I think you’re a great speaker. I was inspired in many ways by this video and your approach to different things in life as an experiment and a game.

This inspired me to make my own "quest" system to enhance my to-do list. The best idea I've had for it so far is to have a string of numbers 1-31 for every month and to track with symbols of different lengths if I've done things that need to be done in intervals- for example, I think that I should be showering every-other day, so my symbol for showering is as wide as two days. I want to start flossing every 3 days (baby steps) so that one's three days wide. Ideally this will lead to obvious gaps in the satisfying pattern when I slack off.

I adore your videos

A friend sent me this because this is exactly the type of thing I would make and he was right. Super wholesome video! Love the camera quality and editing too

From what you said about decisions and how you focus on the options I think you should read Rittel's Paradox of Rationality from his text On the Planning Crisis, where he describes the idea of Wicked Problems, foundational to the fields of design, systems theory and planning. A short summary, by me: Rationality defined as thinking before you act, evaluating every possible action and consequence. To simplify, the four paradoxes go like this; 1. You can never begin to be rational, because the act of analyzing actions is an action with cost and benefit itself, and should therefore be analyzed as an option as well before you act or analyze the actions. This is a recursive loop. 2. If you hva begun to be rational you can never stop, because you must evaluate every possible consequence, and for every consequence there are consequences and so on. It's a fractal. 3. The further you get in the future the less important your first actions become, because more variables are at play and causality gets muddy. Which action you should take to begin with becomes less conseqential and the exercise of analysis becomes wasteful. 4. Creating a model for understanding analysis and evaluation of actions and consequences is impossible, because it would have to contain itself. It would influences how we analyze and evaluate and would therefore need to be included in the model, wich is impossible. Conclusion: You can never actually be rational in this way, yet you must act. Therefore you should not waste time on complete analysis and evaluation of every possibility. Take action in what appears to be the most desirable direction and deal with the consequences as they come. You can't make a perfect plan. It's pointless, but when you know that you can allocate your resources more effectively.

Thanks for the term "non-goals". I'll bookmark it in my brain and use it when I want to define future projects. I can then ask myself not just "am I moving towards my goals, or how can I move towards them?" but also "am I moving towards any of my non-goals and how can I divert from them?".

Kinda wanna try a version of this

Man, the youtube algorithm blessed me today. This is a very, very interesting way of going about things, and it really clicked! I will take the advice given here and start implementing it myself, even if I don't go all-out on the game aspect. I have small children, odds are high it'd get trashed.

This was really cool! i also used to be into productivity youtube, so hearing your approach is really interesting. The stuff about intrinsic motivation and rewards reminds of a video essay about grading i watched a while back, I'm looking forward to what you make next

amazing video, love your process, my system is more fluid at the moment but this level of designing your extended body of mind is phenomenal (would recommended looking up 'body without organs' and 'extended mind theory' for some thinking that spurred me), my system is basically everything orientated around index cards i always have on me and four sections on my walls for things that are "on mind" "at hand" "in flow" "to grow" that i transition things between and move them around, then a tag system that carries between the physical and digital notes in obsidian i have, so i have a bunch of prefixes and then a hexadecimal number (like #dev001) that anytime i extend a physical note in the digital i can easily find where i typed it, and even though i still do go through and organise my digital space in all kinds of ways it means that i can sort of organise anything that i put into obsidian by moving physical cards and note pages between wall sections/spread them out on desk and reorder them/use a physical filing system, i've been wanting to make a video on my system too, but am super inspired to just plant the seed and follow through on it after watching this. also i'm excited for your film you're an accomplished filmmaker already in my eyes, the editing and narrative flow and philosophy and anecdotes in this were a joy

Toxic productivity is a cultural pathology. Decolonize your mind. It's not reality that's broken, it's capitalism.

I’m a lifelong gamer, but around a year or so ago, I started seeing my life as a play through of one of my earliest games, RuneScape. Every time I’m practicing my hobbies or honing skills, I just tell myself I’m grinding to get to that IRL skill to level 99. It’s definitely encouraged me to at least try and do a small amount of practice/learning/productiveness every day, and every time I master a technique, I just think of it as a level up.

Please please make a video going on depth about the deck of cards, I couldn't totally grasp it and it would be nice if you showed us your strategies. Thanks for this video, as always.

Great video man

The pressure from your friends and family to quit playing Dota makes me sad. Whilst they may have had some point, they’re treating you like a drug addict. Ripping something somebody loves out of their hands because you assume it isn’t good for them (or you’re ashamed to be associated with it) is not a decision that should be taken lightly. You’re clearly a thoughtful and creative person who loves videogames, perhaps you should just build videogames without this strange layer of abstraction that requires to you apply the thing you love to aspects of your life that your friends and family find palatable.

This is such a wholesome idea, hope this gamifying life thing goes well for you. Keep on keeping on brother.

OH hold up. I'm very much interested in this extending Walter Benjamin project you're talking about. I too have a very odd fixation with him.

I've posted some of the notes I used to create this game, video, and my analysis of my favorite games here as a public post that anyone can view: www.patreon.com/posts/106895530 - I was going to just leave this as a comment but I wanted to give a longer [and more transparent] insight to what my notes might look like for a video before I start making it. (There's also kind of a dumb easter egg in this video too, and whoever finds it first will get something equally ridiculous.) Inspiration that also didn't make it into the video includes the Oblique Strategies deck created by Brian Eno + Peter Schmidt, Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal, and 'Punished by Rewards' by Alfie Kohn.

Awesome video! Thank you for sharing this. Life and fulfillment is the most complicated game humanity has. This had me thinking about the game series Civilization and it's upside down pyramid of decision which allows for meaningful choices that start off simple but grow up into many branches of choice. It seems like a similar idea to the strategy deck system where you start off with a project that has a (kind of) blank slate and implement daily pushes toward a goal using those strategies that will end up interacting with each other, over time accumulating into the complex work itself. Have only watched through once though so I could be misinterpreting. Any who, have a good day and keep making stuff! 😃

Dear Chris It is on rare occasion that I will comment on a video, maybe because lately I feel like youtube is as much as entertaining, and endless loop for those who have a watching problem or adhd (or both). I often watch and feel like I lost time trying to find an answer. But not this. I'd never imagine how much watching this video would impact me. It felt like I was watching a different (not too different) version of myself. I am too someone that has ADHD, lost their dad and is an aspiring writer . The loss of time in the world of ideas and in the past itself is something that haunts me. Those are the things that make you feel like there's nothing you can do about them, or so I thought. This video made me realize that creating, in anyway, is NEVER unimportant, and that our lived experiences are like the grains of sands in a desert, the desert would be nothing without them. And what's the coolest part about this whole thing, is that you made it easily applicable to us all. Writing is the gateway to the eternal life, memory lives on.Thank you so much for putting your soul out there for anyone to see. Your kids and all of those who you love will never forget you.

Shocked that this channel has such a low sub count. You’ve created a great, refreshing, and sincere video. Thank you for sharing.

just posted the guide here: www.patreon.com/christopherbudnick (it should be free for anyone to check out) - i received a lot of emails/dms/comments/carrier pigeons and all of the tvs in good shape have been allocated/shipped. i should still have a few more arriving in the next week and will contact people once i make sure they're working. if you need any help getting this set up for yourself or if there's anything missing in the guide, lmk ❤

would love a weird tv ngl, I've been meaning to get more into diy stuff

I love this! I've been thinking about how I can implement axiom 5 from your writing zine video and this seems like a fun experiment. If you still have any radios left I'd be stoked to get one

Yeah, I also want a weird TV, this is such an interesting idea! Love how creative your ideas are!

Stumbled across your channel yesterday really cool stuff and the silly tv is awesome

i hear that neutral milk hotel in the background :p

I’ve been absolutely infatuated with transferring modern signals to old CRT devices lately, anything I can find on craigslist or at thrift stores, and I’d never seen anything like this before! If there’s any chance you still have one left, I’d be delighted to get my hands on one. Otherwise I’m going to go about tracking one down for myself, great video and thank you for introducing us to niche concepts like this!

I live in Mexico so it may delay, complicate, or break the deal. But if I were to get it, I would use it as an excuse to also make a video similar to yours but in Spanish so that maybe our passion will reach more people across the language barrier. It'd be a great proyect for my best friend and I too! We are just looking for an excuse to make a YT channel together and this would be a great motivation to make a great video, like yours. Regardless of the outcome, I thank you, because you have awaken a passion long forgotten in my mind. PD: im also a HUGE blade runner fan!

This is a really neat concept, I'd love to get my hands on one!

this is cool

Super cool idea! I'd love a TV, so I can try this!

i would love one! i love making stuff like this and i love your idea!

Oh please I’d love a weird TV Radio. Love old tech. Especially Panasonic radios.

this looks actually awesome! i love seeing wacky inventions like this!

This is something I would really like to try. I just cant find a balance when it comes to sleep in my life. Always feel sleepy, always caught snoozing. I dont know how I came across this video but it might be a sign. Great video man!

i would love a weird tv to try this out!

hey Chris! fantastic video, absolutely loving the aesthetic of your videos. subscribed a few days ago, after watching your zine video. the part about trying to personalise small aspects of your life really struck the... past kid in me, i recalled trying to make my own everything, most notably a notebook/planner (with some inspo from hipster PDAs i had read about at the time). would absolutely love one of the televi...radio...thingies? if you still have one. (btw we have the same raspberry pi haha)

this perfectly scratches a new itch i have for incorporating old tech into my life. i'd definitely love one if they're still available!!

Hey Christopher, im really fond of your idea I might just change it up a bit. If you still have any left I’d happily try to implement this in my wake up routine. Also I think it’s really thoughtful and kind of you to just give them away like that. Keep it up!

This is such a creative project would absolutely love one of these if still have some

Hello I think I'd really like a weird TV as well. Would love to try this!

i would like to try one, send me one ☕

I would really love one!

hey this is so cool! would love one of these crazy little machines!

I want a weird TV!

hi, i was sick for 4-5 days unable to do anything at all, so i just watched youtube and rest rest rest youtube has suggested me so many MANY bad videos, pranks, reactons, ect, but i wad so sick to think so i just spent my tine watching garbage and i felt dumber and dumber watching them, but suddenly, my sick brain tricked algorithms to show me videos like this, the good side of KZbin that i kind of lost for some time and im so glad that i found it again, the KZbin side where passionate people talk or give tips on things they are passianate about and wow, you are the best example so far, keep it this way to resembe this good KZbin side, because you do it just perfectly :3

I don't think I know what to do with this video yet but obviously I need to do something with it. Thank you for this

Hi Chris! I would love to trade zines! I’m just not sure where to find your email, i can’t seem to find it in your profile

Kudos for the work you put into this. deserved a follow