Gamification Can Help You Out of Bed
Gamification or the use of game mechanics in non-game contexts can actually play a huge role in breaking the habit of hitting the snooze, which will help make it much easier for you to get out of bed the first time the alarm rings. Gamification techniques are able to motivate you to get out of bed in the morning, and people are getting really creative with how they are helping people to do so. There are a number of really cool products that have been developed to help you get out of bed in the morning; the five that we're looking at here are our favorites!
1. Snooze, which is an iPhone app that was developed by the company LetGive. Do you want to be motivated to get up in the morning? This app will donate a quarter to a charity (of your choosing) every time you hit the snooze button. For some of you, that probably means that you will be donating a dollar or two every single day.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: If you hit the snooze, you donate a quarter. That's a quarter, right out of your bank account. Do you want to avoid the consequences of paying in order to hit the snooze button? Then don't do it!
Disincentives: This particular game mechanic focuses on the use of a penalty in order to push someone to take an action that they wouldn't normally do. You worried about that quarter "penalty?" Then stop hitting the snooze!
Extinction: You used to feel like you got a "reward" for hitting the snooze, right? By adding the quarter to the equation, that "reward" has been eliminated, even though the action of hitting the snooze is the same.
2. This "stand up to wake up" device looks just like a floor mat, with one big difference: the LCD display and built-in alarm clock. The "carpet" has sensors in it that sense whether or not you have actually put weight on it. The alarm does not stop until you put your feet on it. It was developed by a pair of designers from Yanko Design.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: You want that noise to stop, right? Then you need to get up and put your feet on the mat! What's the point of going back to bed after you've done that?
Extinction: You used to believe that you felt better when you hit the snooze and stayed in bed for a few more minutes. Now, that reward has disappeared because the alarm just won't stop until you put your feet on the ground.
3. I know a lot of you probably already thought of ways to "get around" the "stand up to wake up" carpet alarm clock, but here's an iPhone app that steps it up even more - literally! Walk Up, developed by Namo Apps, is an alarm application for your iOS device that only costs 99 cents. What does it do? As you likely know, the iPhone has a built in accelerometer that tracks how many steps you are taking. Instead of having a snooze button, you set the amount of steps that you have to take in order to turn off the alarm. You can set anywhere from 10 to 100 steps.
The philosophy is, once you're out of bed and moving, you're much less likely to go back to bed.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: As with all alarms, the gamification trait of avoidance is employed because you just want the alarm to go away and stop making noises.
Extinction: You used to believe that you felt better when you hit the snooze and stayed in bed for a few more minutes. Now, that reward has disappeared because the alarm just won't stop until you get yourself out of bed and walk around your home a little bit.
4. Another way to get up in the morning is for your mind to start moving. That's why Blakit developed the Kamikaze Jigsaw Puzzle Alarm. Available for many mobile devices, this alarm actually requires you to put a quick jigsaw puzzle together in order to hit the snooze or disable the alarm completely. The app has a number of pre-loaded puzzles, or you can use the pictures that are saved on your mobile device.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: As with all alarms, the gamification trait of avoidance is employed because you just want the alarm to go away and stop making noises.
5. Have you ever wanted to feel like a superhero or secret agent? Then this defusable bomb alarm clock may be a way for you to feel like one, every single day. This "bomb" alarm clock looks exactly like the bombs in old movies; with several sticks of dynamite that are tied together and attached to a timer. Instead of allowing you to lay there and relax, you have to "diffuse the bomb" before the alarm goes off (which, ironically, sounds like an explosion if you fail).
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: As with all alarms, the gamification trait of avoidance is employed because you just want the alarm to go away and stop making noises.
Countdown: You have a limited amount of time to get the "bomb" diffused. By employing the countdown gamification trait, this alarm clock pushes you to increase your activity (and get out of bed in the process) while trying to prevent the "explosion" that will occur when the time runs out.
Urgent Optimism: This is not as much of a game mechanic as it is part of the gamification philosophy. If you have always wanted to feel like the hero, then diffusing a bomb (even a fake one) to prevent an explosion is incredibly appealing to you, right? That's urgent optimism; a scenario has been created that helps motivate you to take the action necessary to succeed.
These products are not the only ones out there that use game mechanics in order to get you out of bed in the morning. What ones do you know of? Do you use one of these methods or another gamification method to help you get up in the morning? Leave some thoughts in the comments; we can't wait to hear from you!
If you want to know what gamification can do for you, visit our site http://makeyourlifeagame.com/
1. Snooze, which is an iPhone app that was developed by the company LetGive. Do you want to be motivated to get up in the morning? This app will donate a quarter to a charity (of your choosing) every time you hit the snooze button. For some of you, that probably means that you will be donating a dollar or two every single day.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: If you hit the snooze, you donate a quarter. That's a quarter, right out of your bank account. Do you want to avoid the consequences of paying in order to hit the snooze button? Then don't do it!
Disincentives: This particular game mechanic focuses on the use of a penalty in order to push someone to take an action that they wouldn't normally do. You worried about that quarter "penalty?" Then stop hitting the snooze!
Extinction: You used to feel like you got a "reward" for hitting the snooze, right? By adding the quarter to the equation, that "reward" has been eliminated, even though the action of hitting the snooze is the same.
2. This "stand up to wake up" device looks just like a floor mat, with one big difference: the LCD display and built-in alarm clock. The "carpet" has sensors in it that sense whether or not you have actually put weight on it. The alarm does not stop until you put your feet on it. It was developed by a pair of designers from Yanko Design.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: You want that noise to stop, right? Then you need to get up and put your feet on the mat! What's the point of going back to bed after you've done that?
Extinction: You used to believe that you felt better when you hit the snooze and stayed in bed for a few more minutes. Now, that reward has disappeared because the alarm just won't stop until you put your feet on the ground.
3. I know a lot of you probably already thought of ways to "get around" the "stand up to wake up" carpet alarm clock, but here's an iPhone app that steps it up even more - literally! Walk Up, developed by Namo Apps, is an alarm application for your iOS device that only costs 99 cents. What does it do? As you likely know, the iPhone has a built in accelerometer that tracks how many steps you are taking. Instead of having a snooze button, you set the amount of steps that you have to take in order to turn off the alarm. You can set anywhere from 10 to 100 steps.
The philosophy is, once you're out of bed and moving, you're much less likely to go back to bed.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: As with all alarms, the gamification trait of avoidance is employed because you just want the alarm to go away and stop making noises.
Extinction: You used to believe that you felt better when you hit the snooze and stayed in bed for a few more minutes. Now, that reward has disappeared because the alarm just won't stop until you get yourself out of bed and walk around your home a little bit.
4. Another way to get up in the morning is for your mind to start moving. That's why Blakit developed the Kamikaze Jigsaw Puzzle Alarm. Available for many mobile devices, this alarm actually requires you to put a quick jigsaw puzzle together in order to hit the snooze or disable the alarm completely. The app has a number of pre-loaded puzzles, or you can use the pictures that are saved on your mobile device.
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: As with all alarms, the gamification trait of avoidance is employed because you just want the alarm to go away and stop making noises.
5. Have you ever wanted to feel like a superhero or secret agent? Then this defusable bomb alarm clock may be a way for you to feel like one, every single day. This "bomb" alarm clock looks exactly like the bombs in old movies; with several sticks of dynamite that are tied together and attached to a timer. Instead of allowing you to lay there and relax, you have to "diffuse the bomb" before the alarm goes off (which, ironically, sounds like an explosion if you fail).
Game Mechanics:
Avoidance: As with all alarms, the gamification trait of avoidance is employed because you just want the alarm to go away and stop making noises.
Countdown: You have a limited amount of time to get the "bomb" diffused. By employing the countdown gamification trait, this alarm clock pushes you to increase your activity (and get out of bed in the process) while trying to prevent the "explosion" that will occur when the time runs out.
Urgent Optimism: This is not as much of a game mechanic as it is part of the gamification philosophy. If you have always wanted to feel like the hero, then diffusing a bomb (even a fake one) to prevent an explosion is incredibly appealing to you, right? That's urgent optimism; a scenario has been created that helps motivate you to take the action necessary to succeed.
These products are not the only ones out there that use game mechanics in order to get you out of bed in the morning. What ones do you know of? Do you use one of these methods or another gamification method to help you get up in the morning? Leave some thoughts in the comments; we can't wait to hear from you!
If you want to know what gamification can do for you, visit our site http://makeyourlifeagame.com/
