tracking, social accountability, and scientifically-backed techniques to enhance personal and professional growth. Gamification apps are worth considering if you’re looking for a way to make productivity fun and engaging.

FAQ

Can gamification really improve productivity?

Yes, gamification can significantly improve productivity. By introducing elements of play and competition, gamified productivity tools increase motivation, focus, and enjoyment. They provide a structured framework that encourages users to stay on track, complete tasks, and reach their goals more efficiently.

Are gamified productivity tools suitable for teams?

Yes, gamified productivity tools are suitable for teams as well. Many tools offer collaborative features, allowing team members to work together, track progress, and celebrate achievements collectively. By fostering a sense of teamwork and healthy competition, gamified productivity tools can enhance collaboration and boost team performance.

Can gamified productivity tools be used for personal development?

Absolutely! Gamified productivity tools are excellent for personal development. They provide a structured framework for setting goals, tracking progress, and celebrating achievements. By turning personal growth into a game, these tools make the journey towards self-improvement more enjoyable and rewarding.

How do I choose the right gamified productivity tool for me?

Choosing the right gamified productivity tool depends on your specific needs and preferences. Consider factors such as the type of tasks you need to manage, the level of customization required, and the features that align with your workflow. It’s also essential to try out different tools and assess their user interface and overall user experience before making a decision.

Author

  • Kaja Kowalska

    Hi there! My name is Kaja, and I'm a Marketing Executive at TDSOFT. I absolutely love gamification and have a real passion for building company culture and leadership.

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