You’ve tried the colour-coded planners, the ultra-minimalist to-do list apps, and maybe even the ‘eat the frog’ method. You’ve set resolutions, downloaded habit trackers, and promised yourself this will be the semester you finally stop procrastinating. So why do you still feel like you’re stuck on the tutorial level of your own life, battling the same recurring bosses without achieving your goals?
Like you, I’ve tried many of the existing productivity tools and techniques out there, but none of them fit my style perfectly. So, I haven’t stuck with any particular tool and have always sought to create my own path.
Here’s a secret: the problem may be the one-size-fits-all approach to productivity. You are unique, with your own passions, goals, and quirks. Why would a generic system be sufficient to unlock your personal potential?
What if the answer was hidden in the principles of gameful design? What if understanding your preferences for how tasks are made engaging—what we call gamification—could help you build a real-life system to crush your goals? By figuring out what truly motivates you, you can stop forcing yourself into a system that feels like a chore and start designing one that feels like a grand adventure.
In this guide, we’ll help you discover your unique ‘player type’ when it comes to motivation. Get ready to turn your to-do list into a quest log you’re actually excited to clear!
The Big Reveal: What are the Gamification Hexad User Types?
In the world of gamification, we have figured out that people are motivated by different things. The Gamification User Types Hexad is a model that identifies six core user types based on what drives them. Think of them like character classes in an RPG: each has unique strengths, motivations, and a preferred way of playing the game of life.
Knowing your type is like being handed a personalized strategy guide for your own brain. It helps you understand why you get excited about certain tasks and why others feel like an impossible grind.
Here are the six types:
- The Philanthropist (The Helper): You are driven by a sense of purpose and the desire to make a difference in the lives of others.
- The Socializer (The Connector): You thrive on interaction, connection, and a sense of belonging.
- The Free Spirit (The Explorer): You are motivated by autonomy, creativity, and the freedom to express yourself.
- The Achiever (The Go-Getter): You are driven by challenge, overcoming obstacles, and achieving mastery.
- The Player (The Winner): You are motivated by tangible rewards, competition, and seeing your name at the top of the leaderboard.
- The Disruptor (The Game-Changer): You are powered by a desire to challenge the status quo, spark change, and see what happens.
Ready to find out your primary and secondary types? You can take the official test right now!
Got your results? Awesome! Now let’s put them into action.
“Choose Your Character”: Designing Your Personal Productivity Game
This is where the real fun begins. Let’s explore how you can use your unique profile to build a productivity system that works with your natural motivations, not against them.
The Achiever’s Gauntlet
Your Core Drive: To conquer challenges, master skills, and feel that incredible rush of accomplishment. For you, the journey of overcoming obstacles is its own reward.
For the student feeling overwhelmed by a massive workload or the professional staring down a huge project, the Achiever mindset is a superpower.
- Become the Boss of “Boss Battles”: Don’t just “write a thesis” or “launch a project.” Frame it as a “Boss Battle”! Break that intimidating goal into smaller “levels” or “mini-bosses.” Each chapter you draft or milestone you hit is a victory that gets you closer to the final showdown. This turns a source of anxiety into an engaging, structured challenge.
- Build Your Personal Skill Tree: Your goal isn’t just to get good grades or a promotion; it’s to level up your abilities. Create a “Skill Tree” for your personal and professional development. Want to get better at public speaking? Your skill tree might include quests like ‘Research 3 TED Talks,’ ‘Practice in the Mirror,’ and ‘Volunteer to Present at a Team Meeting.’ Watching those skills grow provides the tangible sense of progress you crave.
- Embrace the Checklist Power-Up: Never underestimate the power of a checklist. Each ticked box provides a mini-hit of achievement that fuels your motivation. Use apps that give you a satisfying sound or visual cue when you complete a task. Think of it as collecting XP for every single thing you accomplish, no matter how small.
The Socializer’s Guild Hall
Your Core Drive: Connection, community, and collaboration. You draw energy from others and are at your best when you feel like part of a team on an epic quest.
For the student navigating new social circles or the professional feeling isolated while working from home, tapping into your Socializer side is key to staying engaged.
- Assemble Your “Accountability Alliance”: Don’t go it alone! Find a friend to be your “accountability ally” or form a “party” for mutual support. This could be a study group that meets weekly, a workout buddy, or a group of friends who share their weekly goals every Monday. Sharing your quests and celebrating each other’s wins makes the journey more fun and keeps you on track.
- Share Your Progress (and Your Wins!): Let your community be your audience. Share your journey on social media, in a group chat, or with a mentor. Declaring your goal—“I’m going to finish this coding bootcamp!”—creates a positive social contract. The encouragement you receive will feel like a powerful buff, and sharing your “Achievement Unlocked!” moments will motivate you and others.
- Join a Guild: Seek out communities of like-minded people. Join a club at your university, a professional network in your field, or an online community dedicated to a skill you’re learning. These “guilds” are your source for new quests (ideas), wise mentors, and collaborators for “co-op” missions.
The Free Spirit’s Sandbox
Your Core Drive: Autonomy, exploration, and creative freedom. You want to forge your own path, not follow a pre-written walkthrough. A rigid, restrictive system is your ultimate enemy.
For the recent grad feeling lost and trying to find their path, or the professional feeling creatively stifled, the Free Spirit approach is about making space for discovery.
- Design a “Quest Map,” Not a To-Do List: A linear to-do list can feel like a cage. Instead, create a “Quest Map” or a mind map. Put your main goal in the centre (e.g., “Find a Fulfilling Career Path”) and surround it with branching paths of possible quests, like ‘Explore Graphic Design,’ ‘Talk to 3 People in Marketing,’ or ‘Learn Basic HTML.’ This gives you structure without sacrificing the freedom to choose your own adventure.
- Embrace “Side Quests”: Not everything you do has to be tied to a main objective. Schedule time for “Side Quests for the Soul”: hobbies and passion projects that fuel your creativity and well-being. These activities aren’t distractions; they are the source of the creative energy you need to tackle your main quests with renewed vigour.
- Create Your Avatar: Use the concept of avatar creation to design your ideal self. Who do you want to be in a year? What skills, habits, and experiences does that version of you have? This isn’t about a rigid plan but about creating an inspiring vision that guides your exploration and choices.
The Philanthropist’s Noble Path
Your Core Drive: Purpose and meaning. You are most motivated when you know your actions are contributing to something bigger than yourself and helping others.
For anyone struggling with motivation, connecting your daily grind to a greater purpose can be a transformative shift.
- Define Your “Epic Meaning”: Take a moment to connect your daily tasks to a larger purpose. Why are you really studying for that exam? It’s not just for a grade; it’s to gain the knowledge to one day help people. Why are you completing that project at work? It’s to support your team and contribute to a shared goal. Write this “epic meaning” down and put it somewhere you can see it every day.
- Become a Mentor or “Guide”: One of the best ways to feel a sense of purpose is to help others. Offer to mentor a younger student, help a new colleague get settled, or share your knowledge in an online forum. Acting as a “guide” or a helpful “NPC” for someone else on their journey reinforces your own knowledge and provides a powerful dose of motivation.
- Track Your Impact: Keep a “Wins for a Cause” journal. At the end of each week, write down one way your work or studies had a positive impact, however small. Did you help a classmate understand a difficult concept? Did your project make a client happy? Recognizing this positive ripple effect will fuel your desire to keep going.
The Player’s Reward Room
Your Core Drive: Rewards, recognition, and winning. You are motivated by tangible outcomes and enjoy the thrill of a good-natured competition.
For those who struggle with procrastination, creating a system of rewards can provide the push needed to get started.
- Build Your Own Point System: Assign point values to your daily tasks. Simple tasks might be worth 10 points, while more difficult ones are worth 50. Then, create a “rewards store” where you can cash in your points. 200 points might unlock an episode of your favourite show, while 1,000 points could be a dinner out with friends. This turns your to-do list into a game of earning.
- Set Up Friendly Leaderboards: Leverage your competitive spirit. Create a leaderboard with friends or colleagues for a specific goal, like a step challenge, a race to finish a book, or a study-hour tracker. A little friendly competition can be a powerful motivator to push yourself just a little bit harder.
- Unlock Achievements and Badges: Celebrate your wins by creating a system of “achievements”. “First Draft Completed,” “Inbox Zero Hero,” “A+ on Midterm.” You can design digital badges for yourself or simply write them down. This act of formal recognition satisfies your need for reward and creates a visible history of your accomplishments.
The Disruptor’s Secret Lab
Your Core Drive: To challenge the system, find clever shortcuts, and innovate. You get a thrill from breaking the rules and finding a better, more interesting way to do things.
When you feel stuck in a rut or constrained by a “toxic” or inefficient environment, the Disruptor mindset is your key to breaking free.
- “Hack” Your Habits: Don’t just follow productivity advice; question it and try to break it. If the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes on, 5 minutes off) doesn’t work for you, try a “Reverse Pomodoro”: 5 minutes of focused work followed by a 25-minute creative break. Experiment constantly to find what really works for your unique brain.
- Embrace Anonymity and Surprise: You might be the type who works best when you can make a big reveal. Work on a project in “stealth mode” and then surprise your team or professor with a finished product. The thrill of the unexpected can be a huge motivator for you.
- Be a Catalyst for Change: Use your powers for good. If you see an inefficient system at school or work, don’t just complain; design a better one. Create a new template, suggest a new workflow, or build a tool that makes everyone’s life easier. The act of positively disrupting a flawed system is your ultimate reward.
The “Balanced Build”: You’re More Than Just One Type
As you read through the descriptions, you probably saw a bit of yourself in several types. That’s normal! Most people have a “balanced build,” with one or two dominant types and a few secondary ones.
The real magic happens when you start mixing and matching strategies. Are you an Achiever with a strong Socializer streak? Invite your study group to tackle a “Boss Battle” review session for your final exams. A Free Spirit who also loves rewards like a Player? Create a beautiful, open-ended “Quest Map” for your semester, but give yourself points you can cash in for every adventure you complete.
The goal is self-awareness, not self-limitation. Use your Hexad profile as a toolbox, not a label.
My Hexad Profile
How does my user type profile help me maximize my productivity? My main type is Philanthropist, followed by Achiever and Free Spirit as secondary types.
Based on my primary type, that’s why my main motivation to keep me productive is focusing on the meaning of everything I’m doing. That’s why my main goal at Gameful Bits is mentoring and helping people become the best version of themselves and achieve their biggest goals. Then, understanding my secondary types, I seek to organize and break down my tasks into more manageable goals, and explore multiple options and paths to make my own way to my success.
This is the combination that works for me (and probably for anyone who has a Philanthropist-Achiever-Free Spirit profile), but each person should find what works best for them based on their individuality.
Press Start on Your New Adventure
For years, you may have been trying to force yourself to play a game that wasn’t designed for you. Now, you have the strategy guide. You understand that achieving a healthy work-life balance and conquering your goals isn’t about finding a magic app; it’s about building a personal system that is effective because it’s fun, engaging, and tailored to your unique motivational DNA.
Remember: your life is the most epic, open-world game you’ll ever get to play. Now you have the insights to design it your way. It’s time to stop grinding and start playing.
What are your Hexad types? Share your results and your favourite new productivity ‘quest’ in the comments below! We’d love to see the amazing systems you create.
