Back in February, my good friend Matt  wrote about a new motivational tool on Hungry Gamer that I expected would change my life. He talked about gamification — layering game-like reward systems onto real-world situations (think credit card bonus points) — and explained how he’d created a system called One Task, One Stone.

The idea is simple. It requires a marker, a mason jar, and a few bags of glass stones. For each task completed, you place a stone in the jar. The genius twist here is, Matt drew lines on the side of the jar to give it levels. As he filled the jar with more stones, he “leveled up” at regular intervals. This captures beautifully the pre-existing relationship we have with games and uses the power of games to enhance our real-life productivity.

Image via Hungry Gamer

Our generation is the first to have really grown up with gaming. I endured threats from my father all throughout my young life that too much Game Boy and Super NES would most certainly give me tendonitis and cost me the use of my thumbs. Nowadays I dabble with the Wii and PS3 on occasion, but spend most of my gaming time playing World of Warcraft with friends online.

Sometimes it feels weird to be surrounded by adults who still spend a significant portion of their time gaming, but games are here to stay. Take One Task, One Stone as an example. The concept of a leveling system, where your character receives experience points (or XP) for completing objectives and levels up at predetermined experience point goals, already makes sense to me. I’ve read several books on productivity, organization, motivation, and/or time management. Despite their differing approaches, they all had one thing in common: I was learning new systems for structuring my life. I was internalizing new ideas and layering them on top of my current beliefs and habits.

The concept of progressing toward a goal by leveling up — and of receiving XP for successfully turning in a completed objective — was already in my head. I suspected that putting stones in a jar to gain levels would make me feel more pride and motivation around my real-life tasks, just like gaining levels in a game like World of Warcraft motivated me to keep playing. So when I found myself forgetting to check off objectives on my goal sheet every week — or just plain not completing any objectives to check off — I revisited Matt’s idea.

The initial investment was very low: I repurposed a spaghetti sauce jar and used a marker I already had to make my container, then bought four or five bags of stones on sale for $0.89 each at Michael’s.

Instead of using my to-do list as a guide, I took a look at my weekly goal sheet. I decided to award one stone for each item I checked off, plus a two-stone bonus for completing a weekly objective. For example, I fell off the wagon with my writing practice, so I set a goal to write 3-4 days per week. I’d get a stone for every day I wrote, plus two bonus stones on the third day because I’d met my goal. To keep things in balance, I also decided not to award stones past the maximum number I’d written down, so I’d get a stone for the fourth writing day but not the fifth. I could always up my goal for the next round if I felt I wanted to spend more time on it long-term, but I wanted to make sure I was encouraging myself to hit on those easily-forgotten tasks, like cleaning out my email inbox.

Of course, I needed a reward for reaching level 12 at the top of my jar. Something I’d wanted for a long time. Something that would feel like a real victory and remind me on a daily basis what great things I was capable of.

That something, it turns out, is a new couch for my living room. Sure, we’re getting some new furniture when we finish the basement. Sure, we’re spending a lot of money on the house. Sure, for some reason my husband still loves our couch even though it only seats two people and the arm feels like you’re leaning against a two-by-four. For all these reasons (and probably more), a new couch hasn’t really been in the cards for me.

Until now. Each new level on my jar brings me one level closer to that 12 at the top and one level closer to my dream couch. Silly though it may sound, having a nice couch is important to me, especially in the winter. The right couch can make a home seem so inviting, so cozy and warm and safe. When I curl up to watch a movie or read a book or talk to a good friend over a glass of wine, I want to be reminded of how I earned something I’d wanted for a very long time, and how good that felt.

I’ve been doing One Task, One Stone for two weeks now, and I’ve noticed a dramatic change already. During the previous week I had only met two of my weekly goals. I immediately jumped to three goals met the next week, and this week I expect to have met at least five. When I reach a stopping point on one task or activity, instead of wasting time on Facebook or gravitating to the path of least resistance (ironically, often playing more video games) I take a look at my weekly goal sheet. I think about what I could do right then to help make sure I not only get more stones for that day, but meet a weekly goal to get my two-stone bonus.

Right now, I am at level 4 and I feel much more satisfied with how I’m spending my time and energy. I’m also keeping my eye on the prize and giving careful thought to my goals when I set them. Setting reasonable and meaningful goals no longer feels arbitrary. It helps ensure my success at obtaining my reward as soon as possible.

For now, this is what success looks like.

If you’re interested in trying this out, I highly recommend you read Matt’s original post with a more detailed explanation of the concept. He invites you to tweak it and expand on it as you wish, and so do I. Share your results. Keep working toward that prize. And don’t forget to put recharging time on your to-do list