Create artificial restrictions.

One year I decided I would only read ‘classics’ (pre-1950), one year I only read sci-fi, one year I only read Shakespeare’s plays, in chronological order as written.

In all of those years I read more than I did normally, with the added bonus that it pushed me to read things I might not have otherwise picked up.

For video games, something I’ve enjoyed in the past is a gaming alphabet: for a year, you keep a list of all 26 letters A-Z. Every time you start a game, it should be something you: A.) haven’t played before, and B.) the title should start with a letter you haven’t used yet.

It encourages you to scroll through your backlog and pick something different because it’s a letter you need. Plus, over the year you’ll build a list of all the games you played (you can add short reviews too!) which can be a fun look back later on.