Commitment device

A commitment device is a tool or mechanism for increasing the cost of failing a task or project that one would otherwise not be sufficiently incentivised to follow through on. The increased pain of failure that a commitment device enforces is intended to make failure even less desirable than the effort that is needed to achieve the goal.

When you first use a commitment device for a new goal it is strongly recommended to Start small. It is very easy to get carried away and burn out due to over-commitment.

Once you start working on something it often becomes much easier to get going, so using just committing to get started on something is often enough to make tangible progress.

Examples

• According to legend, Cortés burned his ships when he arrived in America. This prevented his men from abandoning the mission by using the ships to sail away again, thus forcing them to stay and fight.
• Beeminder is a service that will charge you money if you don't keep up with your goals.
• Some people have publicly pledged to donate large amounts of money to organisations they dislike in case of failure on a goal.