Gamifying Work

Do you have an office job? Does it thrill you with excitement and joy every day? If not, then try gamifying it. Follow these steps.

• If you have a team, then regard them as meeples. You can allocate meeples to various tasks or locations, where they can do their thing. 
• If you don't treat your meeples well, their output for the week is reduced. Or they're eaten by a dragon.
• Assign each task Victory Points, awarded on completion. 
• Write up the rules of the game (e.g. you play for just 7 hours a day, Mon to Fri). 
• Decide how to win the game for the week. Perhaps 100 Victory Points will do it. 
• Decide how to lose the game. Perhaps losing all your meeples will do it. Or if you're cursed more than three times in a week. Or if you use up all your resources.

Turn your workplace into a game and you'll be super-keen for the weekends to end, just so you can start a new game on Monday.

Birthday Deception

If you're a fan of birthdays, then I have a sneaky trick you can play. Rather than celebrating once a year, announce to different circles of friends different birthdays. You can't fool your family, so they can celebrate on your actual birthday, but tell your work colleagues another date, your tennis friends another date, and your wine club comrades yet another date. Soon enough, you'll be celebrating your anniversary every month or two. It may go horribly wrong if your circles ever meet and uncover your deception, but it's worth the risk.

Top Ten Films of 2016

We're nearing the middle of the year, and although I've only seen 58 films so far, there have been enough decent ones to merit a top ten list.

10. Steve Jobs - scenes in the life

9. Trumbo - biopic of the blacklisted screenwriter

8. Eye in the Sky - morality play

7. Sisters - Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy

6. Spotlight - Boston child abuse investigation

5. Star Wars; The Force Awakens

4. The Witch - 17th century spookiness in New England

3. Carol - 1950s romance

2. The Finest Hours - sea rescue 

1. The Revenant - epic 19th century true story