So my in-laws were over the other day. They are great, nice people and it is enjoyable to visit with them. I am very lucky in this regard.
One tiny little detail is that my mother-in-law has a game on her iPad she loves to play. All of the time. We are talking just about every moment she is awake. The game is Hay Day and it is essentially a game of you building a farm. You start with a few animals and some land and grow from there. Add barns, plants, dogs, other animals and grow your farm.
The way she is sucked into this game is genius. The designers made everything happen a few minutes apart. You plant some corn, you can reap in an hour and 22 minutes. You feed your goats, they’ll be hungry again in 3 hours and 10 minutes. You make some jelly, that will take 2 hours and 12 minutes. All of this happens in a simple cause and effect relationship based on time. So as you play the game for the better part of an hour you are minutes away from needing to do something else. Which makes you play just a little longer. And the cycle is created.
The beauty of this system is that is parallels many businesses. How often do you have a plan for what needs to be done only to have small fires come in that you need to put out. And these fires happen all day. At the end of the day, what did you do? You survived. Sure, maybe your business grew a bit. But for 90 hours of work you grew 0.0001%. Maybe.
So as I watched my mother-in-law plant seeds, feed animals, build silos and sell her items I could not help but think that there must be a better way. In the case of the game you either find a different game or you get deeper into the addiction to it. I suppose Hay Day coaching is available.
That is where a great design turns monumentally powerful. As your farm grows and you advance in levels your farm gains the opportunity to have things. Things like apple trees, other animals and even, eventually, a town of your own. So you get to run a farm and a town and everything going on in each takes a little different time to happen.
The game consumes you just like many small businesses. Has your business come to the point of being so all encompassing of your life that you may be missing out on living?
It may not be as easy as simply shutting off your tablet. You may need some outside help to make sure your life is able to be enjoyed beyond your business.
It blew my mind to see that someone would take the time to play a game like that knowing that it can engross you. I suppose that is what others who watch entrepreneurs start up businesses wonder as well.
James is a Business Coach and Mentor for Draw In Customers. He has no addictions to video games because he never beat Mario Brothers. If you would like to achieve your goals without being totally encompassed by your goal, James is available to help. Simply email him at james@drawincustomers.com.
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