When I'm reading, I always stumble upon some little trick here or there that I want to try out someday. But often, after a short time, I forget the little trick and have never even tried it.

Today, I had an idea for a simple app to remind me to do stuff, but not in a "to-do list" kind of way. What's wrong with "to do"? Basically, "try this trick out" on a to-do list is not necessarily a top priority and doesn't get done.

I would say I've stolen from a friend of mine, role-playing games, and the game "Anno 1404," and I really like the idea. The app is pretty simple. It turns your "someday" list into a game. Every now and then, it will ask you if you want to accomplish a quest in a specific timeframe. Example:

I need your help in this matter.
[Some funny matter]
You need to:
- Turn of IM for a whole day. 

Can you solve this Quest for me?

Reward: 65 Experience Points.

If you accept, you have a quest to solve within x days.

I can imagine that this way of solving quests would actually make me do some of the things I want to try out and make a habit. There are several points as to why I think this could work.

For one, I once read that people are more likely to do a favor for someone when they get a reason (and it doesn't have to be a good reason). It might even work from an imaginary computer questmaster.

Because it's a game, it might have enough excitement that your subconscious remembers to act on the quest in the right moment. I often find myself going to bed thinking "OK, today I had a great oppurtunity to drink two liters of water, but I didn't."

After all it's not a "to-do." It's nothing I have to do. So if I have a busy schedule, no problem. If I can't do it, my biggest penalty is that I might not get my experience points. Still, I can imagine that my 65 experience points and a "good job!" is enough motivation to do it anyway.

There is more to it, but I'll keep it short. I think this could really work. I will dig deeper into this concept.