Read this if your tools for success—apps, sites, devices—are the very things that offer endless distractions... and you’re not sure how to use them without derailing your work sessions.
Meet Sam.
Sam is a bit of a deadbeat—he’d be the first to admit it—but, today, he has a new lease on a life. He has a new job to go to, and he’s determined not to mess it up this time.
The thing is, Sam is an alcoholic—well ex-alcoholic—who’s managed to make it three days—72 hours and counting—without a drop. For someone with a ten-year AA sobriety chip in their pocket, that may be pitiful. But for him, well, he can’t remember the last time he strung so many consecutively sober hours together.
It’s something. It’s progress.
As Sam fixes his hair in the mirror, he asks himself if he can still call this a “second chance” if it’s his 500th second chance. He shrugs off the self-doubt, sweeps back a stray curl that just won’t stay in place, and heads out the door.
Fifteen minutes later, he arrives at his new gig. He stops to get his bearings before walking through. Above, in an all-too familiar script, it reads: “The White Lion".
His favorite pub.
That’s right. Sam is an ex-alcoholic… seeking to earn his living poring drinks for other people.
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Is Sam successful?
Does he make it through his first shift? Then the next? Then through countless more without breaking his oath to stay sober?
Well, I made up this story, so I suppose it’s up to me to decide.
Hmm...
The first thing I should do is answer the basic question: Is it possible for Sam to be successful?
The short answer is, Yes. It may be ridiculously unlikely, but it’s technically possible to work as a bartender and avoid drinking. So, the question becomes How?
Off the bat, he should tell everyone he works with that he is now sober and is not to be offered alcohol under any circumstances.
He should devise strategies to deflect tipsy patrons who insist on sharing a celebratory shot with him. He could rehearse canned lines like, “Hey, thanks-but-no-thanks. I'm staying dry.... more for you though,” wink.
What else?
Well, he can’t be all flippant about his predicament. He needs to set and stick to a set of rules, routines, and processes. He needs to be there, present in his urges and cravings, mindful of any triggers or rationalizations that could make him drink.
Finally, he mustn’t neglect addressing his traumas and insecurities—the deep psychological stuff that drove him to abuse alcohol in the first place. Come to think of it, he should probably start there, by seeking help to properly understand and process the core causes of his issue.
In a word, Sam needs to be careful.
He can pull it off. But goodness knows, Sam will have to be very careful.
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Each time you sit down at a computer to do some work, you are Sam. You’re just like an ex-alcoholic attempting to work at bar.
Think about it.
Like Sam, you’re deciding to earn an honest living—or get that degree—in a place that’s teaming with the objects of your bad habits: Your vices.
For Sam, that place is a bar with beer on tap and liquor on shelves. For you, it’s the virtual space of your computer and phone, with their “taps” of endlessly gratifying feeds, streams, and games.
Also, like Sam, this predicament is entirely elective.
Sam’s choice is clearly reckless. He could just as well serve burgers and fries rather than beer and whiskey, yet I could make a similar case for you. You have options that don’t require you to be online. You could throw your phone and laptop into a river and figure out a way to work the land for food. Or, I don’t know, you could become a construction worker, nurse, or bus driver.
But you won’t.
You have your career interests and ambitions. You have your creative or entrepreneurial dreams. You imagine the impact you want to make on this world. And it all requires the use of a laptop, phone, and a reliable internet connection. Period.
…
Calling this predicament “tricky” might be the understatement of the century. I’d say it’s downright menacing. The truth is, it has you totally stuck in a rut of procrastination, stress, and under-achievement.
You’re not the only one finding it tough. Countless others struggle with what seems like a reckless lack of self-discipline. Some feel demotivated and powerless—destined to a life of frustration and missed opportunities.
Head over to the r/getdisciplined subreddit, search the [needadvice] tag, and you'll find post after post containing familiar struggles and pleas for help.
"I just can't handle the simple stuff… like having some sweets, or watching a bit of content on YouTube etc. [I’m always jumping from] one instant gratification to another… it leaves me with zero integrity towards myself."
“I used to have a lot of passions in my life, but it seems now I forget what any of them are. I am not motivated or passionate about anything, and it really sucks because I know I want to be... I just don’t know the first step to crawling out of this pit I’m in would be. Where should I start?"
"I seem to get depressed because I'm not doing anything with my life, but then anxious because I have such a deep pit to pull myself out of."
This really is our generation’s predicament. But other generations have had emerging vices before, right? From fast food to cable TV. What sets our modern tech vices apart?
As I explain in the video course, it’s that the trivial "just stop" solution isn't an easy option.
What I mean is that the solution is not as easy as just blocking access. You can’t just downgrade to a dumbphone and installing unremovable website blockers on your computer. Making it physically impossible to engage with your vices—as would, say, a driner by blacklisting herself at the local bars—is just not an option.
You need it your vices. It's frustrating as heck, but you need unfettered access to tech to succeed. I know this because I’ve tried to going down the “block everything” route countless times with iron-clad, impossible to disable webblocks.
But there was only one problem. Everything I needed to materialize my ambitions was blocked. Without YouTube I couldn’t post any content or else watch tutorials. Without Reddit I couldn’t generate any buzz. Without Facebook and Instagram, I couldn’t advertise my business or reach out to other content creators. It was like I figured out a way to work at my bar “successfully”, but I couldn’t make any tips—what with all the keg lines cut and liquor bottles glued shut.
So each time would end with me reformatting my devices to whipe away the blocks, which, after a harsh period of forced abstinence, would leave me SUPER vulnerable to a full-on binge.
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So, does that mean that website blockers are of no use? Definitely not. You just have to dial it right, as I explain in the video.
In the grand scheme, content blockers are part of the solution—but it's not the solution.
This predicament, the AWAAB, or alcoholic working at a bar predicament, remains super tricky, and it's taking me all sorts of defenses to overcome, plus a ton of damage control measures with my inevitable slip-ups.
But I, and by extension you, are not powerless—we are not destined to a life of distractions, time-wasting and missed opportunities all because our vices are too damn accessible and jumbled up with what we need to be productive.
There is a way around the predicament. There is a way to manage. To get disciplined. Just like Sam has to figure out a way, you too have to just work the problem and create a system that works.