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The Work Gadget

A little technology can go a long way.

There’s a New “Gadget” for Doing The Work

Two months of quarantine was the perfect opportunity for a friend of mine to create something new. Rick Kipfer from Ontario has been doing The Work of Byron Katie for years and he also likes tinkering with coding. 

This winter he combined his love of The Work with his love of coding to design a new app that works through any web browser on a computer, tablet, or phone. And it’s now ready for wider testing and use. He calls it The Work Gadget.

Free and Anonymous

Two really nice features of The Work Gadget is that it is completely free without ads, and it allows you to work anonymously. The Work Gadget can simply be a place where you can do your work online in written form. Rick designed it for himself and as a service to others, not at as a business venture. 

He gives two options for having an account: a completely anonymous account where you only create a password, or a verified account which gives a few more convenient options when you register with an email and password.

Either way, I think you will find that security was a priority when this app was designed. The site is encrypted and secure to protect your privacy. 

Change Devices Any Time

The Work Gadget saves your work as you go, so you can stop in the middle of anything (maybe you were typing on your phone while standing in line at the supermarket and you had to stop quickly to pay for your groceries). 

When you get home, you can open up The Work Gadget on your computer instead of your phone and continue right where you left off. Very convenient!

This Gadget Is Nothing But The Work

Don’t expect lots of bells and whistles. You basically have a practical platform for doing worksheets and one-liners. You can write a new Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet any time. And you can then choose any statement from your worksheet to question. It is easy to see what statements you have and have not questioned.

You will be led through the process of The Work by filling in your answers on the page. And any statement that you write while doing The Work can be cherry picked to be questioned separately (very nice feature for questioning underlying beliefs later).

Not for Learning The Work, But for Doing It

The Work Gadget is not for learning how to do The Work. It is just a very simple, practical tool based on the Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet and the One-Belief-at-a-Time Worksheet that Byron Katie created. It is nothing more than a “gadget” version of those worksheets.

Rick mentions in the help section that he is not a facilitator of The Work and he is not trying to teach you how to do The Work. 

Instead, he has simply designed a tool that is very functional—one that he uses himself for doing The Work. And he’s now made it possible for you to use it too.

How Is It Different From Byron Katie’s “The Work App”

The Work Gadget is very similar to Byron Katie’s The Work App. But it has some differences too:

1. The Work Gadget is not downloaded from an app store like The Work App. It is a stand-alone website that can be used on a phone, tablet, or computer.

2. The Work Gadget offers the option of anonymous use.

3. The Work Gadget is free.

4. The Work Gadget allows you to cherry pick underlying beliefs by simply clicking on any statement that you wrote while doing your work.

5. The Work Gadget allows you to easily switch between devices and includes an auto-save feature.

If you are curious, get both apps and find which one works best for you.

Try It Out Today

I suggest that you start by reading A Tour of The Work Gadget. This will show you how it works. Then try it out. It’s free. Who knows, it could become another support for you for doing The Work.

Rick is also open to feedback as you test it out, so don’t hesitate to contact him once you try it and have suggestions.

Have a great week
Todd

“Before people have experienced The Work of Byron Katie for themselves, they often think that it is too simple to be effective. But its simplicity is precisely what makes it so effective.” Byron Katie, Loving What Is

Todd Smith has been doing The Work of Byron Katie on an almost daily basis since 2007. He is just as excited about this simple process of self-inquiry today as he was when he first came across it. He also enjoys writing about The Work, and training others in the subtleties of this meditative process. Join Todd for The Work 101 online course, private sessions, virtual retreats, and his ongoing Inquiry Circle group.