It’s Wiki Wednesday! Once a month we highlight a helpful post fromthe Wiki with tips about productivity, wellness, and optimizing your use of Habitica!
Happy August, Habiticans! This month, on our ongoing tour of some of the most helpful articles the Habitica Wiki has to offer, we’ll take a look at some advice the Wiki Scribes have to offer about using Habitica to help manage your studies!
School can be tiring and stressful, but with Habitica, a player can easily beat procrastination and manage schoolwork! By simply using Habits, Dailies, To-Dos, and Rewards to motivate themselves, they can lower stress and improve grades.
Want to know more? Head over to the wiki to check out the full article!
It’s August, and for many folks that means that school is back in session, or will be soon! Whether you’re a student in school or just a person who loves to learn about the world, you can find fellow Habiticans who are excited to join you and help support you. In this month’s Spotlight we’re focusing just a few of Habitica’s best Guilds for Learning New Things!
The Samurai of Philomathy: https://habitica.com/#/options/groups/guilds/c4328791-5172-4126-a73d-b54b34f9c20e Philomathy means the love of learning and studying, and this Guild is full of Habiticans who are excited about expanding their minds! Check out their variety of running Challenges, which will encourage you to explore new topics and experiences.
This Guild welcomes all who are taking or interested in taking a Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, from any MOOC program or platform. It’s a great place to chat about what sorts of courses are out there to take, as well as to share what you’re learning! Coursera Conscripts members also have posted a number of Challenges for those taking specific courses.
These Guilds and many others are here to help you learn better and remember more! And if you’re looking for more advice on using Habitica to enhance your knowledge, be sure to read this month’s Use Case Spotlight, featuring tips and tricks from fellow Habiticans!
In last month’s Use Case Spotlight we featured some awesome suggestions from Habiticans about using the site and apps to improve your pet care routine. This month we enter Back to School season and look at some great tips, tricks, and ideas for using Habitica to set (and maintain!) new tasks and goals related to Learning New Things. These come from your fellow players in the Use Case Spotlights Guild!
CaptainJemima uses each type of task to make sure they’re always learning something new, as well as refreshing what they already know!
I have a Daily for using the website Khan Academy for 5 minutes every day. I’ve really enjoyed using the website for Math practice (it’s amazing how much you forget!) and also watching video lectures on Mental Health, which is a good support for the course I am studying to become a qualified counsellor. There are lots of other topics on there that I could look into so I feel like I can keep learning for a long time. I always use the To Do list to keep track of what I need to do in terms of studying/homework – it has become my first port of call for all the things I need to do! I like using the Checklist feature to break down each piece of work into steps, which really helps me not to feel daunted by what I have to do, and makes me feel proud and accomplished when I can tick off a step. Using the Due Date feature is invaluable, so I don’t have to keep referring to the calendar. I also have a Habit for fully reading an article or blog post, which in my eyes is a way of learning more about the world.
Drosera uses Challenges and To-Dos to set educational goals!
I found the challenges in the Graduate Student Guild really helpful. I had a daily for reading one educational article each day, plus habits for reading any extra ones, and a daily due every Friday to go through all of my article alerts for the week and see which ones I actually need to put in the “to-be-read” pile. I use To-Dos to mark my progression through course sections (particularly for Coursera courses), and I have a daily with a checklist that I update every evening with a list of priorities for the following day.
Dan O’Dea reminds us that practice and SMART goal-setting are important ways to make sure you learn effectively and that what you’ve learned really sticks!
For me the best thing in Habitica is scheduling practice time. Not just a simple habit or daily, but schedule a specific thing regarding the learning. An example for me is this: Decide what to do for drawing practice today, something to be done in 15-20 minutes, and do that thing before 5:00 PM. Use the SMART system for setting a goal: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
There were so many helpful and exciting tips we couldn’t feature them all here! You can see them all and join in the discussion in the Use Case Spotlights Guild– one of your ideas could be featured next month! Look for an announcement of next month’s theme from Bailey soon.
Also, if you missed it you may want to take a look at our most recent Guild Spotlight, which showcases groups dedicated to Pet Care!
The “Behind The Scenes” series is a chance for us to give you a glimpse into the inner workings of HabitRPG, Inc., the company that makes Habitica. Every so often, we’ll treat you to some silly staff shenanigans or show you the work that goes into your favorite features. Enjoy! Hello Habiticans! If you’re on any form of social media and/or are a devoted fan of movies, TV, video games, or comics, you may have heard a thing or two about San Diego Comic-Con over the past few weeks! San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC for short) is a huge event dedicated to geeky pop-culture fun in all its forms. And, as staff members of a productivity RPG and devoted geeks, Habitica’s Lemoness (aka Leslie), Redphoenix (aka Vicky) ,and Beffymaroo (aka Beth) were there to represent. On our agenda: networking, attending relevant panels, our Habitica meetup, and having a good time!
San Diegan Beth happily hosted Vicky and Leslie at her apartment.
The real head of the household, Beauford, also approved of the guests- especially Leslie.
In addition to providing sleeping and chilling space, the apartment was ground zero for Operation We-Need-a-Banner-for-Our-Meetup.
Vicky carefully measures out the right amount of Royal Purple fabric, surrounded by Beth’s many miscellaneous craft supplies and, of course, cat toys.Beth works on sewing the banner. Note the important supplies: Scissors, pins, a saw, and most importantly, tea.Beauford shows off a new accessory she acquired in the banner-making process, the Official Habitica Royal Purple Cat Kerchief™. Official Royal Purple Gryphon Cat Helms™ are still in development.Hey look! A banner. Something is missing, though…Yeah, that’s the ticket! Thanks to designer piyorii (aka Sara!) for sending us a great Melior stencil template.Now to paint the stencil! Note Beauford loafing nearby, showing off her new accessory while letting Leslie and Beth do the hard work.After a day or so of drying, the time has come for the big reveal!Ta-da! (note that on an official level Habitica does not endorse standing barefoot near cacti, no matter how cute they are)
When they weren’t hard at work preparing for the Habitica Meetup, Vicky, Leslie, and Beth attended a variety of panels and events, some about relevant super-serious business, some about media they enjoy, and some about exciting topics such as cosplay!
One event that Beth, Leslie, and Vicky attended was the Viking Funeral on San Diego Bay to commemorate the passing of a character from the History Channel’s show “Vikings” (no actual deceased people were involved, just a mannequin and a boat). Beth and her partner Mike attended with the Viking Guild they belong to, the Guardians of Midgard, and were lucky enough to be a part of the festivities!
Can you spot Beth?A photo Vicky fondly calls “Viking Gothic”Meanwhile, Leslie fields important questions.
On Saturday Beth, Vicky, and Leslie scooped up a choice spot at a hotel lobby near the convention for the official Habitica Meetup! What a view!
Staying classy in San Diego, indeed.
We really enjoyed meeting and talking with the Habiticans who attended, so a big shout-out to those who stopped by! We hope that you enjoy your promo codes and gryphon stickers 🙂
Finally, what discussion of Comic-Con would be complete without talking about cosplay? There were an amazing number of talented crafters, costumers, and fans who wowed the Habitica crew with their amazing interpretations of some favorite characters!
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Overall, we had a real blast, and we’d love to see some of you there next year at the SDCC 2018 Habitica meetup! Until then, we hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our Comic-Con experience.
Habiticans love pets, as anyone working toward a Beastmaster badge can happily tell you! Many Habiticans also have animal friends in their lives who aren’t of the pixel kind, and of course those pets need slightly more maintenance than their counterparts in your Habitica Stable! Whether you’re working on a better basic care routine for your pet, or you’re a pet care pro looking for ideas to help you streamline your animal-related tasks, you can find fellow Habiticans who are also looking to be even better caregivers for their furry, scaly, and feathered companions! In this month’s Spotlight we’re focusing just a few of Habitica’s Pet Care-focused Guilds.
A cynophile is a person who loves canines! And if you’re a dog lover, you’re sure to find like-minded folks in this Guild. You can join their active Chat to talk all about the pups in your life.They also have fun Challenges including one with dog-related word puzzles that appear in the chat!
Owners of any animal companion(s) are welcome in Pet Owners and Lovers! Their Guild chat is full of Habiticans asking for advice, offering tips, and sharing stories and photos of their wonderful pets! This Guild also has a great selection of Challenges related to the care of different animals including dogs, cats, rats, birds, and more!
Are you a dog owner (or owner of another pet!) looking to teach your friend some new tricks or helpful actions? Check out this Guild for tips on training methods that involve positive reinforcement! Purely Positive Dog Trainers also offers Challenges related to using training to improve your dog’s fitness!
These Guilds and many others are here to help you be the best pet-friend you can be! And if you’re looking for more advice on using Habitica for Pet Care, be sure to read this month’s Use Case Spotlight, featuring tips and tricks from fellow Habiticans!
In last month’s Use Case Spotlight we learned all about different ways that folks in the community use Habitica to manage their outdoor hobbies. This month, we’re focusing on taking care of the animal friends in your life! Here are some great tips, tricks, and ideas for using Habitica to set (and maintain!) new tasks and goals related to Pet Care. These come from your fellow players in the Use Case Spotlights Guild!
Miechelle uses Dailies to keep up with the needs of their fine menagerie!
I have “Animals” under habits as well as a daily called “living creatures” which has all the tasks to do with my finches, cats and dog listed such as changing water and seed for the birdies, playing with canine and felines (I have rosters of games to rotate through), grooming someone every day, feeding, giving of vitamins, topping up treat toys. My creatures actually take up a good 2/3 hours a day and accordingly are a big part of my daily chore lists 🙂
Mavro Asteri adds Weeklies and Monthlies to their chore rotation to care for animal friends.
When I had an elderly dog (now gone), I used Habitica to remind me to administer her drugs twice a day. I also have 2 other dogs & 4 chickens, I use Habitica to remind me to give them food & fresh water 2x day. Now that they rolled out the weekly/monthly feature, I need to set up some chicken coop & chicken yard maintenance chores. And the dogs need a bath! Yep, now I gotta add these .
Sparky Lurkdragon uses checklists to maximize kitty care!
I have a little kitty cat and a bad case of executive dysfunction, so I have reminders to clean her litterbox and play with her daily. Both habits have a Morning and Evening checkbox. I give myself the play one if I play with her at least once a day (energy issues on my end), but the litterbox needs cleaning twice a day or I don’t get the big checkoff!
I also have a Monthly for deep-cleaning her litterbox, with a six-part checklist so I remember everything and don’t get lost:
Run water in bucket
Empty into medium trash bag
Clean box + scoop [+ scoop because I always forget it otherwise!]
Dry
Broom [That is, clean up any stray litter that got kicked out over the month.]
Refill
If I didn’t already have the habit solid when I re-joined Habitica, I would have ones for feeding her and changing her water. I do have a monthly for deep-cleaning her food and water bowls, though. (Usually they just get a good rinse and elbow grease daily.)
Geolojess makes sure their share of farm chores are taken care of with the help of Dailies.
I live on a farm, with 5 horses, 4 goats, 2 dogs, and lots of cats. My brother and I split up the chores, so that he takes care of them in the morning, and I take care of them at night! So, I have a daily that lists all the chores I need to do at night, such as feeding the cats/horses/dogs, putting the goats in their stall, etc!
There were so many helpful and exciting tips we couldn’t feature them all here! You can see them all and join in the discussion in the Use Case Spotlights Guild– one of your ideas could be featured next month! Look for an announcement of next month’s theme from Bailey soon.
Also, if you missed it you may want to take a look at our most recent Guild Spotlight, which showcases groups dedicated to Outdoor Hobbies!
It’s Wiki Wednesday! Once a month we highlight a helpful post fromthe Wiki with tips about productivity, wellness, and optimizing your use of Habitica!
In the last four months’ editions of Wiki Wednesday we looked at some Sample tasks to help you to set up or re-evaluate all of your task page columns: Habits, Dailies, To-Dos, and Rewards! For even more ideas to optimize your task lists, check out the Library of Tasks and Challenges Guild. “What is this Guild and why should I check it out?”, you might ask. Luckily, the Wiki Scribes have a detailed article to let you know what the Library of Tasks and Challenges Guild has to offer!
The Challenges serve mostly as examples and inspiration how your own tasks could look – they either contain tasks that many people are trying to do (for example, brush teeth, pay bills, exercise), or they demonstrate interesting ways to use Habitica (for example, gamifying tasks, making monthly tasks, making a “gold bank”).
Want to know more? Head over to the wiki to check out the full article!
The “Behind The Scenes” series is a chance for us to give you a glimpse into the inner workings of HabitRPG, Inc., the company that makes Habitica. Today we’re doing something a little different — we’re expanding on the fictional world of Habitica by spotlighting one of the characters who commonly crops up. Enjoy!
Becoming one of Habitica’s Masterclassers is often described as a “transformative experience,” but for the Master of Mages, the transformation became much more literal. King Manta is currently renowned as the benevolent merman who rules the undersea city of Dilatory, but his life started out quite differently.
Backstory
Born Prince Adamant I of Dilatory, he quickly became known for being a jolly, highly creative mage of prodigious talent, who was constantly weaving together spells in new and interesting ways. One of his most unconventional moves was spending time studying the natural magic of the Mantis Shrimps that surrounded their island city. King Adamant even helped craft new spells with them, including one that transformed him temporarily into a merman. Because of his prowess, he was offered the post of Master of Mages, and he heartily accepted.
Unfortunately, King Adamant was so stubbornly focused on his magical work that he let many of his other To-dos lie neglected. The citizens of Dilatory followed their leader’s example, and soon the streets were laden with Dark Red To-dos. Their bright color attracted an ancient, hungry predator from the deep: the fearsome Dread Drag’on of Dilatory. Its first vicious flurry of attacks struck the cliffs beneath Dilatory, and the entire city crumbled into the sea.
Hah, that monster doesn’t seem so tough… until you realize that it’s five miles away.
Though all seemed lost, the Mantis Shrimps moved to save the citizens. They combined King Adamant’s transformation spell with their natural magic to enchant the waters around Dilatory so that all the people were metamorphosed into merfolk. Seeing what had befallen his city, King Adamant rallied all of his skill and power into battling the Dread Drag’on. As it chased them into a deep crevasse, King Adamant hurled spells at the monster each time it lunged for the citizens, but the Drag’on’s innate healing abilities left them at an impasse. Realizing that massive reinforcements would be critical to defeat the creature, King Adamant also wove a powerful sorcery that greatly slowed time within the crevasse, allowing years to speed past unnoticed. He triggered the spell to break only when help was available.
And finally, help did arrive. Hundreds of thousands of brave Habiticans rallied together to defeat the vicious Dread Drag’on in battle, freeing the citizens of Dilatory at last. Despite this, most of the citizens of Dilatory decided to remain together in their undersea city, and King Adamant changed his name to King Manta to renounce the stubbornness that had endangered his people and instead honor the Mantis Shrimps who had helped to protect them. He now rules their undersea city wisely, and the Dilatorians welcome the Habiticans into their city every Summer Splash gala. Thanks to King Manta’s spells, Habiticans and Dilatorians can transform back and forth simply by swimming into or stepping out of the enchanted waters.
Meet some of the many denizens of Dilatory!
Personal Life
Most of the time, King Manta can be found in the throne room of the castle of Dilatory, overseeing issues brought to him by his people. Despite that, his work as the Master of Mages requires him to constantly monitor the underlying magic of Habitica to ensure that it is always growing and thriving, so he has been known to travel all across the land.
During his travels, he often visits the other Masterclassers. He’s close friends with the Joyful Reaper, who is old enough that she remembers him from the ancient times when Dilatory was above the waves. He has also bonded with Lady Glaciate over their shared love of interesting creatures, and was impressed when she managed to single-handedly saddle and ride the Kraken of Inkomplete, leading to a particularly unforgettable round of the Dilatory Derby. His relationship with the April Fool is akin to that of an amused grandfather, and he often assures everyone that the lad means no harm. The astute have tartly noted, however, that his domain in Dilatory is the one area of Habitica that is mysteriously unaffected by any of the Rogue’s magic pranks, almost as if not a single spell is able to take hold.
King Manta is known to dote upon his adopted daughter Advantageous (known as Adva for short). He frets about her too, however, particularly after the frightening incident when she was mysteriously possessed. She has shown a burgeoning skill at magic herself, and he hopes that someday she will be named the Master of Mages after him.
Adva is much nicer without that cursed necklace!
When he’s not consulting with his Mantis Shrimps or inventing exciting new spells that test the limits of magic, King Manta can be found curling up in Dilatory’s enchanted underwater library with a good book. “Luckily, I had waterproofed the entire collection,” he’ll explain to anyone who asks. “Actually, they’re also enchanted against fire, mold, pests, thieves, stabbing, and even inappropriate citations. Frankly, you could wield them in battle! But please don’t.”
It’s officially summertime (well, at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere!), and it’s a great season to get out and enjoy what the outdoors have to offer. Whether you’re simply trying to get outside more often or you’re an adventure enthusiast who wants to add to your repertoire, you can find fellow Habiticans who are excited to join you! In this month’s Spotlight we’re focusing on just a few of Habitica’s outdoors-focused Guilds.
This Guild’s aim is simple: to get you to leave the house and enjoy what the outdoors and wider world have to offer. The chat provides a great space for Guild members to motivate each other and share their journeys into the world. Venture Outside Your Lair also has a variety of fun, gamified Challenges to not only encourage you to get outside, but to engage with your environment while you’re there!
Outdoor Corps is a Guild for all who love outdoor activities, from hiking and other sports to just spending time in nature. The Guild Chat is full of tales, fun tips, and encouraging messages from members discussing their adventures outside. Check out their Challenges for even more incentives to spend more time in the fresh air! Gardening Gnomes:https://habitica.com/#/options/groups/guilds/d39e4c9f-ffee-4888-a1c6-77ed6261a525
Do you have a green thumb? Or do you wish you did? Take a peek into Gardening Gnomes to meet Habiticans who share a love for plants and taking care of them! The chat features lively discussions of prize plants as well as questions and answers for those learning the horticultural arts. They also have a couple of Challenges to encourage plant upkeep – just the thing if you are the type to forget to water your leafy friends!
These Guilds and many others are here to help you get outside and find fun things to do when you’re there! And if you’re looking for more advice on using Habitica to help you spend more time outside of your dwelling, be sure to read this month’s Use Case Spotlight, featuring tips and tricks from fellow Habiticans!
The “Behind The Scenes” series is a chance for us to give you a glimpse into the inner workings of HabitRPG, Inc., the company that makes Habitica. Every so often, we’ll treat you to some silly staff shenanigans or show you the work that goes into your favorite features. Enjoy!
Staff members came from far and wide. Vicky, Leslie, and Beth, the Californians of the group, rounded up our more far-flung colleagues: Matteo, from Italy; Phillip from Germany; Alys from Australia; Sabe from Wisconsin; and Keith from Texas!
In two cars (the “fun bagel car” and “the spaceship”) we all journeyed into the desert. We hoped to get some work done, but also to have a good time and bond as a team.
First, we made a stop for supplies. You can see that we kept our priorities very practical.
Phillip spent much of the retreat in a fearless quest to taste test every possible peanut butter and chocolate product available.Alas, the T-Rex cookie jar and the pizza slice pool float did not make the final cut.
Once at the house, we took some time to unpack the sensible items we had all brought for the trip.
The force is strong with Alys! She’s demoing a cool lightsaber her housemate made!Leslie and Beth took the time to personalize the shower curtain purchased for the ladies’ powder room in grand Habitican fashion.We perched on the house’s many couches and worked away for the majority of the super hot daytime hours. Imagine, if you will, the soothing sound of eight keyboards softly clicking.When discussing exciting new features, things occasionally moved to the carpet. In lieu of toy cars, remote controls served as placement markers!We had a meeting with several of our fabulous designers to discuss exciting new features coming to the site and apps! This meeting, however, came to a sudden stop……when the staff spied a road runner on the patio! However, we did not see a coyote in pursuit, nor we did experience the deployment of any Acme products.
Although we spent a lot of time focusing on work, we definitely took time to enjoy ourselves.
Keith proved himself a worthy Grill Master (as a Texan apparently this comes naturally!) and Vicky introduced us all to the exciting world of grilled fruit.We enjoyed the fresh desert air while having lunch al fresco!Some team members took a night hike in Joshua Tree National Park! We had a lot of fun exploring the desert with its eerie Joshua trees, beautiful plants, and rock formations.This wouldn’t be a proper gathering of Habitica staff members without some silliness. And animal hats are exactly the kind of silliness we appreciate. Beth, Leslie, and Vicky are getting in the mood for the Summer Splash Gala!Although arguably Matteo found the best hat. Flying Pig for the win!As the retreat drew to a close, we stopped for a peaceful picnic in a scenic canyon oasis.
All in all we had a wonderful time, filled with jokes, exotic chocolates, delicious food, desert scenery, and great company. You can check out our Tweets and Instagram posts from the retreat for more fun- search the hashtag HabiticaHouse!
