Pick a Vice — Roll the Dice
There’s always been an element of how I set up my business that felt like people ‘really’ DIDN’T want to do it.
If you haven’t heard of 101 Tokens before, let me give you a quick rundown.
The Token system was designed to help people manage their drinking habits by using a set number of tokens each year.
The idea is drink as much as you want in exchange for one token.
The next day you ask yourself one question ‘Was it worth it?’
Yay or Nay,
then you take the learnings and spend another one.
I call it Vice Optimisation.
You can learn more about the system at 101 Tokens.
But there was something not right…
Some people didn’t feel like they had agency
because they didn’t ‘really’ pick their token number.
Nobody likes restrictions.
If you know the story, In 2016 I gave myself 101 Tokens because I was drinking about 250 times a year.
And 101 was catchier than 104 (twice a week).
It felt hard but also doable because I needed the hungover time back more than anything.
It worked, and I only drank 101 times. About 80% Yays /Worth it.
The year after, it seemed to work for most who joined (about 90 people) to pick the same number, and that’s been a trend ever since.
But in recent years, I’ve noticed a mini-wiggly-discomfort with people getting to select a token number.
Partway through, they’re likely to either:
A) Stop doing it because they’re blowing out, or
B) Scale the number up. And then the shine wears off a little bit.
So, I’ve got a plan…
Gambling!
Not the ‘ruin your life and everyone around you’ kind of gambling.
That’s the bad kind.
I come from an extended family of terrible drinkers and even worse gamblers. For this reason, I don’t gamble much at all.
Because even though I’m a fan of it, I know it’s shit for me.
But I do love board games. I also love a game of poker with a $20 buy-in with mates, beers, and lots of banter.
So, here’s what I thought:
I literally need Tokens again.
One of my vices is getting out of hand.
I’ve got my drinking pretty well handled, and my app keeps me in check.
But I’ve been eating soooo many desserts lately.
AND WHY?
The New Job
My new job has birthday cakes, croissants, leftover chocolate, and sweeties around all the time.
And I don’t blame it completely, because almost every time I go to a cafe, I buy a muffin or banana bread, or something I haven’t tried before because ‘new experiences n’ that.’
And everything is so expensive, I can’t afford to be doing this either. Sometimes it’s multiple times a day. Whoopsies.
It’s kind of where I was with drinking back in the day.
It’s a vice that needs to be serenaded by Barry White chocolate and raspberry muffins — I bloody love them.
The Dice
So, instead of giving myself 2 tokens a week like I did before, I’m gonna roll the dice once a week.
Well, a die (but who calls it that).
For that week, that’s how many dessert tokens I’m allowed to have.
You might say, “but what if you get six?”
And I might say, “that’s one less day than I’m doing now, and that’s a win.” Also, I don’t have to spend them all.
Many followers of Medium have either played tokens or listened to me bang on about them for…
FFS next year will be the tenth year!
You should see the ever-growing solar panel (some call it a devon patch) on my head that my family loves to remind me about.
DETOUR MUCH!!!
The art of spending a Token is the main jam.
It becomes more sacred.
You consider your purchases and hopefully your mind and body.
Plus, you get the bonus of reflection.
It Begins
So, on Sunday, I’m starting Dice July. See what I did there? ;)
If it works and it’s fun, I’ll keep rolling the dice every Sunday, and whoever wants to join can.
You can also buy your own and do it yourself, but as we all know from Psalm:01 in the book of Mike and Marcus:
We Ride Together,
We Dice Together.
Lastly, if you’re thinking,
“But what if you roll a one?”
Well, that will be more exciting than a six.
Because we’ll plan the f*ck out of it.
I’ll be researching the ultimate dessert and have more money to spend, so I won’t be tied down by guilt of cash leakage or anything like that.
My Dad and brother once went to a restaurant and had a $36 dessert. It looked AWESOME!
Cravings and mindless habits will be there, but I’ll be frothing for the next Sunday when the game resets and I get to roll again.
So I invite you to…
Pick a vice,
roll the dice.
Let me know how you go.
PS. I bought some dice. Now I’m carrying them everywhere in my jacket. Little things like that help keep new habits top of mind.
