The Moment I Transformed My To-Do List

I Treat My Tasks Like Video Game Levels

Nov 15, 2024

What's up everyone!

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When I met with my occupational therapist, I left the session with some papers in hand. One of these papers was a checklist guide, a tool designed to help break down tasks. The idea was to write tasks into manageable steps, and if anything felt overwhelming, the advice was to divide it into even smaller pieces.

At the time, I didn’t understand how this was supposed to help. I even told my therapist that it didn’t make sense to me, but she didn’t provide much guidance. I put the paper aside, dismissing it as just another thing that didn’t click.

Then one day, while I was taking a shower (because, let’s face it, the best ideas come either when you’re showering or out on a walk), something clicked: checkpoints, not checklists! The paper had suggested breaking down a task like making a phone call over several days, gradually building up to it. But I wasn’t someone who naturally broke tasks down, I tended to lose interest before I even got halfway through.

Still, in that moment, it hit me, what if I approached tasks like levels in a video game? For instance, painting with watercolors was a task I’d often put off. It wasn’t just the act of painting, it was gathering the sketchbook, the paints, the water, each step felt like a wall of procrastination. But the night of that shower epiphany, I decided to start my Halloween drawing, something I’d been procrastinating on for days.

I told myself: just do the sketch. Don’t worry about cleaning up afterward. Just do the first part. And it worked! The sketch became my first checkpoint. Just like in a game, when you pass a level, it saves, and even if you fail, you start back from that spot. Seeing the sketch there, unfinished, drove me to keep going because I wanted to complete it, and because I disliked having things left out.

The sketch was the first checkpoint. Line art was the second. And so on. As long as my project was visible, I kept progressing. It felt exciting, like leveling up in a game.

Of course, this system isn’t flawless. Procrastination is still a beast, and I’ve started to jot down why I procrastinate to better understand it and make things easier on myself. But breaking tasks into checkpoints, rather than rigid steps on a checklist, has been a game-changer.

Take the example of vacuuming: if you leave the vacuum cleaner out in the middle of the living room, it nags at you. You don’t want to see it there all day, so you’re more likely to just get the task done and put it away. And once you finish, it’s out of sight and off your mind.

There are times when my checkpoints don’t work, and I abandon the task, just like when I’m stuck on a level in a game and stop playing for a while. But then, sometimes, after months or even years, I’ll come back, try again, and finally beat it.

Of course, waiting years to finish a task like cleaning isn’t exactly practical, but the point is this: if a system fails repeatedly, maybe it’s a sign that it’s not the right approach. And that’s okay. Sometimes, a different strategy is needed.

❄️ My Art Journey

It’s been ten years this month since I got my diagnosis, and I thought about sharing that story. But honestly, it felt a bit too heavy. A bit too much like a therapy session in writing, and that’s not the vibe I want. So I put it on hold, for now, at least.

In the meantime, a smaller drama unfolded at home that’s somehow both tragic and ridiculous, I lost my Apple Pencil 😭. I mean, how do you even lose something like that inside your own home? I turned the place upside down like a scene from a crime show, but it’s gone. My only wish is that Apple had a “Find My” feature for the Apple Pencil Gen 2. Imagine how easy that would be. But no, I had to order a new one. Fortunately, it arrived quickly, so I’m back in business.

And just in time, too, because I launched my Shorts Challenge on November 10th! I took a screenshot of my YouTube subs on the 9th as a sort of “before” picture. Now, I’m not shooting for a big subscriber boost. Really, it’s all about views, my goal is to hit around 33,000 views per video to unlock that sweet milestone for memberships, chat, and all the perks that come with it. But honestly, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up with more subs than views. Either way, this challenge is going to be one big experiment in figuring out what actually works and what doesn’t. Should be... interesting.

Oh, and there’s one more thing. I promised myself after finishing Ben’s course that I would hold off on getting another one. Really, I meant it. But then, somehow, I ended up with a free month of Domestika Plus. Now my queue is packed with courses to watch, and I’m officially overwhelmed. Just one more thing to juggle! 🤪