This is the tricky stage of recovery from illness: Those early jolts of energy tempting you to charge back into life, the return of the obligations you had to ignore because you felt too crummy to lift your head off the pillow. It’s hard not to get swept back up in the grind again. But I know if I do, I’ll overdo it and end up fighting this virus longer than I need to.

Author Jane McGonigal, in her book “SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully,” writes that gamification of real-world goals can help us tap into strengths like creativity, focused attention, determination and optimism.