Unconventional Motivational Methods
Advice commonly given to ADHDers to help approach or complete tasks is to create a reward system to help incentivise actions. However, the delayed reward for creating the reward system and the time it would take to set up makes it less appealing. Okay, honestly, it feels like a pointless additional task! If you’re still following then, like me, you may be looking for something that helps you focus and work through tasks but isn’t difficult, time consuming or cognitively taxing to set up.
Enter: Spirit City: Lo-fi Sessions on Steam*
To the confusion of many gamers, this “game” is not really a game nor is it strictly a productivity tool. So what is it? An ADHDers dream! Customise your own loft and character. Adjust the background soundscape mix and music, the time of day, weather and choose where your character is hanging out (bed, desk, window seat or by the fire) and what they’re doing (writing, reading, gaming, knitting even cleaning).
The genius of Spirit City: Lo-fi Sessions is that it combines what is essentially body doubling with a very gentle, low stakes reward system as you unlock spirit companions by doing different activities. As I type this, my character is currently meditating but for most of the day she has been mirroring me; typing or writing. There are widgets: a to do list, journal, habits tracker, timer with a pomodoro option and a stopwatch. All of which can be hidden or float where you choose.
Lo-Fi is short for low-fidelity and generally refers to a genre (originally music) that includes or makes features of its own imperfections. Ironically, for a term that was supposedly synonymous with low quality, Spirit City is anything but! Thoughtful, minimalist and easy to use, it is visually and audibly pleasing and soothing. It encourages me to put my headphones on, set my pomodoro timer running and work through my to do list with relative ease and comfort! It’s an inviting little bubble to enter whilst I work, relax or do something creative.
Perhaps it’s something you might want to give a try! Or maybe you can borrow some inspiration from Spirit City: Lo-fi Sessions and make the space you work in comfy, cosy or visually calming. Lean into your sensory profile to create cues or associated rituals for focus time – light a candle or make yourself a specific drink – or test out the pomodoro technique. It’s up to you but this is a gentle nudge to find what works for you! It doesn’t have to be conventional. It might be as unexpected as a little background “game” on Steam but if it works, it works! Time to set my character to relaxing; a subtle cue to myself to take a break too!
Want to go deeper than one tool? This post is about working with your ADHD brain, not against it. Our course Executive Functioning in Autism & ADHD (with a certificate of CPD hours) covers task initiation, focus and the strategies behind why approaches like body doubling work - so you or your team can build a system that lasts.
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*Steam is an online gaming platform which is completely free to sign up to but most games must be purchased.