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Pokémon Legends: Arceus Helps Me Manage My Productivity Obsession
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Swapna Krishna

Culture
Jun 15, 2022 9:00 AM


POKÉMON LEGENDS: ARCEUS HELPS ME MANAGE MY PRODUCTIVITY OBSESSION

Look, I can’t help how my brain is wired, but I can trick it into relaxing.
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Now is not the time to be talking about a quest to be more productive—yet here
we are. Amidst high levels of stress, deteriorating work-life boundaries, and a
terrible news cycle, listening to that inner monologue about what you could or
should be doing at any moment is hard on one's mental health. But still, I want
to talk about it, because I am bad at relaxing. And there might be a way to
alleviate productivity's pull: Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

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I’m a firm believer that I can’t help how I feel about things. (I’m embarrassed
by my addiction to Merge Mansion, even though I know I shouldn't feel that way.)
My obsession with productivity, with life hacks, with getting more done than I
possibly physically can in any moment, is a byproduct of how my brain works, how
I was raised, and a whole lot of societal factors that would require an entirely
different story to unpack. It’s a toxic cocktail, but one that I’ve accepted I
have no power over. My brain wants to be productive all the time. The trick is
not giving in. I benefit from downtime, and I need to stick with it, even when
it doesn’t feel good—the long-term benefits are too necessary.

That’s where certain types of video games come in. Games are ideal for
decompressing because they keep my hands busy while forcing my brain to check
out from the digital, always-on, always-connected world. Collection-style
titles, specifically, scratch the get-things-done itch, tricking my
productivity-focused mind into thinking I’m accomplishing something even though
it’s just for fun.



Pokémon Legends: Arceus is perfect for this. I’ve been tempted by many a Pokémon
game before, but this is the first one I’ve actually purchased and played. A lot
of people I trust told me it was ideal for people new to the franchise, and they
were right. I love structured or quest-based open-world games because they give
players the freedom to do what they want without being overwhelming (too many
options is also not a good thing for my brain). Arceus isn’t truly open-world,
but it comes close.

The story is as follows: You, as the main character, fall into a mysterious
world through a portal with no memory of who you are. What you do have, though,
is an affinity for catching Pokémon, the mysterious creatures that inhabit this
world. You are recruited to become a Surveyor, tasked with cataloging the
creatures within your Pokedex. There are missions, and a story, as well as the
mystery of your own origins, but you’re very much in control of what you explore
and make progress on. You don’t really have to focus on the story unless you
feel like you’ve exhausted one area and want to unlock the next.

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This is where the productivity hack comes in: I have spent so much time just
filling in the Pokedex instead of actually progressing in the game. For each
type of Pokémon there are different things for you to do: collect a certain
number of them with stealth or defeat them with a certain element-based move,
for example. As you make your way through the Pokedex, it really feels like
checking things off a to-do list. And if you’re a person who writes things down
after you’ve done them, just to be able to check them off (I see you!), then
you’ll understand this satisfaction.

When I’m having a-high anxiety day and recognize that I need serious relaxation,
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is where I turn. It makes relaxation seem productive, it
calms my mind even when I’m super stressed. It may seem strange to trick your
brain into thinking unwinding is work. But when you’re great at working hard and
terrible at blowing off steam, you do what you have to, whenever and wherever
you can.



And now I can finally check “decompress” off that never-ending to-do list.

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