Executive dysfunction often hits me like a wall, large and looming and made of impenetrable bricks. When it happens, I struggle to start any task, no matter how simple or straightforward, and the more balls I drop the more my anxiety compounds until I find myself staring at a massive to-do list that feels impossible to break down into manageable chunks.

This semester, I’m writing my master’s thesis, and I’m anxious about how often executive dysfunction might hinder my progress. I’ve been vocal about my anxiety with my two partners, both of whom have ADHD and Understand The Struggle. One of them introduced me to Mooncube Games’s Spirit City Lofi Sessions a while ago, and since buying it in the Steam store in early January, it’s already made a huge difference in my work sessions.

Spirit City Lofi Sessions is a gamified productivity tool that provides a customizable pomodoro timer, to-do list, journal space, and habit tracker, as well as an adorable character and space to accessorize and decorate. You can choose music from a small selection of vibey, lyric-free playlists and layer those with sounds that include a cityscape, forest, and three colors of noise, among others. Some combinations will unlock new spirit companions, which range from a magical cat to a spider made of yarn.

You can have up to three character and room presets at a time in Spirit City Lofi Sessions, which makes it easy to switch up the vibe with a few clicks. I designed a character who’s got pink skin and horns, white hair they put in space buns, and big, starry blue eyes. She’s not fat (unfortunately), but she’s at least soft, and her aesthetic is a little witchy and very much centered around books and plants.

You earn experience points by checking things off of your to-do list, completing timers, and unlocking new spirits (like the cat and wolf seen in the screenshots above). Experience points grant currency that can be spent on new clothes and room decor, allowing you to switch things up as often as you see fit in any of your presets. Productivity tools with good vibes and beautiful art will always give my brain more dopamine than plain ones, and thus I nearly always find them more helpful.

My favorite part is that you can have your avatar perform different tasks in different locations in their room, like reading in bed, typing on their laptop in the bay window, or sipping a mug of hot chocolate by the fireplace. Spirit companions have specific actions associated with each of these tasks and locations, as well, and it’s very sweet to see how the world comes together.

With few exceptions, I open Spirit City Lofi Sessions every time I log onto my PC. I keep it open in a small window in the corner of my second monitor and utilize the timer and to-do list functions to maintain a good pace as I navigate freelance work, my thesis, and household responsibilities and communications. The habit tracker is nice, too, though it mostly gives me the satisfaction of checking off another box (and I already have a habit tracker in my Passion Planner).

Sometimes, I can abandon the timer after a few rounds and coast through to the end of my to-do list with ease. I struggle the most with starting, rather than maintaining momentum, and timers don’t usually help with the latter. However, if I am struggling to keep momentum, having up a Spirit City Lofi Sessions window tricks my brain into thinking that I’m body doubling, which does help me keep going. It’s a really, really helpful app and I love that it’s so cute and customizable on top of being legitimately useful as a productivity management tool.

I didn’t immediately jump onboard when my partner showed me this game, but since downloading it, I totally understand why they love it so much. I’ve recommended it to friends and I even posted about it on social media before writing this blog post, in which I’m giving it a solid A+.

Spirit City Lofi Sessions is available for PC via Steam.

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