The OYNB methodology: Why are our challenges so effective?

Stopping drinking on your own can be difficult, but joining a movement with others across the globe? Now, that’s more like it!

With a 95% success rate, our alcohol-free challenges are leaders in supporting people to transform their relationship with alcohol and rediscover wellness. But what is it about the way we’ve developed our challenges that makes them so effective? Let’s break it down.

What’s the point?

Across the globe, and specifically in Western cultures, alcohol is everywhere. It’s ingrained into society in ways that make it very difficult to avoid and thus, it’s unsurprising that over half the population in the UK drinks alcohol.

While enjoying an alcoholic drink in moderation shouldn’t cause any major issues for most people, there is a large volume of people consuming over the recommended units per week. In England alone, 40% of adults are consuming over 14 units in an average week – and therein lies the potential for problems.

You don’t need to have an “alcohol problem” to realise that alcohol is causing you problems. Disrupted sleep, increased anxiety, worsening hangovers… the list goes on. Which is why OYNB exists.

Our alcohol-free challenges are proven, step-by-step programmes designed to:

• Unveil the reality of what alcohol does to the body

• Guide you through the process of changing habits

• Wrap it all up in the fun, motivating format of a personal challenge

And it turns out, this method of behaviour change really works. Countless members have completed an alcohol-free challenge and, regardless of whether they’ve stopped drinking completely or chosen to moderate in future, 95% agree they have transformed their relationship with alcohol.

What makes our approach so effective?

The OYNB alcohol-free challenge was designed to include a number of vital elements that help to motivate, develop and cement changes in both mindset and behaviour. Together, they make for a powerful combination.

We focus especially on:

• Behaviour substitution

• Problem solving (planning for triggers)

• Education from credible sources

• Consistent engagement (emails, tasks, tracking)

• Community and belonging

Behaviour substitution

A review of over 40 intervention approaches found that one of the most effective behaviour change techniques was behaviour substitution – replacing a habit you wish to stop with a behaviour that is more positive or at least neutral.

For example, it’s easier to switch to decaf coffee when reducing your caffeine intake than it is to just stop drinking coffee completely.

This is why our challenges encourage you to:

• Set future goals (physical challenges, creative projects, personal targets)

• Plan activities that replace the time you’d usually spend drinking

• Go for a walk or workout at the time the “wine witch” usually appears

• Try alcohol-free alternatives so your rituals can stay while the alcohol goes

By building a new pattern into that same time-slot, you begin to overwrite the old habit with something that supports your health instead of undermining it.

Problem solving (planning for triggers)

Another key element identified in the research is problem solving – reflecting on the factors and triggers that influence drinking, and then actively planning how to handle them.

In our challenges, we pay particular attention to:

• Identifying your main triggers (time of day, people, places, emotions)

• Spotting where you might get tripped up during your break from alcohol

• Developing practical strategies to use in those moments

For example:

• If finishing work triggers cravings, you might plan a walk, workout or call with a friend at that time

• If a certain route home takes you past the shop where you usually buy wine, you can plan an alternative route

• If particular social situations feel risky, you can prepare scripts, AF alternatives, exits and support

When you expect the trigger and have a plan ready, you’re far less likely to get knocked off course.

Credible source (education)

The third powerful technique the research highlights is credible source – having information communicated in a way that educates and informs you about the behaviour you want to change.

This is a cornerstone of our challenges.

We help you unravel years of social conditioning around alcohol by showing how it can affect:

• Sleep and recovery

• Mood and anxiety

• Weight and body composition

• Energy and focus

• Finances, relationships and productivity

When you have a clear, honest understanding of how alcohol is impacting different areas of your life, it becomes much easier to decide what you want your future relationship with it to look like.

And there’s more…

Beyond those core behaviour-change techniques, other factors also play a big role in how effective our challenges are.

Research on engagement with digital interventions shows that:

• Daily notifications reminding you of your commitment significantly increase engagement

• Self-recording (journaling, tracking progress, logging milestones) helps sustain change

• Written goals dramatically increase your chances of sticking to them

• 
  

This is why our challenges are built around:

• Daily emails with short mindset-shifting content and micro-tasks

• Regular prompts to write down and revisit your “whys”

• Encouragement to journal your progress, wins, struggles and insights

In fact, one study suggests you’re around 42% more likely to stick to a goal if you write it down – so suddenly those “write your whys” exercises make a lot more sense.

Community

One of the biggest influencing factors in our challenges is community.

Beyond simply being able to share and support one another through the ups and downs of alcohol-free life in an alcohol-focused world, research shows that feeling a sense of belonging is strongly linked to successful health-behaviour change.

Being part of a global community means:

• You know you’re not alone

• You see real stories from people ahead of you on the journey

• You can share your wins and struggles with people who “get it”

• You get encouragement on hard days and celebrations on good ones

Knowing you’re part of something bigger, and that others are walking the same path, can be hugely comforting and motivating.

You get out what you put in

You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s true: the more you engage, the more you get back.

To make your challenge as effective as possible:

• Read every email

• Watch every video

• Do every mini task

• Write down your goals and your “whys”

• Engage with the community

Some of it may feel a bit strange or uncomfortable at first – but every piece is there for a reason, and together they create lasting change.

Before long, you’ll have transformed your relationship with alcohol and taken a major step towards living your life better.

Take the challenge

If you’re ready to see what an alcohol-free challenge could do for you, you don’t have to do it alone.

Join thousands of people around the world who are proving every day that change is possible.