We never plan to procrastinate. We simply nd ourselves doing it. Why? Because we slip out of a state of awareness, and into automatic mode.
Use Pavlok to bring yourself back into a state of awareness and focus. When you catch yourself procrastinating, simply press the zap button. Then ask yourself what you should be doing instead.
Get Productive
Whenever you realize you are being unproductive, press the zap button.
Focus on the zap and ask yourself: ‘What would a productive version of me be doing right now?’
Get to work and do it. We recommend only working on a single task at a time – set a timer for 15-25 minutes, and don’t switch tasks until the timer is complete.
When we wake up, most of us are at our groggiest. It’s often easier to repeatedly hit the snooze button over and over (and over) until we nally have to get out of bed.
One of the reasons this happens is because we get woken up in the middle of deep sleep. At that stage, it’s incredibly dif cult to control ourselves or our actions. Pavlok helps kick you out of that state with adrenaline.
Quit Snoozing
Wear your Pavlok to bed. Before going to sleep, set your Pavlok alarm. Choose the stimuli you’d like to wake you. Would you like a chance to wake up without a zap? Choose stimuli with a vibration or beep first as a warning, and then only receive a zap if you don’t wake up and turn off the alarm. Know that won’t work? Start off with a zap to wake you up and get you moving!
When you wake up, if you’ve given yourself a warning stimuli before the zap, get up! If you don’t get up, or start with a zap right out of the gate, the zap will kick you out of the automatic mode of trying to sleep in.
Jump out of bed – with adrenaline. Turn off your alarm clock and start your morning routine.
One of the most common questions we get at Pavlok is this: “Why don’t you just use a rubber band?”
I made a quick video to explain — click the image below to watch.
In fact, a rubber band is one of the few forms of aversive conditioning that is still used today. In July, we actually launched a course with over 1200 people where we taught users how to break bad habits — even if they didn’t own a Pavlok.
The results we found? About 5% of people who try to quit a habit cold-turkey succeed in quitting the habit for good. About 25% who used a rubber band succeed. And, about 55-60% of users who used Pavlok succeeded.
We packaged the course together and released it as the Break Bad Habits Digital Package.
We released the course for $99, but just today, get it for only $49 (offer ends at midnight).
Or, get both the Pavlok AND the course for only $199 (total savings: a hundred bucks)
The exclusive digital habit-breaking course, hosted by Pavlok founder Maneesh Sethi. In this course you will learn how to identify your bad habit, envision the change you desire, and successfully rid yourself of the bad habits that are holding you back.
BREAK A BAD HABIT COURSE CONTENTS:
5-detailed lessons
Day 1: What is a habit? + Habit Tracking Worksheet
Day 2: Pros and cons of habit change
Day 3: Identifying and rewiring habit triggers
Day 4: Your first aversion session — creating the negative association
Day 5: Your second aversion session — killing a bad habit for good.
CBT Worksheets to analyze your habit ($50 value)
Habit Tracking Worksheet
Modifying Behaviors and Routines Worksheet
CBT Pros and Cons of Change Worksheet
Aversive training audio sessions for ($49 value)
Smoking
Nail biting
Unhealthy eating
Procrastination
4 interviews with experts ($100 value)
Dr. Daniel Pardi – Sleep and Willpower researcher from Stanford University
Dr. Roy Baumeister – Researcher and discoverer of willpower as a resource
Dr. Calvin Newport – Professor and researcher on deep learning and becoming an expert
James Clear – Writer and researcher on habits and psychology
The Habit Change – Theory and Practice ebook ($50 value)
A few months ago, I saw a photo posted by one of the most reknowned psychologists, Dan Ariely. About Pavlok
He wrote
‘Just bought this. My only regret is that I didn’t think of it first.’
A NYTimes reporter recently got in touch and wanted to interview some psychologists about Pavlok, so naturally I introduced her to Dan.
I wanted to update Dan on the situation — so I started writing a “quick” update. It ended up being pretty long.
The email detailed the story of Pavlok — from an idea to a product that permanently breaks bad habits.
I had included the Evidence Booklet in the attachments.
Below is the story
—————
Hey Dan,
I just spoke with the NYTimes Reporter. Thanks for offering to speak to her. , She told me she finished her article (and I believe didn’t get a chance to speak with you). I’m sure there will be more opportunities in the future, though.
But I am glad to have a chance to catch you up on the current state of Pavlok. It’s been over a year since we talked last, and the concept of Pavlok has changed quite a lot.
I also attached the Evidence Booklet from our product documentation…..
The Evidence Journal — attached to the email, and included in every Pavlok package.
…But First, A Question.
Dan — have you ever…had a bit too much fun one night?
Maybe you drank too much tequila, maybe vodka, and got a little sick? If not, surely a friend has; – ‘I can’t drink tequila ever again, it smells bad and makes me sick’.
Ring a bell?
In this situation, even though the person did the action to his or herself— and in only a single night— the user stopped liking the temptation, for good.
How? Because negative stimulus is paired with the bad habit, training the Basal Ganglia to rapidly create a Pavlovian association with the action.
This is an example of aversive conditioning — the classical association of a negative stimulus with a bad habit to permanentlybreak a bad habit or addiction—for good. In fact, it was well studied in the 1960s through the 90s.
The most common aversive? An electric stimulus ranging from 50-500+ Volts.
Imagine my surprise, when I stumbled upon the concept — in the middle of the Nov/2014 Pavlok crowdfund for a wearable device that could emit an electric stimulus ranging from 50-500V+.
Within minutes of searching through google scholar for ‘aversion therapy’ and ‘aversive conditioning’ —-well— my mind was blown.
I downloaded one of them that sampled a large group of smokers trying to quit — (see it in the attached evidence booklet, page 12).
Long Term Outcome Of Clients Treated in a Commercial Stop Smoking Program
2 pack-a-day smokers, who had been trying to quit for years, came in for 5 days of continuous therapy.
5 sessions with a doctor, over a 5 day period
In each session, they would discuss habits/the system for 20-30 mins, and then conduct a 20-30 min aversion session
Each smoker would begin to smoke a cigarette. The doctor would instruct — pull out the cigarette. Light the cigarette. Take a puff.
At each step, the user would either administer the electric zap manually, or by the doctor.
Afterwards, they had one optional booster session. A total of <3 hours of aversive training.
One year later?
52% of smokers had not smoked a single cigarette—a year later
(and 61.4% for those who returned to a non-smoking household)
Compare that to nicorette patches, who’s success ranges around 7.5% for 6 months of use.
Aversive treament: only 5 days and 650% more effectivethan six monthsof patches.
But it wasn’t just a single isolated experiment. In the attached Evidence Booklet, you’ll find 21 Studies using the aversive for habits like
*Smoking
*Unhealthy Eating
*Nail Biting
* Negative Thoughts
*Gambling
*Chronic Cough
and way more.
(You can see the studies in the attached PDF)
“So….if it’s so good, why isn’t anyone using it?“
That was the question I immediately asked myself. If it was so successful — why isn’t it used today?
That’s the crazy part — the studies all showed incredible success. But in the mid 1990s, it got associated with some bad things — Clockwork Orange, a couple of unethical studies — and it fell out of favor. America pivoted to positive psychology, and almost every single aversive clinic / grant ended.
Enter…Pavlok
Pavlok is a wearable haptic feedback training device — it vibrates, beeps, and uses an adjustable level electric stimulus that ranges from tap to pinch to shock.
Before discovering aversion therapy, (when we spoke last), I had no concept of manual zap. I believed it had to be automated, driven by apps and mobile.
I had designed it to work with smart apps, chrome extensions, sensors, IFTTT, and more. It does. You can see the chrome extension here. The API for the device is working, and we are improving/increasing apps. (We currently have a Break Bad Habits Training ios/android App, and an Alarm Clock ios/android app).
Pavlok can trigger vibrations, sounds, or zaps based on hitting heart rate, Apple Health, emotion (see my need-to-rename app,‘Beat Resting Bitch Face‘ — that vibrates/zaps if you maintain an angry or sad face).
But, as app developers write more and more, we have also found that *Self-Administered* zap works incredibly well.
When you ‘get zapped’ — it’s operant conditioning, punishment.
When you ‘zap yourself,’ while forcing yourself to do the action, to the point of excess — it’s classical pavlovian, aversive conditioning. And it’s very effective.
Our users are using it for incredible habits—the most successful habit broken are
*sleeping in
*smoking
*eating sugar/unhealthy food
*negative thoughts / depression
*nail-biting / skin picking’
*pornography
and a lot more
I am planning to conduct clinical trials this year, a crossover study — will keep you updated.
This was a bit long, but I hope you get a chance to read it. This is a very…powerful device, and I think if combined with proper behavioral economics principles, it could be used to effectmassive numbers of lives saved through improved self-control.
Let me know your thoughts! or if you have questions. I’m free to speak this weekend or next week.
We have FINALLY started shipping international units! Hooray!
We had a few final kinks in our shipping and firmware process, but I’m happy to announce we’ve fixed the major bugs. We have 1350 international orders to produce, and our batch of 1500 begins arriving on Tuesday next week.
Our goal is to ship out all International IGG orders next week.
Any international orders after that will ship out in the order received.
DOMESTIC BACKERS
If you supported Pavlok on IndieGogo, and you are from the USA, you should have received your Pavlok. If you haven’t, please email support@wp.pavlok.com.
We have shipped the majority of Domestic Pavloks, including almost all that were purchased in the winter or spring of 2015. We expect to have shipped out ALL Pavlok units in the next two weeks.
If you haven’t received a shipping notification, please be patient — we expect to have your unit shipped out in a matter of days!
I just returned from an insane trip to the Bulletproof Conference in California. Last year, we announced Pavlok preorders there, and this time I met ten people who were actually WEARING the Pavlok unit! Several people had amazing stories to tell — so I wanted to share a couple.
John Used Pavlok to Reduce Negative Thoughts (watch the video) – John received his Pavlok in the mail and put it on. He wasn’t sure exactly how to use it, so he strapped it on and decided to press the button whenever he had negative thoughts about his family, or felt emotional.
His results were incredible to say the least — within two days, he noticed the negative thoughts disappear. He only did it for 2 days (not the recommended 5 days), but the thoughts disappeared for 10 days(!!) before creeping back up slowly. An extra booster session will keep them at bay.
You could imagine using Pavlok for things like:
Self criticism
Obsessive thoughts
Trying to get over your ex
Mind racing when trying to sleep
I even use it all the time to get a stuck song out of my head!
Jason used Pavlok for his donut addiction (watch the video)- Jason wanted to cut back on unhealthy snacks — specifically, donuts.
On day 1, he pressed the button when he wanted a donut — desire gone.
On day 2, he did the whole formula. Button press while buying the donut, smelling, eating bite one, bite two, etc.
And THAT WAS IT. He has had 0 cravings for the donuts ever since. He explains in the video, that the aversion was rapidly built and every time he thinks of donuts he thinks of zap.
Can’t believe I got to meet real users, it was incredible.
Other notes:
Are you a Pavlok user and have tried out the product for a few days? Please fill out this survey about your experiences
Interested in getting a Pavlok?Click here to order your own. We have about 2200 left to ship to previous customers. New orders will arrive in mid to late November.
NOTE: We are selling very fast and are likely going to run out well before xmas. If you are interested in a Pavlok for this year, consider ordering sooner rather than later.
