The AWAAB productivity method
The first moments when you approach your work are critical. This is a technique I use to make sure I don’t slip out into distraction and procrastination.
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Meet Sam.
Sam is an ex-alcoholic—well sort-of. He’s managed to make it 3 days—72 hours and counting—without taking a sip. For someone with, say, a 10-year AA sobriety chip in their pocket, that may be pitiful, but for Sam, well, he can’t remember when he last strung together so many consecutive hours sober. So, it’s something. It’s progress.
For years, Sam’s been a bit of a deadbeat—he’d be the first to admit it—but today he’s claiming a second chance at a decent life. Sam has a new job to go to and he’s determined not to mess this one up.
As he fixes his hair in the mirror, he thinks to himself “can it still be called a second chance if this is like my 500th second chance?”. He shrugs off the self-doubt, flicks back a stray curl that just won’t stay in place and heads out the door.
15 minutes later he reaches the entrance to his new gig. He stops to get his bearings before walking in. Above, in an all-too familiar script, it reads: “The White Lion Pub”.
It’s his favorite bar. That’s right. Sam is an ex-alcoholic who wants to earn a living poring drinks for other people.
Crazy right?
Of course Sam knows it’s beyond ill advised. He knows, as a bartender, he’ll be around expensive bottles in the storeroom with no one looking. He knows he’ll encounter suppliers bringing in samples and tipsy patrons insisting on sharing a celebratory shot. He knows that, after a long hard shift, it’ll be beyond tough to ignore the siren call of a cold. refreshing. pint.
Still.
Sam brushes aside all those concerns, takes a deep breath, and with a fiery resolve to make it work, he walks into the bar.
Is Sam successful?
Does Sam manage to make it through his first shift, then the next, then a succession of others, all without breaking his oath to stay sober?
I made up this story, so I get to decide.
Hmm...
First thing I have to do is answer the basic question: is it possible for Sam to be successful?
The short answer is, yes. It’s of course unlikely, perhaps ridiculously so, but yes, it is technically possible to work at a bar and never drink any alcohol.
Off the bat he could—and he sure as heck should—tell everyone he works with that he is now sober and is not to be offered any alcohol, ever.
He could and again should devise a strategy, perhaps memorize a canned line, a routine, that serves to inform patrons that that he is staying dry, like, hey thanks but no thanks I'm staying dry.... more for you pal, *wink*.
Of course, that isn’t a foolproof strategy. And Sam has a track record of being a the biggest fool ever when it comes to drinking. So, what else is required for him to make it in his irrational role as a sober bartender?
In a word, Sam has to be friggen careful.
Sam has to be on guard at all times. He has to be deliberate with everything he does, from the first time he touches those beer delivering spouts, to when he closes up shop and he’s the last one there.
He has to be there, present to his urges and cravings; mindful of his emotions and the lingering psychological pains that drove him to drink in the first place.
He has to be relentlessly observant of the nagging thought patterns that aim to make him cave; always with a neat and rational excuse.
Sam can pull it off, he can do it... but the good Lord knows, the poor sod will have to be freaking careful.
So. What does this have to do with you and your desire to stop wasting time and be more productivity?
Understand: each time you sit down to do some work, you are Sam. You are trying to do the equivalent of an ex-alcoholic attempting to work as a bartender.
Think about it.
Like Sam, you’re trying to earn a honest living (or you’re preparing to do so as a student), but you’re deciding to do so in a place that’s filled entirely with your vices.
For Sam, that place is a bar with booze on tap and liquor on the shelves; for you it’s the virtual space of your computer, with its memes and feeds and videos and breaking news, also 'on tap'—always a mere click or two away.
Also, like Sam, this is all optional.
Sam’s choice is reckless. He could just as well serve French fries at a fast-food joint, as he could beer at a pub. So, I could make a similar case for you. You do have other options.
You could throw your laptop in a river and figure out a way work the land for food (or do something else less extreme, like—I don't know—becoming a plumber or bus driver; but you get my point).
But you won’t. The fact is, you have your cherished dreams; you have your interests and ambitions; and all of that requires you to use a laptop. Period. You're determined to make this plan of yours work.
So, the bottom lone is this: regardless of the circumstances, every time you sit down to work, you are a doing the equivalent of trying to work at a bar as an alcoholic.
It's no surprise that it's been tough; that you've been struggling. Imagine if Sam waltzed into his shifts with the same recklessness as you do when you sit down to tackle a chunk of your assignment or report. He'd be piss drunk half-way through dinner service.
So, what can we do about this?
Like Sam, you can start with the low hanging fruits: make it harder for you to access your vice. Sam is smart enough to know not to rely entirely on willpower, so he makes his coworkers promise not to give him a drink. Similarly, you can make your browser and phone “promise” not to show you Reddit or YouTube using webblockers and restrictions.
But you can’t block the whole internet (and sometimes you actually need Youtube, Reddit and Instagram for your research and communications). Besides, that’s a band-aid solution—useful and crucial if you’re bleeding—but we still need to address the core of the problem.
So, I use the AWAAB technique.
The AWAAB (Alcoholic Working At A Bar) method
Here’s what to do when you it comes time for you to sit down for a work session.
Rather than traipsing in per the usual, pause in front of the bar's entrance:
1) turn your computer's screen off and wait.
Turn your phone off too.
Breathe.
Take a stock of your surroundings. Take stock of your body.
Allow your thoughts to arrive at the task at hand. Let the thoughts, feelings and emotions come as they are. Let the 3 usual suspects make their appearance. Sit with them.
Overwhelm. You have this thing to do, with a great many steps; many of which are uncertain. There’s the upcoming effort of it all, the tedious mountain to climb… while you’re still at the base staring up. You don’t know where to begin, yet you do know where to begin, and that’s anywhere… so really you don’t, but you do, so just start... but again where? How?
Regret. Why didn’t I get this going yesterday? Why again did I wait until the last minute? Why did I not pay attention earlier, take note of what to do? Why am so unorganized and unprepared?
Resistance. That's the 'ugh I just don’t feel like it' feeling. The sensation that makes the task so flagrantly unappealing—almost grotesque—that it takes a gargantuan efforts to physically will your fingers to type letter by letter.
Overwhelm, regret, resistance. Let these three makes their appearance.
As I’ve learned through countless experiences, these bad feelings often lead to—not just a strong desire or a craving for relief—but an outright compulsion. And what sort of thing have you programmed your brain to associate with instant and amazing relief?
Your vices, of course.
Normally, this is the moment when you, on full autopilot mode, load up a browser with Reddit.
But this time, the screen is off and will remain off.
It sucks, but you're going to have to feel these feelings. Be there in the present moment. Feel the craving for your vice.
Sure this will be unpleasant, uncomfortable or even painful, but it’s absolutely necessary. Many of the hard-working people you admire aren’t immune to bad feelings—they allow themselves to experience them. They observe them.
Do the same. Observe and wait.
2) Write out, on paper, all the sub-tasks involved with the thing.
Break it down as much as possible to small actionable bites. Perhaps there’s other things to do today. Laundry. Reply to Fred’s email. Put it all down as a simple list.
3) Select the sub-task you want to start with. Say it out loud.
Archor it in your mind. Better would be to write in on a post it and tack in on the monitor. This is what I am doing now and nothing else (!)
4) Start your computer. Breathe.
Take the start up time to again get mindful of the array of thoughts, feelings and emotions that come on through.
5) Set a timer for 30 minutes (if you have a Pomodoro app, you can use that).
Sam would do best not to think, man I have 20k in debt, I need to work for 435 hours to pay it all off. Let’s do it straight. No. he should walk in thinking, ok, I will do this 2 hour stretch, do it carefull and well, then take a rest. That’s it.
Same for you. You're aren't finishing that huge project—you're advancing a small and specific piece for the next 30 minutes. That's it.
6) Wait.
Observe any residual resistance. Observe any cravings. Do not force yourself to start.
7) Wait some more.
When it dissipates enough for it to seem like starting up on the work wouldn’t be such a bad idea, enter the bar carefully...
8) Gently allow yourself to start, mindful of the movement of your hands and the workings of the mind.
When the timer rings, take a break from the work. Get up and stretch and give your eyes something distant to look at. If you feel good about yourself, allow yourself to feel it (and see if you can mentally ‘pin’ that good feeling with the work—more about that in the Habit Reframe Method). If you don’t feel particularly good, just continue to be mindful of it all.
9) When it comes back time to work, start back up with 4) and do it all again until you are satisfied with the work session.
Like any technique, it can sound great on paper, but in reality, there will be a lot of trial and error and my biggest piece of advice to you is be compassionate and understanding with yourself.
What you’re trying to do is difficult; as difficult as it will be for Sam, a fricking alcoholic trying to work at a bar. The odds are stacked against you. But it can be done. Just be careful and you stick with the process long enough for it to click.
- Simon ㋛