I’ve been seriously considering this idea of leveling up my life.
I first ran across it here: NerdFitness.com, “How to Level Up in the Game of Life.”
To be honest, my main faults tend to revolve around procrastination and lack of motivation. I’ll use any little Jedi mind-trick I can get my hands on to make things work.
I’ve been thinking about what it would be like if ran my life like a game? How would I view things? How would I gain experience levels?
While I’ve played many computer games (not so many console games); my current game of choice is World of Warcraft. Naturally, I’m going to think of things in terms of WoW.
The categories I’m going to use are:
Dailies, Class Quests/Goals, Hobby Quests, and Reputations. These will probably be interrelated.
Dailies, 5% xp Gain
I think Daily Quests are things that I do, for particular reasons, on a daily basis.
I know, it’s rocket science!
I can have Daily Quests associated with my Class (think Vocation) Quests/Goals, Hobby Quests and definitely Reputation grinds.
So, for instance: One of my Daily Quests is to go Work Out.
I think this falls into a few categories. This comes under my Class Quest, for sure. You see, I need to be at a particular level of fitness to gain admittance into the Air Force. This Daily Quest (Working Out) directly relates to my overall Class Quest (Vocational Goal).
Part of my current position is regular Public Speaking/Relations. Simply put, I need to constantly be working on the next speech. This is updating research, finding proper illustrations, etc. This is literal, “Study Time,” that has to be done almost every day.
Part of Public Relations is that you are in constant PR mode in everyone you meet. Think of it this way, it is a Rep grind for the company! Not only do I gain rep when I meet with a potential client/donor; but the company gains (or loses) rep as well. So, not only do I need to schedule regular appointments with different people (Celestial Dailies?) through the week, but my interpersonal skill gets better with every meeting I engage in. So, this would be related to Rep Grind and partially the overall Class Quest. But, this is something I try to engage in every couple of days, if not on a daily basis.
Class Quest, 50-100% xp Gain 
The Class Quest would be my overall Vocational Goal.
Granted, when I started playing WoW these tended to be mount quests for Warlocks and Paladins. As a Hunter, I was horribly saddened that we didn’t get a cool mount quest. But, we did get the Taming Quests, which I enjoyed immensely.
Using the USAF as an example; the first major hurdle is getting in. After that, each major quest may be related to Promotions within the Ranks. If I’m ever sent away on a remote duty tour; that would be a side quest; or maybe a bonus quest – leading towards that future promotion. Since the average retirement rank for the position I’m seeking is a Colonel (06), I think it is ok to think of each promotion as either being worth 1/2 a level, or even a full level.
Lets face it, assuming I get in; each promotion might be 3-4 years coming. Of course, I’m pulling that out of the air. I could be wrong about the timeline.
Other things that would fall under this category would be advanced training, certifications and education. Depending upon what I’m doing, I can break these down into dailies, intermittent, or even larger quests/goals.
Hobby Quests – 5% xp Gain
When I think of Hobby Quests, I think of things that I find useful (and maybe even fun). These could benefit me in multiple ways. They can be Class related, or not. They could be Rep related, or not. They could be about expanding my…whatever! In WoW, these are considered ”Professions,” and can include things like Leather Working, Black Smithing, First Aid, Cooking, Fishing etc. While some things like Leather Working might have a direct benefit to the player; you don’t really have to have Fishing as a “needed” skill.
I still do it, because I enjoy it! But, I’m weird that way.
A real life Hobby would be something like taking up guitar, karate, cooking classes, working out, etc. These are all thing I may enjoy and gain some benefit from.
Notice, I put “working out” in this category as well. Truth be told, I actually enjoy it. While the USAF requires me to be physically fit, my current job does not. I would still work out, but it would be considered more a hobby; and less of a “need” if not for my USAF aspirations.
Reputation Quests – 10-50% xp Gain
For me, the ultimate Rep grind was the original Wintersaber Mount quests. It was just evil. 
Now, why in the world would I have Rep quests equal to 10-50% of experience?
We all know that some req quests in WoW don’t give out squat!
I’m looking at you Golden Lotus Dailies!
But, I’m thinking of real life stuff right now. There are some Reputations that I greatly value.
For instance, I greatly value my “Rep” with my family. If anything, I could use the word Social Interaction, Relationship, or any number of identifiers in place of “Reputation” here. But, I’m sticking with what I know.
I have a “Rep” with everyone in my family. Things I do either help me gain rep, or might actually detract from what I have.
For instance, when I help my wife with family related chores; she is happier with me! (+100 w/ the Wife Faction!)
What if I was stupid enough to commit adultery? (-100,000,000 w/ Wife Faction)
What if I show up to my kids events, teach them how to play ball, heck – just play with them at night! (+100 w/ Child Faction)
What if I’m stupid enough to demean and abuse my children? (-100,000,000 w/ Child Faction, -1000,000,000 w/ Wife Faction, ”Lock Up Immediately” w/ Law Enforcement Faction)
I’ve often said, “If I fail at being a Husband and a Father; then I fail at life.”
I truly mean that. That highlights the importance of my Reputation Quests. I need to do regular things (lets call them Relationship Maintenance) to keep my Reputation with my family maxed out. These can take the forms of Dailies, or even larger intermittent Quests (Think Birthdays, Anniversaries, Milestones, etc.).
I already mentioned the idea of Reputation with (and on behalf of) my job. I would probably put those around the “10% xp gain.”
Finally
There you have it. My rough idea concerning Leveling Up my Life.
My next thing “to do,” is to make a list of my dailies. That list should contain what the daily is, and which category it most impacts. Then, I can determine if there needs to be a realignment of my dailies to accurately portray my priorities and values.
What about you? If you were to level up your life; what would it look like?
Z
