Do this to boost the joy in your evenings

🎉 Tip: Make an activity slot machine (it’s simpler than it sounds)

Our brains love randomness. It’s why Las Vegas casinos are expecting big re-openings and why we scroll through a million boring pics on Instagram for the chance of stumbling upon something magical (like this impression of the iceberg showing his friends Titanic for the first time). On Medium, Eve Bigaj shares a way to use this psychological phenomenon to infuse some joy into your evenings: Create your own activity slot machine.

How it works: Write various activities on strips of paper—include chores, simple pleasures like reading a book or calling a friend, and dopamine hits like ice cream. Then mix them up in a box, draw one activity, and do it. For Bigaj, the little game helped her break out of a rut: “Even though I didn’t actually want to do most of the individual tasks, somehow I thrilled at the prospect of randomly drawing from among them.” Chores no longer have to be just chores, but tiny adventures.

🌟 More from Forge on rewarding yourself:

Don’t Save Your Fun for the End of the Day
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What Even Is ‘Fun’ Anyway?
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The Swedish Idea of “Little Saturday” Will Get You Through the Workweek
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