A liability card
This idea works like a coffee shop loyalty card, but it measures how much of a liability you are to yourself and others.
I’m not very good at drinking. I like it a bit too much. I’m particularly bad at keeping track of how much I’ve drunk. I reckon it’s to do with being quite socially inhibited—a drink makes me feel so much more at ease. I also reckon that’s why alcohol has such a hold on northern Europe — we’re a pretty uptight bunch until we’ve hit the sauce. I’m working separately on my social anxiety, but that apart, I’d like to have a more moderate relationship with booze. The card you see below is an experiment with that aim in mind. It’s the same size as a coffee shop loyalty card but instead of tracking coffee consumption it tracks how many alcoholic drinks you’ve had. Rather than encouraging loyalty, it helps you keeps tabs on how much of a liability you are becoming. It also gives you an opportunity to set a limit while you’re still sober.
So far there’s a version of the card for beer (this is about my limit):
And a version for wine:
With both versions of the card, you just colour in as you go.
My next step is to print a few of these out and test them by asking friends to try them on a night out. I will also give it a go. I’m hoping that these cards will help nudge people into being a bit more moderate in their consumption—but the risk is that they will be seen as scorecards, encouraging people to drink more… I’ll follow up shortly to let you know what happens.
This idea is in response to the first item in My bug list—a collection of problems and questions I want to address or answer in my work.
