Self-mastery through the lens of a game. Framework, app, and AI guide.
v1.0 — March 2026You can't change reality, but you can change how you relate to it. TUG is a chosen lens: life as a playable game with clear rules and progression.
Life is an infinite game. The goal: keep playing well. Inside it, create quests with clear win conditions.
Players make decisions and stay engaged. NPCs run on autopilot. Not types of people, but modes everyone switches between.
| Responsibility | Picking up the controller — you can't play if you won't hold it |
| Attention | The joystick — steers where your character goes |
| Action | The buttons — determines what your character does |
Identity Formula: Action + Time = Identity.
Habits, routines, foundation. Raises your floor.
Learning, practice, growth. Raises your ceiling.
Work, business, value creation. Builds wealth.
Sleep, exercise, recovery. Refills your fuel.
People, relationships. Builds your team.
Unintentional time. The only NPC category.
Every life decision is a conversion between these. Work = Time + Energy → Gold. Learning = Time + Attention → Skill.
| Resource | Game Name | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Action Points | 24/day, non-renewable, forced progression |
| Energy | Mana | Mental, Physical, Emotional — renewable but limited |
| Attention | Targeting | The quality multiplier on everything |
| Value | Gold | Generated through effective action, not given |
| Reputation | Allies | Networks multiply everything. Built slowly. |
Character stats emerge from AP spending, not self-assessment.
Skill Mastery
Self-Direction
Relationships
Meaning & Direction
Mental Strength
Learning & Adaptation
Home base. Progress ring, block list, 5 stats (1-100), weekly AP breakdown, top skills, active campaigns, mana levels. Avatar Status: water intake, calories, workout count, energy. Real-time updates.
Week and Month views. Blocks with AP category, priority, tasks, mana cost, recurrence. Right-click for edit/delete/duplicate. Reminder bells. Weekly Checklist: Overdue, Scheduled, Anytime. Drag tasks onto days to schedule.
Specialized forms by type: Sleep, Workout (sets/reps/weight), Meal (food/calories), Routine (checklists), Gold (revenue), Clan (connections). Task checklists, photo upload, skill tagging, reminders, auto-save.
RPG character sheet. AI portrait and bio. 5 behavior-calculated stats: Vitality, Charisma, Wisdom, Intellect, Adaptability. Origin Story (50 questions) feeds AI coaching. Body data: weight, calories, water, workouts.
Campaign > Milestone > Quest > Task. New campaign flow: Difficulty Picker (Easy 1mo / Mid 2mo / Hard 3mo / Hardcore 6mo) then goal description. AI generates full campaign immediately with the selected difficulty. Milestone Board: Guidelines, To-Gets (resources), Actionables (tasks). MilestoneTimeline: dotted line with START/GOAL markers. Flex tasks appear in weekly checklist. AI hero images on cards. Pinned milestone in sidebar.
Skills level 0-1000 (10k-hour model). AI learning paths. Skill Intelligence detects emerging skills. Status: Active, Maintenance, Needs Work, Passive, New. Types: Hard, Soft, Meta.
Body command center. 4 tabs: Today, Recipes, Workouts, Plan. Top metrics: weight/trend, body fat, BMI, energy, soreness, mood. Quick-log water/meals/workouts/substances. Saved recipes for one-tap logging. Progress bars for daily targets. Recipes/Workouts tabs for saved templates. Plan tab: AI fitness planner builds campaigns with workouts, meals, recovery.
Plaid bank connection. Transaction history with filtering. Budget categories with progress bars. Recurring payment detection. Income vs spending charts.
Memory bank with importance scoring and tags. In-app chat, Telegram (text/photos/voice). Full Avatar access: logs water/meals/workouts, coaches on nutrition/sleep/energy. Creates workout plans, meal plans, and schedules them to calendar.
Badges from quests, streaks, skill milestones, AI awards. Grid display with locked previews. Confetti celebration on unlock.
Global search across time blocks, quests, campaigns, daily logs, and AI memories. Reachable from the sidebar Search nav item or /search. Ranked full text results link straight back to Calendar, Quests, or Player views.
Account, themes, calendar preferences. Calendar Schedules auto-generate blocks for 90 days. Sleep blocks auto-complete. AI heartbeat interval, tone, memory management. Data & Privacy section includes Export my data, a one-click download of a ZIP with your profile, blocks, quests, campaigns, skills, logs, memories, conversations, badges, and transactions.
Every task in a campaign has an action size that tells you how much focused time it needs. This helps you pick the right task for the time you have available.
| Size | Time | When to Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| MICRO | 5-15 min | Quick wins, small gaps between tasks, low energy moments | Send an email, bookmark a resource, make a phone call, write a 1-line note |
| STD | 30-60 min | Normal working sessions, moderate focus required | Research a topic, draft a document, practice a skill, attend a meeting |
| DEEP | 1-3 hours | Protected focus blocks, complex creative or analytical work | Build a feature, write a chapter, learn a complex concept, strategic planning |
The AI assigns action sizes when building your campaign based on task complexity. Use them to match tasks to your available time and energy. Got 10 minutes before a meeting? Grab a Micro. Got a clear morning? Stack some Deep Work.
Each task in the Actionables and To-Get columns has a step type that describes what kind of action it is.
| Type | What It Means | Where It Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Task | A concrete action to complete. Something you do once and check off. | Actionables column |
| Acquire | Something you need to get before you can execute. A tool, resource, subscription, or piece of equipment. | To-Get column + weekly checklist |
| Skill | Deliberate practice or learning. Contributes to your skill level tracking. | Actionables column |
Tasks marked as flex can be done any day this week. They appear in the "Anytime This Week" section of the calendar sidebar. Drag them onto any day to schedule them, or drag scheduled blocks back to the sidebar to unschedule them.
Pin a campaign from the sidebar to keep it visible across all pages. The pinned card appears in the main navigation bar with 3 tabs: To Get (resources needed), Next Steps (upcoming actions), and Guidelines (rules and principles). Click the pin icon on any campaign to pin or unpin it.
Tool-use agent loop with 8 sub-agents. Up to 10 tool calls per message.
| Context | Model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Chat + Telegram | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Full reasoning + tools |
| Heartbeat coaching | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Quick, low cost |
| Origin Story bio | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Creative quality |
| Voice transcription | Whisper (local) | Privacy, speed |
12 sub-dimensions tracked. Task recommendations adapt to energy state.
| Below 25 | Recovery Mode | Rest, reflect, light admin |
| 25-45 | Light Output | Shallow learning, email, planning |
| 45-70 | Standard | Focus work, meetings, practice |
| Above 70 | Deep Work | Creative, strategic, complex |
