I've been using the Do It Now RPG app to gamify my life, and it's been a game-changer. By assigning characteristics and skills to tasks, I've turned my to-do list into a thrilling adventure. Do It Now RPG doesn't just help you get things done; it helps you become the best version of yourself.
The app allows you complete customization of its features which enables you to build character classes based on your personality and aspirations setup as "Characteristics". Are you a meticulous Builder, adept at tackling home improvement projects? Or perhaps a wise Sage, dedicated to lifelong learning? Define your life appropriately and embark on a journey of self-improvement. Hopefully I can walk you through how I have organized things myself to give you some ideas.
Each task you complete contributes to your character's development based upon the skills and characteristics you setup. Did you finally conquer that dusty corner with your cleaning skills? Boom! Your Cleaning skill increases, and you get closer to leveling up that skill along with the "Sire" characteristic.
Don't be fooled by the term "to-do list." With Do It Now RPG, creating a task is like crafting a quest. You can assign it a difficulty level, importance rating, and even a touch of "fear" (think conquering a fear of public speaking with a presentation). The more challenging the task, the greater the reward – experience points, gold, and a sense of accomplishment. You can setup your own reward store that allows you to spend your earned gold on different rewards that you setup for yourself. I have not employed too much of the reward system, but do plan on building out more tutorials as I continue to deep dive into the detailed features of the application. For now, let's look over what I have setup and how I have it setup to make my "to-do list" feel like a true adventure worth doing.
I've broken down my skills and abilities into overarching characteristics, inspired by classic RPG roles. These are the broad categories that define different aspects of my life. As I find new opportunities I add them to the list of characteristics being sure to define them properly in a description. Since beginning this journey I've had to combine a few characteristics into one that might be considered the same thing in the end (i.e. Mender & Healer).
| Characteristic Name | Description |
| Artificer | Possesses a variety of skills to create or repair anything they put their hands on. |
| Barbarian | Relies only on their power & strength in every situation to get what they want. |
| Bard | Bring forth emotion and connection through musical instruments & songs. |
| Beastmaster | Experts in animal research that have trained tirelessly to work with a variety of animals. |
| Brewmeister | Known for their knowledge of sourcing and creating malt liquor and beer through brewing. |
| Builder | Versed in different methods of construction including but not limited to woodworking, masonry, electrical, & plumbing. |
| Chef | Practitioners of the oldest form of life-giving: sustenance itself, albeit sometimes with flair. |
| Druid | Working with nature to grow and create powerful plants for healing & more. |
| Fighter | Masters of combat skilled with a variety of weapons and armor. |
| Healer | Possesses a deep understanding of the human body, its afflictions, and treatment of afflictions. |
| Knight | Role models of society in the form of chivalry, charisma, romance, and appearance. |
| Merchant | Businessmen first, friends second – interested in treasure, long-lost fortunes, and enhancing their names. |
| Monk | Masters of martial arts combat and discipline of mind & body. |
| Noble | Specializes in the care and management of their families, properties, and the political landscape. |
| Painter | Crafts works of art transposing their imaginations into an expression upon a canvas. |
| Ranger | Doing all it takes to survive in the wild these are accomplished woodsmen. |
| Rogue | Specializes in skills involving stealth & bypassing security but now always for evil. |
| Sage | Defined by their extensive studies of both the known & the unknown. |
| Sire | Family patriarch. Known for their wisdom, strength, and unwavering dedication to their lineage. |
| Warrior | Use finesse, endurance, & fitness training to excel in all situations. |
| Wizard | Dealing with that of computing, programming, or other computing work not understood by all. |
After developing the various characteristics that I would like to track, I generally start adding tasks. When you create a task, you have to choose a skill that it correlates with, and this can help you develop skills along the way. We will discuss skills more after this, but when you create a new skill, you have to attach it to a characteristic. Creating tasks, then deciding what skill should correlate or creating a new skill can help you create skills you're actually working on rather than just listing a bunch of things that you could work on.
There are a variety of ways to handle tasks. Currently, I only use repeatable tasks and individual tasks, but you can dive into dailies, habits, increasing/decreasing skills, and more. I will cover those more complex topics in another post. For now, you just need to worry about adding the following things to a task:
As you see, you can start creating tasks immediately and create skills as you go, but you could also flesh out some basic skills ahead of time to make assigning tasks much quicker. I tend to create tasks for weekly events more than daily events, but you are free to choose exactly what would work for you. create tasks for weekly events more than daily events, but you are free to choose exactly what would work for you.
Within the characteristics, I've defined specific skills that I want to develop. When you create tasks to perform, you will be asked to choose an increasing or decreasing skill. In general, I stick with increasing skills and have not dived into the possibility of decreasing skills. I will be diving into such things as I push forward in my own journey. After all, one of the famous sayings about not utilizing skills enough is, "use it or lose it," implying that if you do not practice or hone your skills, then you will become less efficient at those skills. Below is my list of skills that I have developed over time. I am constantly adding new skills should a task require a new skill to be made.
| Skill Name | Description |
| 3D Printing | Improving skills in using 3D printers & associated tools. |
| Armorcrafting | The skill of crafting protective gear for use in Live Action Role Play (LARP) gaming or cosplay events. |
| Animal Handling | The ability to care for and interact with animals, understanding their behavior and needs. |
| Camping | The skill of setting up camp outdoors, including pitching tents, building fires, and preparing food. |
| Charity | The voluntary giving of help to those in need. |
| Cleaning | The ability to maintain a clean and organized environment. |
| Communication | The ability to effectively convey ideas and information. |
| Cooking | The art of preparing food, including knowledge of ingredients, techniques, and flavors. |
| Discipline | The ability to control one's behavior and emotions. |
| Drawing | The ability to create visual representations of ideas, emotions, or objects using various drawing techniques. |
| Erudition | The quality of having or showing great knowledge or learning. |
| Financial Literacy | Of or pertaining to knowledge gained from handling one's own or ones business finances. |
| Fitness | The state of being physically fit and healthy. |
| Foreign Language | The ability to speak, read, and write in a language other than one's native language. |
| Gift Giving | The art of selecting and presenting gifts. |
| Herbology | The study of plants, especially medicinal plants. |
| Home Maintenance | The skill of maintaining a home, including repairs, cleaning, and landscaping. |
| Hygiene | The practice of keeping oneself clean and healthy. |
| Mathematics | The study of numbers, quantity, and space. |
| Medicine | The science and practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing illness. |
| Meditation | The practice of training one's mind to focus and redirect thoughts. |
| Music | The art of producing music, including composing, performing, and listening. |
| Painting | The art of applying paint to a surface to create a picture or decorative design. |
| Parenthood | The role and responsibility of raising children. |
| Productivity | The ability to efficiently manage time and tasks to achieve goals. |
| Programming | The process of writing and testing computer software. |
| Reading | The ability to understand written language. |
| Running | The sport or activity of moving on foot, especially at a fast pace. |
| Salesmanship | The ability to persuade others to buy products or services. |
| Security | The practice of protecting people and property from harm. |
| Swimming | The ability to move through water by using one's arms and legs. |
| Web Development | The process of building and maintaining websites, including coding, design, and content management. |
When you have created a new skill it will ask you to assign this skill to a characteristic. Sometimes I already have one in mind and sometimes I have to create a new characteristic. Sometimes this involves creating a new characteristic, but first I try and fit the skill within the existing list of characteristics. Every so often, like at the time of writing this blog, I have found that reviewing the characteristic and skill lists is important as I have combined characteristics before to ensure that I am not creating duplicates or spreading my leveling between two similar characteristics or skills. Below you will find a chart of different skills that have attached to characteristics.
| Characteristic Name | Attached Skills |
| Artificer | 3D Printing Armorcrafting Home Maintenance Engineering Tinkering Woodworking |
| Barbarian | Combative Training Fitness Running |
| Bard | Drumming Guitar Piano |
| Beastmaster | Animal Handling Hunting |
| Brewmeister | Bartending Brewing |
| Builder | Carpentry Home Maintenance Landscaping Masonry |
| Chef | Baking Cooking |
| Druid | Animal Handling Alchemy Foraging Herbology |
| Fighter | Security Fitness Combative Training Weapons Training Running Swimming |
| Healer | CPR First Aid Hygiene Medicine Trauma Care |
| Knight | Charisma Charity Chivalry Discipline Romance |
| Merchant | Budgeting Financial Literacy Salesmanship |
| Monk | Combative Training Meditation Philosophy Productivity |
| Noble | Charity Gift Giving Communication Hygiene Politics Productivity Reading |
| Painter | 3D Art Drawing Painting Pixel Art |
| Ranger | Camping Foraging Hunting Skinning Trapping |
| Rogue | Disguising Lockpicking Sneaking |
| Sage | Communication Discipline Erudition Mathematics Philosophy Productivity Reading |
| Sire | Cleaning Foreign Language Parenthood Productivity |
| Wizard | Cybersecurity Programming Web Development |
Do It Now RPG has transformed my approach to personal growth. It's no longer just about checking things off a list; it's about becoming a more skilled, well-rounded individual. By aligning tasks with my aspirations and tracking progress through a gamified system, I'm motivated to tackle challenges and celebrate every victory.
Give Do It Now RPG a try and see how it can help you, but most of all let me know how you're using it and maybe how I can improve what I've already got going!
