Challenge Track : The White Collar Gauntlet

Introduction : Working in an office can be boring.  Even if you like your job and your coworkers, some days it’s like treading water in a lukewarm pool of oatmeal.  Too many days in a row like that can make the environment a little impersonal.  By injecting a little kindness into your own day, you can improve the mood of everyone around you.  

Outcome : After completing the final act in this challenge track, the player will become more actively involved in improving the mood of his fellow commuters and coworkers.  Same-day completion of Acts 1-10 grants the player membership in the Order of the Green Star.

Act 1 : Yield.  Pick an opportunity to yield to a fellow commuter or coworker. Let in that car trying to merge over.  Let someone else go through that door first.

Act 2 : Hold the door.  You know how you walk into the office at around the same time that several other people are also coming to work?  Spend a minute or two holding the door open for people as they come to work.

Act 3 : Give up some space.  Did you find a great parking space in the garage? Leave it for the next guy.  Got a good seat on the bus?  Stand up and let someone else have it.

Act 4 : Bring Treats.  You know how awesome it is when you walk into the coffee room and there’s donuts there? Be the guy who brings them.  Or bagels.  Or fruit.  Or pizza. 

Act 5 : Do a little something for the other guys.  Someone who works near you gets overlooked on a regular basis.  It might be the security guys.  Maybe the reception crew.  Or some janitorial staff.  Those people do important work too.  Go out of your way to do something nice for these people.  Make a point of saying thank you, acknowledge their work, or bring someone coffee.  Or pair this with Act 4, and bring in an extra box of donuts just for the people who never get any.

Act 6 : Take the dirty job.  In every office, on every team, within every group, there is a job that someone doesn’t want to do.  Take that job on.  Even if it’s not in your job description, volunteer for it.

Act 7 : Stay late so someone else can leave early.  Do you have a coworker who is stuck in the office because something needs finished?  Finish it up for them so they can leave early.  Is it something you can’t do on your own? Help them get it wrapped up.

Act 8 : Help someone else succeed.  Work environments can get a little cutthroat sometimes. Don’t let it happen to yours.  Find a co-worker who is working on a project, and go out of your way to help them knock it out of the park.  And let them have the credit for it.

Playtest : I only got to do the first couple acts in this track.  The first one, for me, was actually really interesting.

I have a pretty harsh commute sometimes.  I cross a toll bridge where there is a lot of merging and very little yielding.  In particular, if a semi needs to get over, they can have a really hard time.  Nobody wants to yield, because everyone is in the same boat : we all want to get to work.

But on the other hand, everyone is in the same boat!  We ALL want to get to work.  Stopping to give a semi an easy merge made me feel better than I’d expected it would.

PERMA

Challenge Track : Sparing The Dime

Introduction : Money. They say that Money doesn’t buy you happiness.  And that’s true.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to buy just a little happiness for someone else.  Even a quarter can buy more than a smile, you just need to spend it at just the right time.  In this track, you’re going to give away money.  And you’re going to love it.

Outcome : Upon completing the final challenge, the player will become a more generous person by using their own money to brighten the days of strangers.

Act 1 : Feed a stranger’s meter.  Get a handful of change, and find a part of town with parking meters.  Whenever you find a car parked next to an expired meter, feed the meter.  If you want to go all out, print up slips of paper to leave under their windshield wiper.  ”You had an expired parking meter. I had some spare change. I hope it was enough. Have a great day.”

Act 2 : Buy a stranger coffee.  Next time you’re buying a cup of coffee, slip the barrista a couple extra dollars and say “Use this to pay for the coffee of the next person who walks through the door.  Keep the rest for a tip.”

Act 3 : Pay a stranger’s toll.  When you cross a toll bridge, drive on a toll road, ride something with a fare like a bus or a train, pay for the guy behind you.   

Act 4 : Buy a stranger’s lunch.  If you’re in line waiting to pay for your lunch, pick up the tab for the person behind you.

Act 5 : Cover a stranger’s shortfall.  Have you ever been in line at the grocery store, and seen the person in front of you realize that they’re a couple bucks over what they can spend?  Next time that happens, offer to pick up their shortfall.

Act 6 : Buy a stranger’s ticket.  Going to the movies? A concert? a sporting event? If you’re in line, pick up a ticket for the show and give it to the person behind you.

Act 7 : Give a stranger a present.  Find someone’s amazon wishlist.  Subscribe to a local Freecycle list.  Look for a local shelter that provides gifts to the needy.  Find some way to connect with someone who needs or wants something, and buy it for them.

Act 8 : Give away $100. Get $100 in various cashey denominations.  Grab a partner, and go to a busy (but safe) part of town.  Then give it away.  You can give it all to one person, or give it out a dollar or two at a time.  Look for people who seem like they need a pick-me-up.  Giving away twenty 5 dollar bills would be a great way to do this.  

Playtest : I love feeding expired meters, but by far the best one was buying coffee for a stranger.  The barrista didn’t quite know what to make of it, but she obliged.  I hadn’t intended it to happen this way, but I was still waiting for my coffee when the next person came in.  He came up and thanked me, and talked for a bit about how his father used to do things like that.  It decidedly brightened his day, and mine as well.

A note about this track : I’m going to suggest that if you follow this track, be conscious of the perception of your gift.  Most people will instinctively look for the catch, and this unfortunately goes double if you’re buying something for a member of the opposite sex.  And when it comes to giving away money in Act 8, be sensible and safe.

PERMA

• Positive Emotions : giving gifts feels good. Receiving gifts feels good.  It can change the entire tone of your day, especially when it is random and unexpected.
• Relationships : the goal of this track isn’t to build specific relationships, it is to affect positive change in your relationship to the world, and to affect the same kinds of change in the benefactors of your giving.
• Meaning : this track seeks to improve the collective moods of everyone who is on the receiving end of your acts.
• Accomplishment : sense of accomplishment comes in seeing the positive effects of giving on the recipients. These acts will measurably brighten the days of the benefactors.

Challenge Track : complex to Community (c2C)

Introduction : According to the most recent census data*, about 1/3rd of the US Population live in rental housing.  More than 34 million of these renters live in housing structures with 5 or more units.  Half of all rental households have only one member – a person living in an apartment by themselves.  If you’ve ever lived in an apartment complex, you probably didn’t know very many of your neighbors – maybe you knew who lived next door, and who was loud.  There isn’t typically much community happening in these complexes, which is a shame given how primed they are for community building.  

Outcome : Upon completing the final challenge, the player will have transformed their faceless apartment complex into a thriving community with a shared sense of identity.

Act 1 : Say hello to someone new.  You know that person who lives down the hall? Sometimes you pass in the hallway, but you’ve never spoken to them.  Next time you see them, look them in the eyes and say “Hello” or “Hi.”

Act 2 : Introduce yourself to two people.  There are probably lots of faces that you recognize in your apartment complex.  But how many names do you know?  Find a couple people who you know by face alone, and introduce yourself.  Your goal is to remember their name, so you can greet them by name next time you see them.

Act 3 : Help three neighbors.  Look for three opportunities to help someone who lives in your apartment complex.  Maybe they are carrying groceries or moving furniture.  They could be cleaning their car, or washing their balcony down.  Pick three opportunities where you normally wouldn’t speak up, and offer your help.

Act 4 : Learn one thing.  Think about everyone you know of that lives in your complex.  If your complex is too big for this to be practical, pick a logical subdivision of your complex – a floor, a building, a wing, etc.  Make it your goal to learn one little thing about everyone you see.  Do they go to school? Does your neighbor work third shift? Maybe that guy downstairs collects trains.  Don’t fake it – if you have to fake it, you’re on the wrong challenge track.  Take an interest in the lives of the people with whom you reside.

Act 5 : Invite everyone to an informal party.  Don’t make too big a deal about this one – you don’t have to go all out.  You want to go very simple.  Pick a weekend evening when the weather is nice, grab a few beers and sodas, and invite people to join you.  Do this in a common area if possible, and put up a notice a couple days before.  Make a point of inviting your neighbors when you see them.  ”It’s nice out, let’s sit outside and have some drinks.  Bring stuff.”  Have something for the kids, but don’t stress about the details.  It’s an informal thing – your goal is to get your neighbors to kick back and relax with each other on a nice day. 

Act 6 : Give a gift in secret.  Pick a person or group of people in your complex, and give them a gift in secret.  This can be as simple as slipping a gift card in the mailbox of someone who you think could use it, or as involved as leaving a little present in front of every door.  Pick something entirely within your means, and execute your plan.  Your goal is to brighten someone’s day.  If you’re stuck for ideas, try this : The day before Mother’s Day, go flower picking.  Leave flowers in front of every apartment with a Mother.

Act 7 : Make it easier for your neighbors to share.  We all have things we aren’t using.  And we all have things we need to borrow.  Find a way to help the members of your community borrow and lend things they aren’t using.  You could set up a lending library, establish a group for your apartment complex at http://neighborgoods.net, or just some put up some paper on the bulletin board with “I can lend” and “I need to borrow” columns. 

Act 8 : Rally your community to a cause.  Find something happening in your town, and get your community involved.  Look for things like a clean-up day at a park, a work day at a school or a local fundraiser.  Captain a team to help, and recruit the people who live around you to help.  Your goal is to get some of your neighbors together and unite against a common problem, like a dirty park, a needy school or a charity in need of funds.

Act 9 : Organize community participation in National Night Out on Tuesday, August 2, 2011.  Is primarily an event to raise awareness of crime prevention and to foster police-community partnerships.  But it’s also a great excuse to get people together to have a nice time outside in the summer.  To complete this track, serve as the coordinator for your complex and participate.  For details, visit http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/

Act 10 : Find and beautify a common area.  If the apartment complex has no common area (a place the residents can share), create one.  You may need to lobby the apartment management for assistance, or you may need to open up some of your own space (or find another resident who will do the same).  You may need to get creative, but you can find some space that can be shared commonly by all residents.  Once you have a common area, beautify it.  Organize the residents and turn this area into something everyone can use – sunning space, a community garden, a play area if there are lots of kids, maybe a shared bbq area.  Pool money and resources, and create a space that conveys a sense of shared purpose and ownership.

Playtest : The place I live currently is a building with 40+ units.  Of all the places I’ve lived, this one has the most community.  But there are still faces I barely recognize, and people who live here that I don’t know.

I only really got to do the first act in this challenge.  I saw someone I’d never actually spoken to before, and made a point of saying hello.  It was just a little thing, and it seemed to take them more by surprise than anything.

As I reflected about this track while writing it up, I got to feeling like this is a track that would work well when AOK allows anonymous posting of Acts as indicated in the FAQ.  Social Acts strike me as something that could be misinterpreted in the wrong context.  The goal of this track is to encourage the player to take a more active interest in their neighbors.  If the player does so only to score points, this track will backfire.

PERMA

*Numbers derived from US Census data and provided by http://www.nmhc.org

Imagine my surprise when I read the Behind the Scenes interview, and I saw their example involved picking up trash – the very theme of my challenge track.

I decided to submit it anyway, as I really like my take on it and I think it will vary from what the AOK folk had in mind.  

Challenge Track : Combat Litteracy

Introduction : According to the folks at Keep America Beautiful (http://www.kab.org), the US spends about 11.5 billion dollars per year cleaning up litter.  This is, quite literally, money that we as a nation are throwing out the window or dropping on the ground.  While we all might have different ideas about how that money could be put to better use, I think we can all agree that litter is a problem that doesn’t have to exist.  All we have to do is take a little more personal responsibility for our trash, and become more active participants in picking up the stuff we see laying on the ground.  It’s not hard, it doesn’t take long, and just picking up a little trash can raise property values by as much as 7% (That number is also courtesy of Keep America Beautiful).

Outcome : Upon completing the final challenge, the player will take a more active role cleaning up the litter that surrounds us every day.

Act 1 : Pick up one piece of litter and put it in a trash can.

Act 2 : Pick up one complete handful of litter and put it in a trash can.

Act 3 : Make a litter kit. This is the equipment you will be using any time you go out to pick up litter.  This can be as simple as a bag and a pair of gloves, or it could be a full Batman costume with special litter collection bat-gadgets.  Post a picture, video or blog post outlining what is important to you in your litter kit, and why.  Make this accessible for other potential players to use as a guide.

Act 4 : Before you leave the house for the day, grab your gloves and litter bag. Carry them with you as you go about your normal daily schedule. Whenever you see a piece of litter, pick it up and put it in the bag. When your bag is full, note the time and record how long it took to fill the bag.

Act 5 : Instead of picking up litter as you go through your normal daily routine, take your litter kit and go for a walk in your neighborhood specifically to pick up litter. Collect as much as you can carry home.

Act 6 : Ask a friend to go for a walk with you. If you are able, choose a park with hiking trails and go hiking.  Pick up any litter you find on your walk or hike, and tell your friend about the litter you’ve been picking up.

Act 7 : Collect enough litter to fill a garbage can and take a picture of it.  Then go through the litter and divide it into three piles : recyclable waste, compostable waste, and trash. Take a picture of the results. Find some statistics about the percentage of recyclable materials that end up in a landfill.  Publish your results in a video or blog post, or tell your friends, family and co-workers what you’ve learned.

Act 8 : Research local cleanup efforts in your area.  Help raise awareness of these efforts by posting them to your social networks and telling your friends and family about them.

Act 9 : Volunteer to participate in The Great America Cleanup.  See http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=GAC_Volunteer for details.

Act 10 : Pick a section of sidewalk, a park, a block or any other area you frequently traffic. Claim this area as your territory, and make it your mission to keep your territory free of litter.

Playtest : I really only got to complete the first two tasks for this one.  I policed a few parking spaces during a run to a local market.  It took all of five minutes, raised some interested eyebrows, and made the parking lot look just a little bit nicer.

Weirdly, even though I wrote this challenge track a couple weeks ago, it took me forever to complete that first act, which was to simply pick up one piece of trash and throw it away.  I don’t understand why that was.  It may have been a little cognitive friction with the AOK app, or it may have been that I was so used to ignoring litter that I kept overlooking opportunities.  What I did find is that whenever I actually stopped to look and see if there was any litter around, I never once had to look very far.  It makes me wonder how much garbage we step over or around on a daily basis.

Once I did get started, I really liked snapping the pics and submitting the AOKs.  It felt neat, and it was super easy.  I think as a challenge track, this fits well with the AOK model.

I stopped at Act 3, because I know exactly what my Litter Kit looks like.  And I didn’t have time to go buy a luchador mask.

PERMA